On foot in the Quarter
New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides run start at $33 for the two-hour Small-Group Storytelling walk past St. Louis Cathedral and the hidden courtyards behind historic buildings, rated 4.8 on 1,498 reviews. Ghost walks start at $30, food tours at $67, and a one-hour mule-drawn carriage ride is $65. Each listing gives its own meeting point and carries free cancellation. For a first look at the Quarter, start with the storytelling walk.
Quick answer
The short answer. Of the New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides run, three answer most trips. By day, the Small-Group Storytelling walk: $33, two hours, 4.8 on 1,498 reviews. After dark, the most reviewed tour in the Quarter on this site, the Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire walk: $33, 1.5 to 2 hours, 4.5 on 3,256 reviews. For food, the French Quarter Food History walk: $85, five eateries, up to nine samples.
Book direct
Seven New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides lead: one storytelling walk, three ghost walks, two food walks and the carriage ride.
★ 4.8 · 1,498 reviews
★ 4.5 · 3,256 reviews
★ 4.6 · 1,114 reviews
★ 4.7 · 198 reviews
★ 4.9 · 888 reviews
★ 4.8 · 316 reviews
★ 4.8 · 696 reviews
Every trip, current fare
The nine New Orleans walking tours French Quarter visitors can book here, sorted by price, with cost per hour so a one-hour carriage ride and a 5.5-hour food day line up fairly.
| Tour | Length | Price | What you get | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans: French Quarter Ghost Tour with Interior VisitGhost stories across the French Quarter | 2 h | $30 | with a licensed guide | $15.00 | 4.6 · 1,114 |
| New Orleans Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire Historic FQ TourStorytelling tales of ghosts | 1.5 - 2 h | $33 | through the historic French Quarter | — | 4.5 · 3,256 |
| French Quarter: Small-Group Storytelling Walking TourHidden courtyards behind historic buildings | 2 h | $33 | past St. Louis Cathedral | $16.50 | 4.8 · 1,498 |
| New Orleans: Ghost, Crime, Voodoo, and Vampires Guided TourStory selection changes weekly | 1.5 - 2 h | $37 | through French Quarter streets | — | 4.7 · 198 |
| New Orleans: 1-Hour French Quarter Sightseeing Carriage RidePast St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square | 60 min | $65 | by mule-drawn carriage | $65.00 | 4.8 · 696 |
| New Orleans Food Tour: Taste & Stories of the French QuarterSample dishes, hear their stories | 2.5 h | $67 | with a local guide | $26.80 | 4.8 · 316 |
| New Orleans: French Quarter Food History Walking TourUp to 9 food samples | 3 h | $85 | at 5 French Quarter eateries | $28.33 | 4.9 · 888 |
| New Orleans: Food Walking Tour & Cooking Demonstration ClassCooking demonstration class after the walk | 5.5 h | $127 | through the French Quarter | $23.09 | 5.0 · 13 |
| New Orleans: Combo Cocktail and Food History TourFour cocktails and six food samples | 4 h | $160 | through New Orleans food venues | $40.00 | 4.9 · 198 |
By day
Of the walking tours of New Orleans French Quarter streets on this site, one runs by day, three after dark and four around food; the carriage is the seated option.
Of the New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides lead in daylight, this site has one: the Small-Group Storytelling walk at $33. Two hours in a small group, St. Louis Cathedral and the hidden courtyards behind historic buildings, with the guide telling the history as stories. It carries 4.8 on 1,498 reviews, the most of any of the eight sightseeing tours on this site.
The carriage ride covers some of the same ground sitting down: one hour in a mule-drawn carriage with a guide, past St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square, at $65 and 4.8 on 696 reviews. Per hour it costs nearly four times the walk, and what that buys is a seat and a shorter outing.
If you also want a bus, the two- or three-day hop-on hop-off ticket at $47 includes a walking tour of the Garden District or the French Quarter. The 1.5 hours on that listing is the length of the walk, not of the bus ticket.
After dark
Three New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides run after dark are ghost walks, all between $30 and $37.
Which is the best ghost tour New Orleans French Quarter evenings offer depends on the kind of story you want. The tours tell the stories; none of the listings asks you to believe them.
The most reviewed is the Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire walk: $33, 1.5 to 2 hours, 4.5 on 3,256 reviews. It is described as an immersive storytelling walk through the historic French Quarter, with tales of ghosts and the stories that made them.
The lowest priced is the French Quarter Ghost Tour with Interior Visit: $30, two hours with a licensed guide, 4.6 on 1,114 reviews. The interior visit is in its title; the description does not say which building, so check the listing if that is why you chose it.
The best rated of the three is the Ghost, Crime, Voodoo, and Vampires walk: $37, 1.5 to 2 hours, 4.7 on 198 reviews. Its story selection changes weekly and may feature vampires, star-crossed lovers, true crime, ghosts and Voodoo.
If you are picking a New Orleans ghost tour French Quarter night walk on numbers alone, the $33 walk has the most reviews and the $37 walk the highest rating. The ghost tours guide sets them next to a cemetery at night and a bus.
With food
Four New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides lead are built around food.
Which is the best food tour New Orleans French Quarter guides run? On reviews and rating together, the French Quarter Food History walk: $85 for three hours, five eateries and up to nine food samples, 4.9 on 888 reviews. The Taste & Stories tour is the lower-priced option at $67 for 2.5 hours with a local guide, 4.8 on 316 reviews.
Two longer days start in the Quarter too. The cocktail and food history tour at $160 runs four hours with four cocktails and six food samples, from a seafood grill in the French Quarter to a family-owned candy store, 4.9 on 198 reviews. The food walk with a cooking demonstration class at $127 runs 5.5 hours; it is rated 5.0, on 13 reviews so far.
The food tour guide compares these four with the three cooking classes, from $43.
Which one if…
Six situations, and which of the New Orleans walking tours French Quarter listings fits each.
The Small-Group Storytelling walk, $33. It names St. Louis Cathedral and hidden courtyards, and it has the most reviews of the daytime options.
The carriage ride: one hour seated in a mule-drawn carriage, past St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square, $65, 4.8 on 696 reviews.
The Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire walk for the most reviews, $33, or the Ghost, Crime, Voodoo, and Vampires walk for the highest rating, $37.
Five options: the storytelling walk at $33, three ghost walks from $30 to $37, and the hop-on hop-off ticket at $47 with a walk included.
The French Quarter Food History walk, $85 for five eateries, or the Taste & Stories tour at $67 if 2.5 hours suits you better.
Add the Garden District walk: two hours, from $35, with a peek inside Lafayette Cemetery.
Is it worth it
On the numbers, yes. The storytelling walk works out at $16.50 an hour, the ghost walks at $15.00 to about $24.67 an hour, and the food walks at $23.09 to $40.00 an hour with the tastings and drinks included. The carriage is $65 for its single hour.
The reviews agree. The nine French Quarter tours on this page carry 8,177 reviews between them, and none is rated below 4.5. Ranked by rating, the best walking tours New Orleans French Quarter visitors have reviewed here are the Food History walk, 4.9 on 888 reviews, and the storytelling walk, 4.8 on 1,498 reviews.
Where New Orleans walking tours French Quarter guides earn their fee is what a map does not give you: the courtyards behind historic buildings on the storytelling walk, the five eateries on the food walk, the guide’s stories on the ghost walks. The weakest case is the carriage, where you pay for a seat rather than for more to see.
Beyond the Quarter
The swamp tour New Orleans French Quarter pickup question has a listing-by-listing answer: transport is set out on each listing, and one airboat trip leaves from Lafitte, south of the city, from $50. None of the 33 listings puts a swamp inside the Quarter, so a New Orleans swamp tour near French Quarter hotels means a boat on the waterways: the covered pontoon boat from $31 or the airboat. The swamp tour guide compares them.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is a separate 55-minute walk inside the cemetery at $25, 4.6 on 1,889 reviews; the cemetery tours guide covers it. For the mansions, the Garden District walks start at $35.
All 33 tours, from river cruises to swamps, are compared by price band on the home page.
Compare all 33 tours→Common questions
From $30 for the ghost walk with a licensed guide and $33 for the two-hour storytelling walk by day. Food walks run $67 to $160, and the one-hour carriage ride is $65.
Two hours for the storytelling walk and the lowest-priced ghost walk, 1.5 to 2 hours for the other two ghost walks, and 2.5 to 5.5 hours for the food walks. The carriage ride is one hour.
The Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire walk, with 4.5 on 3,256 reviews. By day, the storytelling walk leads with 4.8 on 1,498 reviews.
The storytelling walk and the carriage ride both name St. Louis Cathedral as a sight on the way; neither listing says the tour goes inside. The storytelling walk lists hidden courtyards behind historic buildings among what you see.
The French Quarter Ghost Tour with Interior Visit has it in its title, at $30 for two hours. Its description does not name the building, so check the listing before you book.
Yes. The two- or three-day hop-on hop-off ticket at $47 includes a walking tour of the Garden District or the French Quarter, rated 4.5 on 370 reviews.
Yes. All nine tours on this page carry free cancellation; the cut-off time is on each listing.
Go deeper
New Orleans swamp tours compared: covered boats, airboats and the combos with a plantation, by price and length.
Airboat toursAirboat swamp tours from New Orleans compared: price, ride length and the combos with a plantation.
Swamp boat toursCovered swamp boats from New Orleans compared: pontoon and tour-boat cruises, price and length.
Ghost toursNew Orleans ghost tours compared: French Quarter story walks, voodoo and vampire tales, and a cemetery bus at night.
Cemetery toursNew Orleans cemetery tours: inside St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, a cemetery at night and a city-and-cemetery bus.
Walking toursNew Orleans walking tours compared: French Quarter stories, the Garden District, cemeteries and food walks.
French Quarter: Small-Group Storytelling Walking Tour
★ 4.8 · 1,498 reviews · 2 hours