Arts and culture fill New Orleans to the brim. Art galleries pepper every street, and music is always playing somewhere. Whether you are looking for a place to appreciate art or learn local history, New Orleans has a museum for you. 

Hermann-Grima and Gallier Historic Houses 

One common type of museum in New Orleans is the historic house museum, which allows you to experience how people of times past lived while learning some valuable history while you’re at it. The Hermann-Grima and Gallier Historic Houses are located amidst the hubbub of the French Quarter and are staged in their original 19th-century grandeur. Built and inhabited by wealthy families in the 1800s, the guided tours offer an insight into the families’ lives as well as the enslaved people who lived and worked on the grounds. 

Storyville Museum 

Located in the French Quarter, the Storyville Museum exhibits the history of New Orleans’ red-light district and the factors that led to its foundation. This newly opened 18-plus venue takes you on an immersive journey through Storyville, a neighborhood in New Orleans home to legal brothels until 1917 as an attempt by officials to control the city’s more unsavory activities. Though a lesser-known part of the city’s past, the people who lived and worked in the district are no less important to New Orleans’ history. 

Ogden Museum of Southern Art 

This museum in the Downtown Arts District highlights artists from every state in the American South, from Louisiana to Washington D.C. Focusing on visual arts in conversation with Southern music and foodways, the Ogden strives to tell a full history of the American South through traditional art exhibits as well as film screenings and lectures by artists and historians.  

Southern Food and Beverage Museum 

A food lover’s paradise, this museum highlights Southern culinary history through interactive aspects. A section of the building is dedicated to part of the Museum of the American Cocktail, where you can explore the history of your favorite alcoholic beverage. It includes a large division devoted to absinthe, which plays an integral part in New Orleans’ history. There is also a show kitchen in the main museum and a learning kitchen in the back where you can book classes to learn classic Southern and Creole dishes.  

Le Musee de f.p.c 

Located on Esplanade Avenue, Le Musee de f.p.c is a gorgeous historic house museum. It is one of the only institutions in the country to highlight the stories of free people of color. With a population of over 20,000 in the antebellum era, free people of color in New Orleans were business owners, skilled artisans and doctors, among other professions. Free people of color played an important part in the history of New Orleans, and Le Musee de f.p.c is dedicated to preserving the culture of this underrepresented group.  

The National World War II Museum 

This incredibly expansive museum tells the story of World War II in America, including New Orleans’ contribution to the war effort. The museum covers seven acres and includes three eateries and an associated hotel. Through immersive and interactive exhibits, the National World War II Museum tells an incredibly comprehensive history that would take days to fully experience.  

The Backstreet Cultural Museum 

Located in the Tremé, the oldest African American neighborhood in the country, The Backstreet Cultural Museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts relating to unique Louisiana traditions such as Mardi Gras Indians and Jazz Funerals. Along with its exhibits, the Backstreet Cultural Museum puts on music and dance performances and publishes an annual book documenting that year’s jazz funerals. Its expansive collection of Mardi Gras Indian costumes and recorded media get visitors as close as they can get to experience Mardi Gras in Tremé without having to be there on the holiday.