Free Tours by Foot is proud to now offer our free New Orleans food tours. Learn about the city's great foods, including gumbo, jambalaya, po-boys, beignets and so much more.
While on these tours, you'll learn about what to eat in New Orleans, including all the must-eat food to try in the Crescent City.
FRENCH QUARTER FOOD TOURS
The majority of New Orleans culinary tours are offered in the French Quarter.
So, there are several options to consider if you’re interested in learning more about the types of meals you can enjoy in this neighborhood.
In this section, we’ll provide information about our own free New Orleans food tour and a few additional outings you may want to consider as an alternative.
Free French Quarter Food Tour
Like our neighborhood walking tours, our New Orleans food & history tours are free to take, giving you the opportunity to determine what a tour was worth after the tour is over – even free!
During our French Quarter Food Tour, we will combine food, history, and storytelling so that you have the education under your belt to be the most discerning foodie in one of the best culinary cities in the world.
As you travel from stop to stop, your tour guide will explain the dishes that highlight New Orleans’ food identity and will share personal anecdotes about some of the city’s most famous restaurants and chefs.
Walk with us past famous landmarks such as the St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square.
Your personable guide will describe the beautiful architecture and intriguing history.
This outing is a great way to learn about what to eat in New Orleans.
Some of the food choices discussed (and possibly sampled) include:
- Seafood Gumbo
- Red Beans &Rice
- Muffulettas
- Jambalaya
- Hot sauces
- Seasonal Gulf Coast Seafood
- PoBoys
- crawfish/seafood boil
- Pralines
- Beignets
Please note: Unlike other food tours, the dishes on our tour aren’t complimentary and must be paid for by the guests (avg. $10-15/person).
However, with traditional food tours charging $50 and up (plus tip), that’s at least a $35 difference per person. You choose what to sample and how much to spend.
Tour information
Reservations: REQUIRED. Click here to reserve. Groups of 10 or more persons should visit our group inquiry page.
Where: Meet at the Archway to the French Market Produce Section. Your guide will email you their photo and directions the night before the tour.
Duration: Approximately 2 hours. Approximately 1 mile in length.
When: Check out our tour calendar
Cost:name-your-own-price tour. Groups of 6-9 must prepay $10/person. Groups of 10 or more must organize a private tour and can read about our options for groups.
The suggested amount to bring for snacks is $12-15, depending on your appetite!
Other French Quarter Food Tours
Disclosure: While we think you should take our free tour, we understand it may not work for everyone, so we offer you some alternative options. While our recommendations are always unbiased, we may receive a small share of sales through some of the links below at no cost to you. See the full text.
There are several other French Quarter food tours you may want to consider.
Some of these outings cover the history of various cuisines in the neighborhood while others will include a lot of great New Orleans food.
No matter which tour you choose, you can expect to sample anywhere from 3-6 types of food in New Orleans.
Most outings include at least one example of both creole and cajun dishes.
These trips typically last for 2-3 hours, giving you plenty of time to become acquainted with some of the best restaurants and meals in the city.
Sidewalk Tours and Urban Adventures currently offer two of the most popular French Quarter food tours which include dishes such as po boys, gumbo, oysters, muffulettas, and even beignets.
For more information, please check this list of French Quarter food tours.
Garden District Food Tours
If you’re more interested in learning about the culinary history of the Garden District, there are multiple New Orleans food tours available that cover this neighborhood of the Big Easy.
Since these outings typically include more unique dishes, you can expect ticket prices to range from around $70 - $100 on average.
As with other food tours in this city, you can expect to sample 3-6 different meals while on this outing, and you can expect at least one variation on creole/cajun food.
Each trip runs for about 2-3 hours on average, so you’ll have plenty of time to sit down at each stop and enjoy the dishes prepared for you. These outings include some of the best food to try in New Orleans.
While Sidewalk Tours offers one of the best outings in the Garden District, there is also a tour that includes a trip to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in addition to the variety of meals you’ll try.
For even more options, check out this list of Garden District food tours.
COOKING CLASSES
If you want to learn how to prepare some of these dishes in addition to eating them, there are cooking classes you can take while in New Orleans which include instructions from professional chefs.
These classes will help you learn how to make traditional Cajun and creole food, which is some of the most historic New Orleans cuisines.
After completing a 4-course meal, you’ll have the opportunity to eat what you’ve prepared and take the recipes home at the end of the day.
Dishes included with these classes include some of the best New Orleans food, such as Gumbo, Jambalaya, Pralines, and more. You’ll also have the chance to drink a local brew!
Tickets range from $30-$75 depending on what is included, and you can expect the class to take 2 - 2 ½ hours on average.
If this sounds like a fun activity, check this list of New Orleans cooking classes to find an option that fits your schedule.
COCKTAIL TOURS
There are a variety of cocktail tours you can take in New Orleans which cover several different unique drinks that you’ll find in the Big Easy.
While some of these outings are as cheap as $30 per person, others range up to $50-$60 for a ticket.
Of course, even if you don’t want to spend much money on this activity, you can still take our pay-what-you-wish cocktail tour and save a few bucks!
Alternatively, there are also cocktail tours that specialize in discussing the darker side of NOLA, including supernatural tales of ghosts and ghouls.
If you’re interested in this type of outing, please read our post covering New Orleans cocktail tours for more information.
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