Spring Blooms in New Orleans
March 25 - 30, 2027
March 25 - 30, 2027
What a wonderful trip (even if we do say so ourselves)! Huron Tours has spent considerable time in gardens with our travelers over the 35+ years we've been bringing people on garden tours. Our New Orleans garden tours are some of the best days we've experienced, and we love running these tours every year.
New Orleans in spring is marvelous, and Easter is an especially magical time! The city is buzzing with our unique cultural traditions and celebrations and its beautiful gardens are coming alive. The days are getting warmer but humidity is still relatively low. This is the perfect time for enjoying the splendid list of gardens and special activities included on this exclusive tour.
In addition to great gardens, March is the perfect time to enjoy New Orleans’ wonderful outdoor dining scene and explore our historic neighborhoods.
We know people have heard a lot about, and fall in love with New Orleans. This year we've combined the best of our previous year's tours into a wonderful itinerary. Please read on for a detailed itinerary, then come join us in New Orleans on this very special adventure.
Beautiful Hotel Monteleone
Thursday, March 25
Arrival, Check-In to the Hotel Monteleone & Welcome Dinner at Antoine’s Restaurant
Travel from your home town to the brand new, state of the art New Orleans' Louis Armstrong International airport (MSY). If you prefer to drive to New Orleans, let us send you a list of convenient parking options.
Arrive in New Orleans and settle in to the family-owned Grand Dame of New Orleans – the Hotel Monteleone, located in the heart of the French Quarter. With its magnificent exterior, fascinating history, Carousel Bar, and well-appointed guest rooms, the Monteleone is THE place to stay while you explore this vibrant city. The building, dating to 1886, features stunning Beaux-Arts-style architecture, which became widely popular in Gilded Age America.
At the end of our touring days you can browse unique and eclectic art galleries as well as a variety of antique shops located just outside our door.
Every comfortable guest room is filled with thoughtful amenities and delightful little extras like complimentary wireless Internet, Keurig coffee maker, in-room refrigerator, marble and granite bathrooms, iron and ironing board, robes, hair dryer and laptop size electronic safe.
This evening, join your fellow travelers for a short stroll for a very special, private "welcome to New Orleans" dinner at our beloved Antoine's Restaurant, operating out of the same location since 1840. We'll enjoy a special tour of the restaurant's many private rooms and secret passages, before spending some time together enjoying a lovely multi-course meal with wine in one of the restaurant’s most famous private dining spaces – The Rex Room, named after the King of Carnival
George Rodrigue's
famous Blue Dog in the
New Orleans sculpture garden
Friday, March 26
New Orleans Botanical Garden, Lunch at Ralph’s on the Park, Besthoff Sculpture Garden, Free Evening
This morning we'll head out via private deluxe motor-coach for the short drive to the wonderful hidden gem that is the New Orleans Botanical Garden.
Located in vibrant City Park and opened in 1936 as New Orleans’ first classical garden, the charming collection consists of over 2,000 varieties of plants from all over the world, set among the Nation’s largest stand of mature Southern Live Oaks. The site also contains the Conservatory of the Two Sisters, the New Orleans Historic Train Garden, the Yakumo Nihon Teien Japanese Garden and theme gardens containing aquatics, roses, native plants, and ornamental trees, as well as shrubs and perennials. The garden is also home to an impressive collection of sculptures by the late Enrique Alvarez, the famed Mexican-American New Orleans artist. A local Louisiana Master Gardener will give us special insights during our visit.
Just across from City Park, on a street lined with stately live oak trees draped with Spanish moss, is the outstanding Ralph's on the Park, our perfect stop for lunch. Built in 1860 by a French immigrant to serve as a coffee shop and concession stand for the nearby park, the building is as amazing as the food. We'll enjoy a fresh iced-tea (or a Ramos Gin Fizz) on our private veranda ("gallery" as folks in the South call it) before enjoying a wonderful lunch in our private dining room. This is a very special setting.
Following lunch, we’ll have the pleasure of a visit to the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a stunning eleven acre space of meandering footpaths dedicated to showcasing over ninety sculptures from a wide variety of artists including Renoir, Rodin, Rene Magritte and Roy Lichtenstein. The sculpture garden is set beneath Cypress and Magnolia trees along with native plants and peaceful lagoons is a true delight.
This evening dinner is on your own. Don't worry - John and Katie have a great restaurant list of their favorite restaurants in New Orleans, many of which are within easy walking distance of your hotel. You may also want to consider making a reservation at some of our world famous dining establishments like Emeril's, Commander’s Palace, Galatoire’s or Mr. B's, a New Orleans classic. We’ll also be sure to include our favorite smaller, local places where you can dine out in a lovely courtyard or under oak trees filled with sparkling lights.
Beautiful spring roses at Longue Vue
Saturday, March 27
Longue Vue House & Gardens, Tea at Windsor Court, Carriage Ride, Free Evening
This morning we'll make the short drive to the wonderful hidden gem of Longue Vue House and Gardens where we will enjoy a private tour. Longue Vue was born of the dreams of Edgar and Edith Stern, pillars of the New Orleans community, and is a wonderful charming oasis of beauty. The house is one of the last great houses to be custom-built in America, taking the Platt brothers three years (1939-1942) to create.
Edgar and Edith Stern were energized by two ideas: beauty and civic responsibility. The intersection of these two ideas is exemplified in their serene home and gardens. This multifaceted historic estate featuring a world-class house museum and eight acres of stunning gardens.
The ever-changing gardens of Longue Vue provide an inspiring destination year-round but especially in the spring when the unparalleled collection of Louisiana irises are in bloom. We'll explore the gardens' gentle curves uncovering hidden rooms, quiet spots for meditation, and incredible craftsmanship. The collection includes a stunning alley of Oaks; the "Pan Garden" providing a lovely setting for a sculpture of Pan, the Greek God of nature and planted with Japanese magnolias, sweet olives, and amaryllis; the ”Yellow Garden,”; the ”Spanish Court Garden,”; the ”Canal Garden”; and the "Walled Garden" which was originally designed as a kitchen garden and served as a “victory garden” during WWII. The designs for these "rooms" were inspired by Edith Stern's travels around the world, and she brought materials, and craftsmen, back to New Orleans to implement these gorgeous designs.
Next, to help punctuate a wonderful time spent at Longue Vue, we will we experience the delightful New Orleans tradition of afternoon tea at The Windsor Court (New Orleans' most luxurious and expensive hotel!)
A table filled with fresh cut flowers adorns the entry to Windsor Court Hotel, where we will arrive for our afternoon tea. This isn't just any afternoon tea - but "Royal Tea" featuring the finest loose-leaf teas, an incredible first course of assorted tea sandwiches as well as smoked salmon and caviar canapés, strawberry and walnut scones, and assorted sweets featuring tartlets and petits fours. You'll also enjoy a nice glass of sparkling wine, Chardonnay, or Spanish sherry, to sip while the harpist helps you soak in the exquisite atmosphere.
After tea, your private New Orleans’ carriage awaits! Your “buggy ride” through the French Quarter drops you back at the doorstep of the Hotel Monteleone and offers an excellent overview of this iconic neighborhood. The perfect ending to a truly quintessential New Orleans day.
It is always fun to get out on the mighty Mississippi and our Easter Brunch Cruise will have great music, food, and people watching!
Sunday, March 28
Easter Brunch Jazz Cruise on the Steamboat Natchez, Private Cooking Class
We’ll have a later start this morning before our Easter Brunch Jazz Cruise on the Mississippi River! This festive 2-hour event aboard the Steamboat Natchez features sweeping river views, a live New Orleans jazz band, and a Creole-inspired buffet.
After a free afternoon to experience all that Easter Sunday in the French Quarter has to offer (parades, costumes, revelry) we have a fun evening planned at the Mardi Gras School of Cooking. Our hands-on cooking experience will teach us the secrets of traditional New Orleans cuisine as our expert chef guides us through each step, ensuring we create delicious, authentic dishes. At the end of the perpetration, we'll sit down together and enjoy what we have created!
Such a great lunch this afternoon!
Monday, March 29
Private tour of the Garden District, Lunch at Brennan’s
Love at first sight is a common experience for first time visitors to the Garden District. If you picture New Orleans in your mind’s eye, you will surely conjure this neighborhood with its majestic, manicured and inspiring grand mansions and live-oaks hundreds of years old that punctuate this quiet, quirky, and charming place.
We've got a wonderful walking tour lined up for you today, with a local expert to help inform us on what makes this neighborhood so special. Home to authors, NFL quarterbacks, important New Orleans personalities, and Hollywood stars (one year during our tour we were just in time to see John Goodman take out his trash!) it has all the glamor of a bygone era and you’ll be regaled with stories as we slowly meander our way through its cobblestone streets.
We’ll also learn about Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, the oldest of the seven municipal, city-operated cemeteries in New Orleans. There are over 1,100 family tombs and more than 7,000 people buried in the cemetery located in a single city block.
After our time in the garden district we’ll head back to the French Quarter for a memorable lunch at Brennan’s Restaurant, a New Orleans institution. For nearly seven decades, this fine dining landmark has charmed the palates and hearts of patrons with its splendid ambiance, impeccable service and innovative Creole cuisine featuring influences from the city’s French and Spanish ancestry. We’ll dine privately in the restaurant’s glamorous ‘Queen’s Room’ a dazzling tribute to feminine reign celebrating the opulence of dining in a city where dining revelry is taken seriously.
Following our fabulous lunch, you’ll have the late afternoon and evening free to continue your Crescent City explorations. Are you interested in a Haunted History Tour? A jazz performance at Preservation Hall? A visit to the cocktail museum? Some time at Harrah’s Casino? Let us know so we can help you make it happen
Tuesday, March 30
Depart for home with wonderful memories!
Sadly, all great trips must come to an end! You'll leave New Orleans with a new appreciation for this magical city, having experienced it "like a local” with a small group of fellow gardeners to make the experience that much more special.
Extend your time in New Orleans
There is so much to see in New Orleans! Why not extend your stay with special hotel rates and some activity recommendations? We boast the award-winning World War II Museum (worth two days visit alone), great boutique shopping along Magazine Street, lovely art galleries along Julia street, Swamp Boat and bayou tours, and much, much more!
A $500 per person deposit will hold your space. Please use the link above or below to access our secure online shopping cart. If you'd like to reserve over the phone, we'd be happy to talk to you and can be reached at either (504) 267-2057 or (800) 734-1192.
