The Badly Behaved Women Who Made New Orleans Tour

4.9 (14 reviews) 2 hours Free cancellation

out of 5

14 reviews

4.9

The Badly Behaved Women Who Made New Orleans Tour — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

The Badly Behaved Women Who Made New Orleans Tour, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Hear 300 years of history of vice and red light districts in New Orleans, and all that's not fit for print!

» Small groups: 15 guest max

» Suggested cocktails

» Fun extras: historical images, a take-home Polaroid of the group, and more!

France shipped women from the brothels and prisons to the colonies in the 1720s, sending them to Ursulines nuns for 'correction'. Instead, many hung their red lanterns out back of town, and created a thriving red light district.

In the same location, a century later, madams decked in diamonds reigned in 'palaces of sin'. Some were so rich and powerful they committed murder and got off scot free!

Hear the jaw-dropping history of New Orleans you'll never forget!

Ages 18+

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At a glance

Duration: 2 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Up to 15 people
People per booking: 1–15
Guide: English
Operated by: Spectral City Tours

Ages: Adults (18–115 years)

What is included

Included

Included: 2-hour walking tour of the history of vice and red light districts in New Orleans

Not included

Not included: Alcoholic beverages: We have suggested cocktail stops at the start and one of the tour breaks. Drinks are NOT included but we do have fun suggestions on historic cocktails.

Itinerary

Old Ursuline Convent Museum

Passing by

See the convent of the Ursulines nuns, the oldest building in the French Quarter (construction began 1727), and hear how the church and King Louis XV became sex traffickers to force more women to the colony, and had the nuns keep these "correction girls" in line with nude public lashings. But the girls were the ones with the problem?
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar

10 min

Often we stop by this oldest building housing a bar in North America, and discuss its history as a smuggling front.

Although not one of our historic cocktail spots, we often take a break here and cool down in the heat.
Marie Laveau House of Voodoo

7 min

Actually we won't see this shop on the tour, we'll go to the real Marie Laveau's birthplace, and discuss... "Wait, she doesn't belong on this tour! She's a voudou leader not a... " High class madam?

Find out where she made most of her real money!
Louis Armstrong Park

25 min

The decadent palaces thrown up in Storyville on Basin St. were replaced by the Iberville Projects. So we take you to the gorgeous Louis Armstrong Park that overlooks what once was Storyville, with enough seating and shade for guests to sit and view photos of this historic time period, see and hear about its wildest characters.