Black History trips to New Orleans

AM – City tour and street food

Gaze at the spectacular sights of New Orleans during an unforgettable 3-hour city tour. With a professional guide, cruise past historical highlights like the French Quarter and the Garden District while listening to illuminating commentary. See the lakefront area and the 17th street canal where the canal bank was breached by hurricane Katrina and delve into the city’s rich history as you take a tour of the best museums in New Orleans.

During the trip, stop at Deja Vieux food park in the Lower Garden District near the river for a casual lunch in a relaxed atmosphere. This popular street food spot hosts a number of revolving food trucks alongside resident food trucks Soulstation Kitchen and Johnny’s Jamaican Grill offer tasty, informal food to visitors and locals alike

PM – Visit the Whitney Plantation

Travel by private coach to the Whitney Plantation, just outside New Orleans. The Whitney is well known for being one of the very few plantations open to visitors which focuses on the experiences and first-person stories of the enslaved peoples rather than the lives and homes of the plantation owner. There are permanent exhibits in the visitor centre, such as History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery in Louisiana.

The group will take a guided tour and learn about the history of slavery at Habitation Haydel, the knowledgeable guide will lead your group through memorials and historic structures while speaking about the daily lives and legacies of the men, women, and children, that were enslaved by members of the Haydel family from 1830 -1860. In addition to this tour, visitors may download the free “Whitney Plantation” app to their phones and take this tour before or after their group experience. This audio tour is an hour a 15 minutes and provides content about history not covered in the staff-led tor. Whitney Plantation located at 5099 Highway 18 in Wallace, Louisiana on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

AM – Enjoy a private guided tour of the Treme neighbourhood

The Treme neighbourhood of New Orleans is the oldest Black neighbourhood in America. Running from the North Rampart Street to Saint Bernard Street. Founded in 1783, this was the only place in America during the Slave Trade where Black people and other people of colour purchased land and homes with regularity.

Saint Augustine Catholic Church in Treme is the oldest Black parish in America. Founded in 1841, both free and enslaved Black people worshipped at Saint Augustine’s. Many civil rights activists, including Homer Plessy, whose infamous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson introduced the doctirne “separate but equal” in the Jim Crow era, worshipped at St. Augustine. The train station where Plessy was removed from a train for riding in the “whites only” section – the crime that sparked the Supreme Court case – is nearby.

Also located in the Treme is the New Orleans African American Museum dedicated to protecting, preserving, and promoting through education the history, art, and communities of African Americans in New Orleans and the African Diaspora. The museum reopened in 2019 after a six year closure and $2mil renovation.

The group will also visit Congo Square, inside the Louis Armstrong Park. The wide-open space is the site of concerts, weddings, festivals and historical celebrations. But in 1817, Congo Square was, by city ordinance, the only place where Black people could congregate. Fearing insurrections by the enslaved people, enslavers and other city leaders did not want Black people to be able to congregate in private. The wide-open space offered enslavers surveillance, and many enslaved people took their only free day from forced labour, Sunday, to play music, dance, and sell goods in the marketplace for a chance to buy their freedom or escape. These musical celebrations were opportunities for enslaved people to reinforce their African culture and traditions, many of which live on in the celebrations held at the Square today.

Visit the Backstreet Cultural Museum located in Treme, this museum has the most comprehensive collection of African American New Orleanians’ processional traditions in the world. Here you can learn about Indigenous Mardi Gras traditions, second line parades and jazz funerals.

Lunch break locally

If you are looking for a crash course in Creole cuisine, try historic and famous Lil’Dizzy’s Cafe right in the Treme. Check out their Creole and Southern classics, including jambalaya, greens, grits, catfish, bread pudding, biscuits, mac ‘n’ cheese, seafood gumbo, and a closely guarded fried chicken recipe that has been in the family for decades.

PM – Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Historic Mississippi River Cruise

Sail down this Mississippi River on a classic Paddlewheeler boat. Enjoy narration from a licensed historian and stop part-way through the trip to learn about the Battle of New Orleans. Disembark at the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, where you can tour the Chalmette Battlefield including the Malus-Beauregard House and the Chalmette Monument before re-boarding for the return cruise.

AM – Free time to explore New Orleans

Enjoy this free time to explore New Orleans at your own pace, taking in the sites that you want to see. We would recommend popping into Johnny’s Po’Boys operating out of the same French Quarter storefront since 1950. This family owned lunch counter has nearly 50 oversized Po’Boys (traditional baguette sandwiches) on the menu. Alternatively, why not visit Cafe du Monde, for New Orleans’ signature pastry, the beignet, first introduced to the city by the French immigrants who made up the city’s first European settlers. Each light, puffy treat is a fried fritter of yeasted dough, dusted with powdered sugar and best eaten fresh, with a cup of coffee to wash it down.

PM – Return Journey

Private transfers back to the airport for your overnight flight back to the UK, where you will arrive the following morning.