Guided tours
HNOC offers a variety of guided tours. Details about field trips and school experiences are available on HNOC's Education webpage. For groups larger than 10 people or if you have questions, please contact tours@hnoc.org or call (504) 598-7145.
Piecing it Together: A Captive State Tour and Conversation
Available August 1, 2024–February 16, 2025
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 10–11:30 a.m.
HNOC welcome center, 520 Royal Street
Suggested price $5; free for members
This 90-minute tour explores the threads connecting slavery to modern mass incarceration in Louisiana. Along the way, visitors are invited into a conversation about how incarceration impacts our communities today.The tour starts promptly at 10 a.m., and latecomers will not be able to join. We suggest arriving 5–10 minutes early.
Mardi Gras Throws: It’s the Gettin’ Not the Havin’!
January 8–February 26, 2025
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 12:30–1 p.m.
520 Royal Street, Tricentennial Wing, 1st Floor
Free with museum admission, no separate registration required.
From sweet treats handed from ladies in carriages, to today's wonderfully colorful souvenir trinkets of sparkling and blinking plastic, Mardi Gras throws have a long history in the celebration of Carnival in New Orleans, but they also bring unintended consequences. Just in time for the 2025 Carnival season, HNOC is excited to offer our seasonal pop-up talk about the history and challenges brought by the most iconic symbol of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans Mosaic: Tour of the French Quarter Galleries
Friday–Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
520 Royal Street, 3rd floor
Admission $10, free for members
Advance registration encouraged
Join us for a 35-minute guided tour of the French Quarter Galleries, featuring historic objects and images from the Historic New Orleans Collection's holdings that explore more than 300 of years of French Quarter history. From fascinating stories about immigrant communities, artists, and musicians, to the city's complex legacies of slavery and civil rights, immerse yourself in the many facets of New Orleans's oldest neighborhood.
Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.
Barbara S. Beckman Music Room, 520 Royal Street
Free admission and no RSVP required
Join HNOC staff for a short program exploring the history of the beautifully restored Aeolian residential player pipe organ. Listen to a musical demonstration and discover the significance of this rare and technologically advanced musical instrument.
In the early 20th century, having a player organ in the home was a luxury reserved for the most opulent residences, allowing the owner to have access to recorded music before radios and phonographs were commonplace. Tobacco magnate William Ratcliffe Irby remodeled the property at 520 Royal Street—now part of HNOC’s exhibition center—to serve as his personal residence starting in 1918. In the process he installed a player organ in the entry room to his lavish third-floor apartment. The instrument, built by the Aeolian Company of New York, is one of a handful that has survived to this day in its original location and in working condition, after a meticulous restoration by the Holtkamp Organ Company.
Group tours
Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Groups of five or more should contact tours@hnoc.org, or call (504) 598-7145.
School groups
HNOC welcomes schoolchildren of all ages. Customized field trips—which could include guided tours, special lectures, or guided visits to the research center—can bring the region’s history to life for students. Field trips are available free of charge, but reservations are required, regardless of a group's size. Please complete a field trip request form or email education@hnoc.org to make arrangements. Additional resources are available on HNOC's Education webpage.
Tours for HNOC members
Visit the membership page for information on curator-led tours of regional historical sites and private, guided tours of the Historic New Orleans Collection included in selected membership packages.