Organized Tours

There are some advantages to taking tours. Though many are touristy (by definition), someone else does the planning, it's an easy way to get to outlying areas, and if the tour guide is good, you should learn a lot in an entertaining way. For tours to the swamps and plantation homes, you'll be saving the earth a bit by carpooling (well, buspooling). It's also comforting to know that New Orleans tour guides must be licensed, a process that involves rigorous study and testing. So at least in theory, not just anyone can load you on a bus and take you for a (literal or figurative) ride.

Be warned: Though we can't vouch for the accuracy of this information, we have heard reports that some hotel concierges and storefront tour offices take kickbacks from the tour companies they recommend -- a widespread practice around the world. Obviously, not every concierge is on the take, and some may have honest opinions about the merits of one company over another. Avoid this problem by doing the research yourself (if you're looking for a particular type of tour) and cut out the middleman; no matter how you learned about it, pay the fee directly to the company, not to your concierge. No reputable firm will insist you pay someone else first. In addition, except for the consistently outstanding Historic New Orleans Tours, most tour companies seem to be hit-or-miss, depending on the guide you get.

In the French Quarter

Historic New Orleans Tours (tel. 800/979-3370 or 504/947-2120; www.tourneworleans.com) is the place to go for authenticity rather than sensationalism. The guides are carefully chosen for their combination of knowledge and entertaining manner, and we cannot recommend them enough. The daily French Quarter tours are the best straightforward, nonspecialized walking tours of this neighborhood. They also offer tours themed around voodoo, jazz, and haunted buildings, plus a combo Hurricane/City Rebirth tour and the terrific, adults-only Scandalous Cocktail tour, which strings a series of fascinating tales around local bars and cocktails. It delves into historic brothels, organized crime, and the JFK assassination. The colorful bartenders, when not too busy, also tell their own tales (do pace your drinking, though!). The majority of tours are $20 for adults, $15 students and seniors with ID, $7 children 6 to 12, free for 5 and under. The Scandalous Cocktail and Creole Mourning tours are $25 per person. The 3-hour Hurricane/Rebirth tour requires reservations; the cost is $40 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under.

The nonprofit volunteer group Friends of the Cabildo (tel. 504/524-9118; www.friendsofthecabildo.org) also offers an excellent 2-hour walking tour of the Quarter. It leaves from in front of the 1850 House Museum Store, at 523 St. Ann St., on Jackson Square. The fee is $15 per adult; it's free for children 12 and under accompanied by an adult. Tours leave Tuesday through Sunday at 10am and 1:30pm, except holidays. Reservations aren't necessary -- just show up about 15 minutes early.

Stop by the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve's Folklife and Visitor Center, 419 Decatur St., near Conti Street (tel. 504/589-2636; www.nps.gov/jela), for details on its excellent free walking tour conducted by National Park Service rangers. The History of New Orleans tour covers about a mile in the French Quarter along the riverfront and brings to life the city's history and the ethnic roots of its unique cultural mix. No reservations are required, but only 25 people are taken in a group. The tour starts at 9:30am daily (except for Mardi Gras and Christmas); the office opens at 9am, and it's strongly suggested that you get there then to ensure that you get a ticket.

Roberts Batson offers a Gay Heritage Tour, by appointment only. These last roughly 2 1/2 hours and generally cost $20 per person (tel. 504/945-6789; info@southerndecadence.net; www.southerndecadence.net).

For 25 years, Inez Douglas has guided Heritage Literary Tours (tel. 504/451-1082). Originated by the esteemed author and professor Kenneth Holditch, the tours stop at spots where the greats and the pretty-goods lived, played, wrote, and caroused. Tours can be designed around a specific author such as John Kennedy Toole or Tennessee Williams and nonliterary topics as well. Group tours (2 1/2-hr. walking tour, $20 per person for adults, three people minimum) are scheduled by appointment only.

Le Monde Creole (tel. 504/568-1801; www.mondecreole.com) offers a unique tour that uses the dramatic lives of one classic Creole family as a microcosm of the Creole world of the 19th century. This is the sister operation of Laura Plantation. At the city location, you can learn about Creole city life and the extraordinary story of Laura's family, off the plantation and in the Vieux Carré, while viewing French Quarter courtyards associated with the family. This is probably the only operation that also offers tours in French. Currently, tours (which include a visit to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and the voodoo temple on Rampart) depart daily at 10:30am (English) and 10am (French) daily. All tours by advance reservation only, so call in advance. Prices are $22 adults, $16 students and active military, $10 children 4 to 10, and free for kids 3 and under.

Beyond the French Quarter

Author Robert Florence (who has written two excellent books about New Orleans cemeteries) loves his work, and his Historic New Orleans Tours (tel. 800/979-3370 or 504/947-2120; www.tourneworleans.com) are full of meticulously researched facts and more than a few good stories. A very thorough tour of the Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery (a section of town not many of the other companies go into) leaves daily at 11am and 1:45pm from the Garden District Book Shop (in the Rink, corner of Washington Ave. and Prytania St.); arrive about 15 minutes before departure. Rates are $20 adults, $15 students with ID and seniors, $7 children 6 to 12, and free children 5 and under. The same company also offers a 2 1/2-hour walking tour of the historic Treme neighborhood for $30 per person (as does the African American Museum). All tours require reservations; contact them for times and meeting places.

Tours by Isabelle (tel. 504/398-0365; www.toursbyisabelle.com) offers eight different tours for small groups in passenger vans, the majority of which are plantation and swamp tours. They also do an extensive Post-Katrina Tour ($65 per person). It is 70 miles long and takes 3 1/2 hours. It shows the French Quarter, City Park, and other important places in the city's early history, as well as post-Katrina damage and sights. The tour departs at 8:30am and 1pm. Make reservations as far in advance as possible. Isabelle's 4-hour New Orleans Combo-City Tour ($70 per person) adds Longue Vue House and Gardens to a tour of the French Quarter, St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, Bayou St. John, the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, and the Uptown and Downtown neighborhoods; the tour departs at 8:30am and 1pm. Plantation, bayou, and many other tours are also available; contact them for more information.

Gray Line, 2 Canal St., Ste. 1300 (tel. 800/535-7786 or 504/569-1401; www.graylineneworleans.com), also runs combination city and post-Katrina disaster tours. They were one of the first to do so, back when it was controversial and seen as exploitative, but it's handled with the proper respect. A portion of the ticket price still goes to relief causes. Gray Line also offers city, swamp, and plantation-home tours in comfortable coaches; a 2-hour cruise on the steamboat Natchez (www.steamboatnatchez.com); plus French Quarter walking tours for those who wish to see ghosts and gardens or explore the city's cocktail heritage.

Swamp Tours

In addition to the tour providers listed below, Isabelle, Historic New Orleans Tours, and Gray Line all offer swamp tours, which can be a hoot, particularly if you get a guide who calls alligators to your boat for a little snack of chicken (please keep your hands inside the boat -- they tend to look a lot like chicken to a gator). On all of the following tours, you're likely to see alligators, bald eagles, waterfowl, egrets, owls, herons, ospreys, feral hogs, otters, beavers, frogs, turtles, raccoons, deer, and nutria (maybe even a black bear or a mink) -- and a morning spent floating on the bayou can be mighty pleasant.

Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours (tel. 985/641-1769 or 504/242-5877; www.honeyislandswamp.com), at 41490 Crawford Landing Rd. in Slidell about 30 miles outside of New Orleans, takes you by boat into the interior of Honey Island Swamp to view wildlife with native professional naturalist guides (captains Charlie and Brian both grew up plying these waters). The guides provide a solid educational experience to go with the purer swamp excitement. Tours last approximately 2 hours. Prices are $23 for adults and $15 for children 11 and under if you drive to the launch site yourself; rates are $45 for adults and $32 for children if you want a hotel pickup in New Orleans.

Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours (tel. 800/445-4109; www.jeanlafitteswamptour.com) in Marerro offers "native Cajun" tour guides replete with lore about the flora, fauna, and legends on a swamp boat cruise through their privately owned bayou area -- as well as proximity to New Orleans. Speedy airboat tours are also available for the more adventurous. Tours last 1 hour, 45 minutes and include transportation from most downtown hotels for an additional fee. Prices are $25 for adults and $13 for children 3 to 12 for drive-ups; with transportation, prices are $49 for adults and $24 for children. Kids 2 and under are free with paid adult.

Pearl River Eco-Tours, 55050 Hwy. 90, Slidell (tel. 866/59-SWAMP [597-9267] or 504/581-3395; www.pearlriverecotours.com), is built on Southern hospitality. Captain Neil has been doing tours of Honey Island Swamp for over 10 years, and the other captains also know their stuff. The swamp is beautiful, even during the cooler months when the gators are less frisky. If you have a car, you can drive there and tour for $23 ($15 children 4-12). If transportation is provided from New Orleans, the cost is $49 for adults and $33 for children ages 4 to 12. Tours run at 10am and 2:30pm.

They're a little farther out and you'll need to provide your own transportation, but we'd be remiss if we didn't add two other excellent guides. Annie Miller's Son's Swamp and Marsh Tours, 3718 Southdown Mandalay Rd., Houma (tel. 800/341-5441 or 985/868-4758; www.annie-miller.com), and A Cajun Man's Swamp Cruise, 3109 Southdown Mandalay Rd., Houma (tel. 985/868-4625; www.cajunman.com). These neighbors are both so utterly authentic you'd swear that swamp water runs in their veins. Jimmy Miller, son of the legendary Alligator Annie, is carrying on in her down-home tradition but knows every inch of these swamps. Self-proclaimed Cajun Man Ron "Black" Guidry is an equally well-informed naturalist, and usually brings his guitar and accordion along on the boat. Both require reservations, call for schedules. Annie Miller's Sons: $15 adults, $12 children 4 to 12, free 3 and under. Tours run 2 to 2 1/2 hours. A Cajun Man: $25 adults and $15 children under 12; tours run about 2 hours.

Mystical & Mysterious Tours

Interest in the supernatural, ghostly side of New Orleans -- let's go right ahead and blame Anne Rice and subsequent stories of sparkly vampires -- has meant an increased number of tours catering to the vampire set. It has also resulted in some rather humorous infighting as rival tour operators have accused each other of stealing their shtick -- and customers. We enjoy a good nighttime ghost tour of the Quarter as much as anyone, but we also have to admit that what's available is really hit-or-miss in presentation (it depends on who conducts your particular tour) and more miss than hit with regard to facts. Go for the entertainment value, not for the education (with some exceptions). But just remember this: There was no New Orleans vampire tradition until Ms. Rice created one.

While most of the ghost tours are a bunch of loud, showy hokum, we are pleased that there is one we can send you to with a clear conscience: The Cemetery and Voodoo Tour offered by Historic New Orleans Tours (tel. 800/979-3370 or 504/947-2120; www.tourneworleans.com) is consistently fact- and not sensation-based, though no less entertaining. The trip goes through St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and Congo Square and visits an active voodoo temple. It leaves Monday through Saturday at 10am and 1pm (Sun at 10am only) from the courtyard at 334-B Royal St. Rates are $20 adults, $15 students and seniors, and free children 11 and under. They also offer a nighttime haunted tour, perhaps the only one in town where well-researched guides provide genuine thrills and chills. It leaves at 7:30pm from Bourbon-Oh! at the corner of Bourbon and Orleans streets. Finally, their fascinating Creole Mourning Tour incorporates visits to the Hermann-Grima House and St. Louis Cemetery #1. It's $25 and departs Monday to Saturday at 11am and 1pm (Sun at 9:30am and 11:30am) from 820 St. Louis St.; reservations are required.

Let's be perfectly clear. Vampires -- they're not real. But if they were real, they'd hang out in the French Quarter. Both are spooky. Both are centuries old. Both are sexy. It makes sense. Personally, we prefer our history with a bit of, well, history -- but if high drama is what you seek, the 1 1/2-hour New Orleans Vampire tour given by Haunted History Tours, 97 Fontainebleau Dr. (tel. 888/6-GHOSTS [644-6787] or 504/861-2727; www.hauntedhistorytours.com), dishes it out, complete with fake snakes, blood, and costumes. The tour departs daily at 8:30pm from outside St. Louis Cathedral (just look for the hordes). It costs $20 for adults, $17 students/seniors, $10 kids under 12, free kids under 6. Haunted History Tours also offers a range of vampire, cemetery, and nighttime French Quarter tours.

Creole Cooking Vacations

Visitors can take their New Orleans culinary experience one big, tasty step further at the New Orleans Cooking Experience (tel. 504/945-9104; www.neworleanscookingexperience.com), which offers personalized cooking classes, from half-day courses (10 people max) to multiday complete vacations. The latter includes classes, dining out, and most meals. Classes are taught at the House on Bayou Road, a charming 18th-century inn. Celebrated New Orleans Chef Frank Brigtsen has created the yummy course curriculum, which features classic New Orleans Creole dishes, taught by Brigtsen, Gerard Maras, and other high-profile local chefs. It's fun, informative, and likely to be fattening. C'est la vie. Single half-day classes are $150 per person and include recipes, a multicourse meal, and wines. Complete vacation classes are $290 and $385 for 2 and 4 days. Private classes, group rates, and multiple class rates are available by reservation.

Boat & Kayak Tours

For those interested in doing the Mark Twain thing, a few operators offer ways to get out on the rolling Mississippi. They're touristy, but they can be fun if you're in the right mood, and they're good for families. Docks are at the foot of Toulouse and Canal streets, and there's ample parking. Call for reservations (required) and to confirm prices and schedules. We think it best to skip the food -- too much time spent at the buffet is time better spent enjoying the river, and besides, you can find better food all over town.

The steamboat Natchez, 2 Canal St., Ste. 1300 (tel. 800/233-BOAT [233-2628] or 504/586-8777; www.steamboatnatchez.com), a marvelous three-deck stern-wheeler docked at the wharf behind the Jackson Brewery, offers at least two 2-hour daytime cruises Wednesday through Sunday, and a jazz dinner cruise Tuesday through Sunday. The narration is by professional guides, and the boat has a cocktail bar, live jazz, an engine room tour, an optional lunch on the first cruise of the day ($10 extra for ages 5 and up; the meal is $8 for kids 4 and under), and a gift shop. Daytime fares are $25 for adults and $13 for children; evening cruises without dinner are $42 for adults and $21 for children; kids 6 and under ride free with paid adult. Dinner cruises cost $68 for adults, $34 for children 6 to 12, and $13 for children 2 to 5. Times may change seasonally, so call ahead.

The paddle-wheeler Creole Queen, Riverwalk Dock (tel. 800/445-4109 or 504/529-4567; www.neworleanspaddlewheels.com), departs from the Poydras Street Wharf adjacent to the Riverwalk on Friday and Saturday afternoon for a 1 1/2-hour narrated excursion to the port and to the historic site of the Battle of New Orleans. There is also a 7pm jazz dinner cruise. The boat has a covered promenade deck and a snack bar, and its inner lounges are air-conditioned or heated as needed. Daytime fares are $20 for adults and $10 for children. The evening cruise is $40 for adults, $15 for children 6 to 12, and free for children 5 and under. Dinner adds $25 to the adult ticket and $20 to the 6- to 12-year-olds; dinner for kids 3 to 5 is $10.

Kayak-iti-Yat (tel. 985-778-5034; http://kayakitiyat.com) explains city lore from the unique perspective of a kayak along Bayou St. John. When the weather's right, it's a sublime way to explore some historic neighborhoods, City Park, and even Lake Pontchartrain (and at 4 hr., it's a good upper-body workout -- the better to justify last night's indulgent dinner). Guided kayak tours run daily at 9am and 2pm; costs are $60. Call for reservations and meeting spot directions. All equipment is provided, but bathroom stops are scant, so plan ahead. (Be sure to ask about their new Lazy Twilight Tour for sunset kayaking.)

Bicycle Tours

Confederacy of Cruisers (tel. 504/400-5468; www.confederacyofcruisers.com) offers a terrific way to explore some lesser-seen parts of this flat city up close and in depth. The pace is outright leisurely, so you needn't be a serious rider, but bike familiarity and a healthy dose of pluck will help you handle the hazards of potholes and traffic (including a stretch along busy Esplanade Ave.). Do opt-in to the optional helmets. The comfortable, well-maintained single-gear cruisers have baskets for your stuff, and a bottle of water is included (there's a restroom stop halfway through, but you'd be wise to take care of that before departure, too). The guide-led group (eight-person maximum) pulls over about every 10 minutes at such diverse stops as the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), St. Roch Cemetery, the Mother-in-Law Lounge, and St. Augustine Church, where guides offer up well-informed insights on history, culture, and architecture. They're full of restaurant recommendations, too (at press time, a culinary-themed bike tour was in development). Tours are $45 for 3 hours and depart twice daily from Washington Square Park on Frenchmen and Royal streets, on the outskirts of the French Quarter.

Carriage Tours

Corny it may be, but there is a sheepish romantic lure to an old horse-drawn carriage tour of the Quarter or beyond. (They're actually mules -- they handle heat and humidity better.) The mules are decked out with ribbons, flowers, and even hats, and the drivers seem to be in a fierce competition to win the "most entertaining" award. They share history and "unusual city" anecdotes of dubious authenticity, and will customize itineraries on request. Carriages wait on Decatur Street in front of Jackson Square from 8:30am to midnight (except in heavy rain). Private carriages are $75 per 1/2 hour for up to four people; share with other tourists for $15 per person per 1/2 hour. A 1 1/2-hour Garden District tour runs $225 for one to four people. Call tel. 504/943-8820 for custom tours and hotel pickups. Tip: Check www.royalcarriages.com for discount coupons.

Antiquing Tours

Antiquing in New Orleans can be an exhilarating if overwhelming experience. For expert guidance, Macon Riddle of Let's Go Antiquing! (tel. 504/899-3027; www.neworleansantiquing.com) will organize and customize antiques-shopping tours to fit your needs. Hotel pickup is included, and she will even make lunch reservations for you and arrange shipping of any purchases. Prices vary.