Becoming New Orleans: A French Quarter Living History Tour

How did New Orleans become New Orleans? On this two-hour Living Legacy walk through the French Quarter, discover the people, cultures and events that transformed a colonial settlement beside the Mississippi into one of America's most distinctive cities. Beginning at 768 Decatur Street, you'll learn to read the French Quarter through its streets, architecture, courtyards, public spaces and surviving colonial landmarks. Explore the Indigenous knowledge that helped shape the city's location, French and Spanish rule, African influence, slavery and free people of color, Creole identity, Caribbean connections, immigration, religion, commerce and the fires that changed the Quarter forever. This isn't simply a tour of old buildings and famous names. As the story unfolds, places you thought you understood begin to look different. By the end, you won't just know more New Orleans history. You'll know how to see the evidence of that history hiding in plain sight.