New Orleans: Small-Group Bike Tour French Quarter & Cemeteries

4.97

(209 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the way the air smelled—like sweet bread from a corner bakery mixed with something old and green. We met our guide, Marcus, right by Buzz Nola. He handed me a bike (with a basket, thank god—I always overpack snacks) and off we went, rattling down streets that felt both lived-in and full of secrets. He pointed at a faded mural in Faubourg Marigny and told us about how music would spill out onto these sidewalks at night. I could almost hear it echoing even though it was just late morning.

We stopped at Jackson Square for a minute—Marcus called it “the city’s front porch”—and watched an older man play trumpet under a tree. The Mississippi River looked muddy but somehow beautiful, like it’s been carrying stories forever. Riding past St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, I tried to read some names on the tombs but the sun was too bright off the white stone. There’s something strangely peaceful about those above-ground graves; Marcus said they’re part of why New Orleans feels so different from anywhere else.

I’m not usually big on parks, but City Park surprised me—the live oaks are huge and tangled, moss dripping everywhere. Someone handed around cold bottled water (bless), and we just sat for a second listening to cicadas buzz. Later in Louis Armstrong Park, Marcus told us how Congo Square used to fill up with music every Sunday—he made us try saying “Treme” properly (I definitely failed). On the ride back I kept thinking about all those layers of sound and history under my wheels—makes you look at New Orleans differently after you’ve pedaled through it.