New Orleans Treme Walking Tour: Jazz History & Storyville

4.90

(232 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I thought I knew what New Orleans sounded like—brass bands, that warm hum from the French Quarter. But stepping into Treme with our guide, Angela (she grew up just blocks away), was something else. She started us off right on the edge of Storyville, and honestly, I didn’t expect to feel so much just standing there. The air had this faint sweet smell—maybe someone was frying beignets nearby?—and Angela pointed out a faded mural where jazz legends used to hang out after gigs. She told us about Alphonse Picou and Trombone Shorty like they were old friends. I tried to imagine those nights, music spilling out of every doorway.

We wandered deeper into the neighborhood, past St Augustine’s Church and this tiny museum that looked almost hidden behind a tangle of vines. There was a stop at the Tomb of the Unknown Slave—Angela got quiet for a second there—and you could feel everyone listening harder. It’s weird how history sits right under your feet in Treme. Kids zipped by on bikes yelling to each other, and someone on a porch waved when we passed (I’m still not sure if it was at us or Angela). The day trip through Treme from downtown New Orleans is mostly flat walking, maybe an hour and a half total? Bring good shoes—my feet thanked me later.

Congo Square was louder than I expected—not from crowds but from drumming somewhere off in the distance. Angela explained how enslaved and free people gathered here centuries ago for music and markets; she even did this little dance move to show how rhythms traveled across generations. I probably butchered her pronunciation of “Treme” (she laughed), but she promised nobody would judge my accent as long as I listened with my whole self. So yeah, if you want to actually feel where jazz began—not just read about it—this walking tour is it.