City Guides: Things to do While Boating in New Orleans

From the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River to the architecture, mansions and bars of Bourbon Street, you don’t have to look far to find fun in the Big Easy. The lively Gulf Coast city of New Orleans is found between Pensacola, Florida to the east and Galveston, Texas to the west. It’s the perfect stop-over on a Great Loop adventure, an excursion along the Gulf ICW or while staying at a private boat dock rental near Lake Pontchartrain. There’s also the nearby Lake Borgne (which is technically a lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico) and Lake Salvador.

When you’re not sipping a Sazerac or a hurricane, chowing down on Cajun and Creole food or snacking on beignets and café au lait, consider some of these attractions and activities for a day trip from a boat slip for rent.

St. Louis Cathedral

St. Louis Cathedral, located in Jackson Square, is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the U.S. It was founded in 1720 and features stunning Spanish Colonial and French Neo Gothic architecture as well as marble floors, stained glass windows and ornate woodwork. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Louis, or King Louis IV, of France. Several churches were on the site throughout history. The current building was completed in the 1850s. It’s said to be haunted by Pere Antoine, a priest whose body is buried in the church. Regardless of the ghost issues, it’s a peaceful place to visit from a boat slip for rent near New Orleans.

Audubon Zoo/Audubon Aquarium

Photo: Audubon Zoo (Facebook)

Located on Magazine Street, the Audubon Zoo offers educational programs, hands-on animal experiences and habitats such as the Louisiana Swamp, the African Savannah and Jaguar Jungle. Check out orangutans, white alligators, Amur leopards, Malayan tigers, giraffes and more.

More into marine creatures? Pay a visit to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, which is located on Canal Street. Spend time away from the boat dock for rent visiting piranhas, cownose rays, sea turtles and other.

Mardi Gras World

Photo: Mardi Gras World (Facebook)

Even if you’re not in town for Mardi Gras, you can still get in on the action from a private boat lift rental. Mardi Gras World is a 300,000-square-foot working studio and warehouse where the elaborate parade floats are made. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the production behind the production: costumes, animation, props and more Mardi Gras history than you can shake a beaded necklace at. Production originally began in 1947 as Kern Studios before growing into the touring site that it is now.

Riverboat Cruise

A Mississippi River steamboat ride is about as synonymous with New Orleans as gumbo and jambalaya. Book a dinner or daytime jazz cruise or forgo the food and just sightsee and relax on this two-hour cruise along the mighty Mississippi. Check out the engine room and the colorful paddle wheel and listen to a jazz band. Owned by the New Orleans Steamboat Company, the Steamboat Natchez and her sister steamboat, the City of New Orleans, depart out of Toulouse Street Wharf.

New Orleans Museum of Art

Photo: New Orleans Museum of Art (Facebook)

The New Orleans Museum of Art is home to a wide array of antiquities, photography, textiles, decorative arts and Native American, Asian, African and Pre-Columbian art. Past, current and upcoming special exhibits include Queen Nefertari’s Egypt, New Photography: Create, Collect, Compile, Ancestors in Stone and Louise Bourgeois: Paintings. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden features more than 90 works of art in a natural setting of live oaks, magnolia trees and two lagoons. We think it’s a super cool spot to visit from a private boat slip for rent.

Historic Cemeteries

Eerie feelings aside, the architecture and above-ground marble and granite tombs of New Orleans’ 18th and 19th century cemeteries are worth a visit. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, dating to 1833, is in the Garden District and the film site of the movie Double Jeopardy starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, which was established in 1789, is one of the most popular as it’s the site of voodoo queen Marie Laveau’s tomb. The movie Easy Rider (1969) was filmed there. St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, dating to 1789, features Neo-Classical architecture. The least visited of the three, St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 was established in 1854. St. Louis No. and No. 2 are both on the National Register of Historic Places. If you do plan to visit any of these sites, it’s best to check the hours ahead of time. Some of them are only open for organized group tours, and others are not open at all depending on the day and time.

Eclectic and Quirky Museums

Photo: Great American Alligator Museum (Facebook)

If you’re into unusual history, you can’t miss these quirky, eclectic and downright weird museums. Gators, voodoo and antique medicine are where it’s at in New Orleans. Apparently, New Orleans is the birthplace of the modern pharmacy. Who knew?

The Great American Alligator Museum is about all things alligator. There’s a 50-million-year-old alligator fossil as well as postcards, art, apparel, salt and pepper shakers, movie posters, toys and more alligator-inspired things. Check out the gift shop and bring home a souvenir gator head, jerky, hot sauce or cute plush gator.

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum is filled with vintage medicine bottles, surgical instruments and more historic medical and pharmaceutical tools. Check out displays of perfume, cosmetics, voodoo potions, excavated bottles, a physician’s study and the history of questionable medical practices. There’s a courtyard with gardens and event space.

Open since 1972, the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum is the place to learn about the city’s voodoo history. Take a self-guided walk-through tour of relics, dolls, sculpture, paintings and other artwork. The museum also offers cemetery tours to St. Louis Cemetery, Congo Square and Marie Laveau’s house.

We hope you’ve found a few things to do the new time you’re boating in the Big Easy. Leave that private boat slip rental for a while and hit the streets. Laissez les bon temps rouler!