Historic Sites in New Orleans

"If you’re down in the CBD or headed toward the French Quarter, one small church lies hidden on Rampart Street. Peering through the doors, you see a rather simple sanctuary and some of the homeless asleep on the pews. The real beauty is to either side of the altar: the shrines to St. Jude and Our Lady of Guadalupe."

"Tours run twice every evening (5pm and 8pm) and include visits to the Lalaurie Mansion (where American Horror Story Coven was filmed), LaFitte’s Blacksmith Shop, and more. Our guide had plenty of creepy tales to share and clearly believed a lot of the ghost stories herself, which made it all the more fun. Our tour group was a little on the larger side, but otherwise, the experience was entertaining."

"Wander down to Governor Nicholls Street to see Lalaurie Mansion, once the home of actor Nicholas Cage, and one of the homes used for American Horror Story Coven. There are also other fancy homes like the New Orleans home of Angelina Jolie down this beautiful street."

"The Beauregard-Keyes House is significant and worth a tour for its Greek Revival architecture, lovely quaint garden, and for once having been the residence of Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, a New Orleans native who ordered the first shots of the Civil War and remained a hero in the South long after the war was lost. Ursuline nuns used the property from the early 1700s until the 1820s when the new house was designed to combine elements of a Creole cottage with Greek Revival features, including a Palladian facade, curved twin staircases, Tuscan portico, and generous dining room. In 1945, author Frances Parkinson Keyes was looking for a place to write and live in New Orleans."

"The Beauregard -Keyes House museum includes past residents such as Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard and American author Frances Parkinson Keyes. The house has elements of a Creole cottage with Greek Revival features, including a Palladian façade. It also has twin curved staircases leading to a Tuscan portico."

"This breakfast and lunch spot is a local favorite on Magazine Street. Slim Goodies serves classic comfort food with bold twists, all made with fresh ingredients (and lots of love). Everyone loves the slammers: hash browns slathered in something delicious – think crawfish étouffée or chili with bacon and cheddar cheese – but the sweet potato pancakes are not to be missed."

"What you're getting: The Creole Slammer If you haven’t had the Creole Slammer at Slim’s, you have yet to fully live. What could be better than a plate of hash browns and eggs than a plate of hash browns and eggs generously topped with crawfish étouffée and a buttermilk biscuit?. Fair warning: there’s a sizable wait on weekends if you don’t get there early enough."

"Ten years old and going strong, Magazine Street's quirky, always-slammed early morning to lunch time diner, is known for their Slammer options, a hangover-helper made with hashbrowns and scrambles of various sort (eggs, chili, tofu, what have you). There is also a potato latke/crawfish etouffee dish called the Jewish Coonass, not PC, but a fan favorite."

"This Jefferson Parish favorite has a bunch of locations, all of which seem to have that proto-diner essence down pat. The Kenner location is open 24 hours, meaning even is she's not ya mama, Dot can in fact make you "feel at home" any time of day. The blue plate specials include a country fried steak and a catfish plate, neither of which will set you back $10."

"Dot’s Diner is a 24/7 Diner that prides itself on serving home-cooked meals, always made fresh. Established in 1996, Dot’s has now grown to operating 4 locations in Louisiana. Their buttermilk pancakes are fluffy, slightly savory and always fresh."

"The Milk Bar is a counter ordering joint featuring great sandwiches, salads and shakes, for which they are most known for. Portion-wise, The Milk Bar gives you crazy bang for your buck, especially in terms of the sandwiches. Depending on if you are in a regular or zany mood, you can sample anything from a Roast Beef Po-Boy to a Caddle Fodder sandwich (a creative vegetable infused sandwich)."

"Carrollton Ave., (504) 309-3310; www.themilkbarneworleans.com. A Psycho chicken sandwich is topped with sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives, feta and mozzarella cheeses on ciabatta."

"Local music fans, neighborhood drinkers, and curious tourists all come to see one of the city's favorite sons, Kermit Ruffins, in action at his namesake bar. Inside has the feeling of a tricked-out family basement, but with Mardi Gras colored tiling. The drinks are cheap, the food is (often) free, and the music flows like the lifeblood of the Seventh Ward."

"Before visiting New Orleans for the third time last fall, I binge-watched the HBO series Treme on Amazon Prime. The show is named after the neighborhood north of the French Quarter, where jazz music was born in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Several of the lead characters are musicians; viewers are treated to a lot of terrific music."

"Are you looking for a great place to watch live entertainment around New Orleans, Louisiana?. If so, you should head on over to Kermit's Treme Mother in Law..."

"This unique museum was once the apothecary of America’s first licensed pharmacist. Located just steps away from Napoleon House, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum features a quirky array of pharmaceutical and medical memorabilia including antique surgical instruments and apothecary jars containing their original ingredients. Visitors can spend hours among all the medical curiosities and wonders of decades past."

"Some key points to check out in this small zone are: the artists along the street at Jackson Square, St Lous Cathedral (you can’t miss it), New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, and shopping for antiques on Royal Street. Of course, Bourbon street is here too and always popping even in the daytime."

"This magnificent Mid City Creole-Italian has survived it all, and while a post-Katrina renovation changed the layout of the restaurant, the food remains untouched by time; come for crispy paneed veal and luscious fettuccine alfredo, one of those old-school New Orleans combinations long-timers can’t get enough of, order the delicious red gravy that derives much of its sweetness from copious amounts of bell pepper, try the meatballs and the sausage, and the remarkably tasty pizzas, leading off with cold, crispy antipasto salads. You’re in good hands here. Dessert is next door at Angelo Brocato’s, one of America’s oldest (and best) Italian bakeries."

"Some Italian restaurants prefer to stick to one specific type of Italian dish when they put together their menus - think of an all pasta menu, and all seafood menu, or an all veal menu. Here at Venezia Restaurant, however, they prefer to let you keep your options open by offering up a little taste of everything for you to try. Whether they’re showcasing some fresh local seafood, some chicken parmesan, or even a whole pizza pie they’ve cooked up in their traditional stone oven, they’ve got a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy here at Venezia."

"Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 454-5885; www.thatsamorepizzaonline.com. A Chicago-style deep dish Veggie Lovers pie includes artichoke, mushrooms, spinach, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers and onions."

"This Sicilian family-run Chalmette icon is about a 20 drive from downtown, but well worth the trip with a cafeteria style operation where huge portions of macaroni and cheese, red gravy, stuffed peppers, and perfectly fried soft shell crabs are doled out on the daily."

"On a recent visit for $23, two of us had a meal that was packed home to easily feed six. There is a 20-minute wait for a four-piece order of perfectly executed fried chicken. It is worth the wait and comes with a side of whatever “vegetable” you choose."