The 3 Best Landmarks in New Orleans
Ranked by our editorial Friend Score and filterable to exactly what you want — every pick verified and sourced, the way a local friend would tell it.
- 1Jackson Square#1of 3free
The postcard heart of the French Quarter — a landscaped square facing St. Louis Cathedral, ringed by an iron fence hung with local artists' work, plus street musicians, tarot readers, and the Pontalba buildings. Free, open daily roughly 8am to dusk. Come at breakfast for the light and calm; midday it's a happy circus.
jackson squarefrench quarterst louis cathedralfree things to dostreet artistsstreet music - 2St. Louis Cathedral#2of 3free
The triple-spired cathedral presiding over Jackson Square — the oldest continuously active Catholic cathedral in the United States, on a site used for worship since 1727. Free to enter daily (roughly 9:30am-4pm), and it's an active parish, so visits pause for weddings, funerals, and Mass. Fifteen quiet minutes inside is worth it.
cathedralchurchjackson squarefrench quartercatholicfree - 3St. Louis Cemetery No. 1#3of 3$$
The city's oldest surviving cemetery (1789) — above-ground tombs including Marie Laveau's and the future resting pyramid of Nicolas Cage. The Archdiocese closed it to unescorted visitors after vandalism, so entry is by licensed guided tour only, about $33 adult, roughly 45 minutes, daily. Fascinating, but it's a paid tour or nothing.
cemeterymarie laveaunicolas cage tombvoodooguided tourabove-ground tombs
