Best Arts and Culture Places in French Quarter

"Civil War Museum and Ogden Museum of Southern Art|© Richard Cummins / Alamy Stock Photo. Sitting adjacent to the National WWII Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, this Smithsonian-affiliated museum celebrates the culture of Southern artists through folk art, painting, photography, sculpture and handcrafted heritage, as well as contemporary works from Southern artists and designers. With works dating back to 1733, there’s a permanent collection of more than 4,000 pieces from 15 states, making it the most comprehensive collection of Southern art in the world."

"In the 1912 the sugar broker and art collector Isaac Delgado left New Orleans a sizeable grant to establish what would become the New Orleans Museum of Art. The main building went up soon after, to a design partly by Benjamin Morgan Harrod, New Orleans’s former chief engineer, while new wings and expansions followed in the early-1970s and 90s. The collection is huge, with more than 40,000 pieces from the Italian Renaissance to today."

"Behind the museum’s main building is a gated outdoor space in 11 acres of mature parkland enriched with more than 90 works of sculpture. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden opened in 2003 and at the time of writing in 2019 had just doubled in size with an expansion that included 26 new works, mostly by 21st-century artists. On serpentine paths among pines, magnolias, camellias and live oaks draped with Spanish moss there are pieces by Henry Moore, Deborah Butterfield, Barbara Hepworth, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Robert Indiana, Gaston Lachaise and René Magritte, as well as contemporary sculptors like Katharina Fritsch, Hank Willis Thomas and Jeppe Hein."

"Located directly adjacent to the New Orleans Museum of Art, the five-acre park provides a delightful instance for exploring the picturesque landscape of live oaks, Spanish moss, and lagoons. The 64 sculptures are, of course, another strong reason to venture to the garden. Location: 1 Collins Diboll CirArchitect: Lee Ledbetter Architects, Sawyer/Berson Architecture And Landscape ArchitectureDate: 2003Contact: https://noma.org/sculpture-garden"

"Just outside NOMA’s front door, find the recently expanded Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a collection of sculptures set among City Park’s oaks and lagoons. The three-acre expansion includes 27 outdoor artworks. Admission to the sculpture garden is always free."

"The Contemporary Arts Center, housed in a large redbrick building that stands out in the relatively muted Central Business District, is one of the city’s most prestigious spaces for the full gamut of contemporary arts, including painting, film, theater, and music. Exhibits, which rotate every four to eight weeks, can include any visual art form, from photography to sculpture and painting. The featured works are well-curated—sometimes around themes, sometimes around individual contemporary artists."

"– Located in the heart of the Central Business District, the Contemporary Arts Center is perfect for those that want to spend some time soaking in Contemporary Art and dodging the heat. Every Sunday, the Contemporary Arts Center is free for Louisiana Residents through the Helis Foundation or the Library’s Culture Pass Program."

"The CAC has free admission for Louisiana residents on Sundays courtesy of the Helis Foundation. The museum focuses on multi-disciplinary programming and rotating exhibits."

"If you like arts and culture, you might enjoy a trip to the New Orleans Museum of Arts aka NOMA. Here you’ll find art work from famous artists like Picasso, Joan Miro, Georgia O’ Keffe, and also some local Louisiana artists. The art exhibition are divided into arts from different regions of the world. NOMA has a nice cafe, a cute garden to enjoy a picnic and a lake behind to kayak."

"Get your dose of nature at one of New Orleans’ two large parks.City Park is larger than Central Park in New York and is home to the New Orleans Museum of Art, as well as several gardens.Audubon Parkboasts the Audubon Zoo and is easily accessible by street car. Either way, both are excellent options for a relaxing afternoon."

"Located in New Orleans’ historic Julia Row, the Degas Gallery offers fine contemporary paintings, drawings, and photography characterized by vibrant color and surface texture. The Gallery is named in celebration of French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834-1917), who briefly visited and painted in New Orleans in winter 1872-73."

"Take the famous St. Charles Streetcar to Central City to visit the McKenna Museum of African American Art. The museum’s mission is to make African Diasporan fine art available and accessible to visitors of all ages. They work to preserve the culture of the African American community in Louisiana."

"The McKenna Museum is a fine art institution with a direct focus on African Diasporan pieces. In addition to their collection, McKenna offers a range of diverse programming such as guest speakers, workshops and book readings to further their mission and work."

"Spillman | Blackwell is an exciting new venue on the block – located on Camp Street in the Warehouse District. Recently conceived by longtime best friends Leslie-Claire Spillman and Amy Blackwell, the gallery showcases a diverse roster of artists who work with a variety of media and processes. Bold surrealist canvases from artists like Ed Smith hang side by side with the abstract creations of Melissa Herington and realist photographs of Spillman herself."

"If you’re looking for vegan gumbo, then this place is for you. Wonder the back alley’s of the French Quarter and you’ll find this vegan-friendly gem. If you’re not feeling the gumbo, then you have to try their vegan burgers!"

"All meals are made to order, and the restaurant delivers, too!. Featured vegan items include gumbo, pancakes, meatless apple sausage, and apple patties."

"French QuarterCleo’s provides healthy, high-quality food and service for every one of the 24 hours it's open, with an expansive menu and a wood fired oven for made-to-order pita bread. The menu takes its cues from all over the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, with lots of tabbouleh, hummus, falafel, zaatar, and olives. You can’t go wrong even with the simplest items."

"This neighborhood eatery has all the breakfast fixins’, donuts, wings, burgers, and po-boys to keep you coming back all hours of the day. The donuts are simple and delicious, and the price is just right: it’s only 80 cents for regular and chocolate glazed, jelly filled, cream filled, chocolate iced and cake donuts. Honey buns are $1.75, and apple fritters are $2."

"Even if you’re not planning a trip out to the Chalmette Battlefield for a morning of history, you’d do yourself a service by planning a stop on the way for a morning pick-me-up at Gerald’s, an old-school bakery that sells new school donuts. Their melt-in-your-mouth sweet dough is the perfect base for giant apple fritters, classic glazed donuts, cinnamon twists, and even more fanciful options like the ones that come covered in M&Ms."

"Hot, fresh donuts are served 24 hours a day at Gerald's Donuts. The family-owned and operated establishments (three locations in total) also make king cakes all year round, not just during Mardi Gras. Classic cake donuts come in flavors like powdered lemon, blueberry, maple, and strawberry cream."

"With two locations in St. Bernard Parish — in Arabi and in Chalmette — there's no excuse for not stopping by for a doughnut when out in da’ Parish. Do it any time: Gerald’s is open 24 hours and have a drive-thru window. (The burgers are great, too.)"

"We’ve saved one of the bests for last, as everybody who’s anybody in Louisana knows that Tastee serves some of the best donuts in New Orleans. They serve everything from king cakes and buttermilk drops to standard donuts. And, honestly, it’s all so tasty that you’re going to have to try it all."

"A New Orleans childhood favorite from back in the day, Tastee is well known for king cakes, buttermilk drops, and doughnuts, not necessarily in that order, but some folks swear by the apple fritters. There are two locations to satisfy."

"People hang around the doors of this modest Metairie institution, night after night, the way barbecue lovers flock to the newest and hottest joints in Texas, except that R&O has been around since the ’80’s, that’s how much people love it here, and why shouldn’t they—the roast beef po boys are some of the most distinctive in town, but there’s so much else to eat here, too—shrimp salads, eggplant parmesan lunch specials, thin crust pizza, the works. Fancy it’s not, unforgettable all the same."

"For good reason: They’re reasonably priced, filling and about as egalitarian as a local food can be. Fried seafood po’ boys get much of the love, but consider the unsung hero of po’ boy land: the roast beef po’ boy. Here in the first suburb west of New Orleans proper is R&Os, home of the finest roast beef po’ boy with gravy that can be."

"Place St. Charles, 201 St. Charles Ave., (504) 287-0877; www.terrazu.net. A Terrazu Scoop salad features chicken, tuna or shrimp salad over mixed greens, red onion, tomato and cucumber."