New Orleans Garden District: Walking Tour with Celebrity Homes

4.91

(460 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I thought the Garden District would just be pretty houses and trees, but the first thing I noticed was the quiet—like the city’s heartbeat slowed down here. Our guide, Marcus, waved us over by a creaky gate and started talking about Anne Rice’s old place. He said you could always tell which homes belonged to “new money” Americans because they tried too hard with the columns and colors. I caught this whiff of sweet magnolia every time a breeze picked up. It made me want to linger on those cracked sidewalks longer than we probably should’ve.

We passed John Goodman’s house (apparently he’s friendly if you catch him outside—no luck for us), and Marcus pointed out where Sandra Bullock sometimes stays. There was this moment when he stopped us under a massive live oak, its branches tangled like arms overhead. He told us about how the Americans built their mansions to outshine the French Quarter folks across town—kind of hilarious how much drama can live in architecture. Someone in our group tried to pronounce “Crepe Myrtle” like a local and got a laugh from an older neighbor walking her dog. The whole thing felt less like a tour and more like tagging along with someone who grew up on these streets.

I didn’t expect to feel so nosy peeking at all these porches and gardens, but nobody seemed to mind. The air had that sticky-sweet smell you only get after rain in New Orleans, even though it wasn’t raining today. Sometimes Marcus would pause mid-story because a streetcar rattled by or a kid shouted from somewhere behind those iron fences. There’s something about seeing history still lived-in—it sticks with you after you leave, you know?