City Sightseeing New Orleans HOHO Bus Tour & Bookable Extras

The best thing about this New Orleans bus tour is the live narration. Instead of plugging in earphones and hearing a fixed recording, you get a guide who can add local stories, answer questions, and point out details as the bus moves through the city. Guides such as Linda, Chris, Ron, Bill, Mary, and Deidre have been singled out for making the ride funny and useful.

I like the route’s range and the simple freedom to get off when something catches your eye. You can start with Jackson Square and the French Market, then ride toward Tremé, the Garden District, the museums, and the riverfront without arranging several separate taxi rides. The main drawback is the short operating day: buses begin around 9:30am, the last departures leave at 4pm, and the final tour ends at 5:30pm.

Key points to know before you board

• Eighteen stops cover several very different New Orleans districts, from the French Quarter to the Garden District and the Arts District.
• Live English-speaking guides replace the usual recorded commentary, with guides including Linda, Chris, Ron, Bill, and Mary praised for humor and local stories.
• A full loop takes about 1.5 hours, making the first ride useful for getting your bearings before choosing where to get off.
• Two-day passes include a Garden District guided walk, while three-day passes also include a French Quarter guided walk.
• Buses run about every 30 minutes, but service ends early enough that you need to plan your final stop carefully.
• The listed price is $51 per person, and the value improves if you use the bus for sightseeing and transport over more than one day.

Why this bus is a smart first look at New Orleans

New Orleans is easy to enjoy one neighborhood at a time, but the neighborhoods are not interchangeable. The French Quarter has its grand iron balconies and narrow streets. Tremé carries a different cultural and musical story. The Garden District opens into broad avenues and historic homes, while the Warehouse District brings museums and contemporary art.

This bus links those areas in one route. I like that because you can get a feel for the city before committing half a day to one museum or walking tour. A first full loop gives you a useful mental map, and the live guide helps explain why the streets and districts feel so different.

The open-top deck is another strong point. On a clear day, you get broad views of buildings, street signs, churches, and avenues that are easy to miss from inside a car. You should bring cash and an ID, and you should be ready for sun, heat, or rain since weather affects how pleasant the upper deck feels.

The route is not a substitute for walking. The bus can show you the shape of New Orleans, but the best details are found after you get off: a cathedral interior, a market stall, a gallery, or a stretch of Royal Street. Think of the ride as both sightseeing and practical city transport.

Start at Jackson Square and the French Market

Stop 1 at 700 Decatur Street is the natural starting point. It puts you by Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, beignets and café au lait, the City Sightseeing shop, and the ticket office.

Jackson Square is one of the city’s key reference points. The cathedral gives the stop an unmistakable landmark, and the surrounding square places you right in the heart of the French Quarter. The cathedral is described as the oldest continuously active cathedral in the United States, so it is worth allowing extra time if you want more than a quick exterior view.

Stop 2 reaches the French Market, its colonnade, and the flea market. This is one of the easiest places to use the hop-on, hop-off format properly. You can leave the bus, browse produce, souvenirs, and market goods, then return to the route when you are ready.

Allow time here rather than trying to squeeze it into a rushed loop. The market is a good choice for casual browsing and a snack, though food and drinks are not included in the ticket.

Ride through Marigny, Bywater, and Tremé

Stop 3 serves Marigny and Bywater, including Frenchmen Street music clubs, Crescent Park, JAMNola, and a Bywater brew pub. This part of the route gives you a different New Orleans from the postcard version around Bourbon Street.

Frenchmen Street is associated with live music, while Crescent Park gives you a riverfront setting. JAMNola and the brew pub add further options if you want an activity beyond historic buildings. The exact amount of time you need depends on your plans, so check the bus schedule before stepping off.

Stop 4 covers Tremé, St. Augustine Church, and the Tomb of the Unknown Slave. Tremé is an important stop for anyone who wants to understand New Orleans beyond architecture and nightlife. The church and memorial offer places to pause and reflect, while the guide’s commentary can help connect the district to the wider story of the city.

The next stop is Basin St. Station. It is a practical link between Tremé and the main French Quarter corridor, and it can work well if you want to break up the route without walking the full distance between districts.

Canal Street, Bourbon Street, and Royal Street

Stop 6 brings you to Canal Street, Bourbon Street, Royal Street, Chartres Street, and several Canal Street hotels. This is one of the busiest and most useful stops on the route because it puts several well-known streets within reach.

Bourbon Street is the obvious draw, but do not limit your time here to one famous strip. Royal Street is especially worthwhile for crafts, antiques, art objects, and museums. Chartres Street gives you another way to explore the French Quarter, with more architectural detail and quieter corners than you may expect near the main entertainment streets.

This is also a convenient place to get off for a meal, although the bus ticket does not cover food. If you are staying near Canal Street, you may find the route useful as a sightseeing ride and a way to reduce the need for separate short taxi or rideshare journeys.

Stop 7 serves Caesars New Orleans, formerly Harrah’s Casino, along with the American Italian Cultural Museum and Italian Piazza. It is a smaller cluster of sights, but it adds another side of the city’s cultural story.

Poydras, Lafayette Square, and the city’s grand avenues

Stops 8 and 9 move into the area around Poydras, Loyola, Lafayette Square, Gallier Hall, and St. Charles at Lafayette. Stop 8 is at 1100 Poydras, while stop 9 is at 545 St. Charles.

This section helps you see how New Orleans changes as you leave the French Quarter. Lafayette Square and Gallier Hall provide a formal civic setting, and St. Charles Avenue begins to point you toward the Garden District. The guide’s running commentary is particularly useful here because the appeal is not one single attraction. It is the change in scale, street layout, and architecture.

You can stay on the bus for these stops if you are focused on orientation. If you want photographs or a slower look at the avenues, get off and use the next bus as your return option. The service is meant to give you that choice, but the 30-minute interval means you should not assume another bus will appear immediately.

Museums at stops 10 and 17

Stop 10 is one of the strongest museum stops on the route. It serves the National World War II Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Arts Center, and the Confederate Civil War Museum.

The National World War II Museum alone can take a large part of your day. If that is your main goal, treat this as a destination rather than a quick hop-off. The Ogden Museum and Contemporary Arts Center give you different art-focused options nearby, so this stop works well for museum fans with limited time who want several choices in one area.

The route later reaches the Arts and Warehouse District at stop 17, including Julia Street, its galleries and shops, and the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk. This is a useful contrast with the older French Quarter. The area gives you shopping, galleries, and a more modern city setting before the final riverfront section.

Magazine Street and the Garden District

Stops 11 through 15 form the most useful stretch for exploring Magazine Street, the Garden District, and St. Charles Avenue. The listed stops include Magazine Street and Jackson Avenue, 2727 Magazine Street, 3137 Magazine Street, 3338 St. Charles Avenue, 2020 St. Charles Avenue, and the junctions at Louisiana Avenue and St. Andrew Street.

Magazine Street gives you a chance to leave the main tourist core and browse a long commercial corridor. The route provides several stopping points, so you can choose based on the shops, food, or area you want to reach rather than walking the full length.

The Garden District is best taken slowly. The broad streets and historic homes reward a walk, and the two-day ticket includes a guided Garden District walking tour. That extra tour is a real reason to consider two days instead of one if architecture interests you.

The three-day ticket adds a guided French Quarter walking tour as well. If you want more than a bus overview, the three-day option gives you time to split the city into manageable pieces: bus orientation on one day, the Garden District on another, and the French Quarter with its guided walk on the third.

Mardi Gras World and the riverfront

Stop 16 reaches the Convention Center and Mardi Gras World. This gives you a chance to connect the city’s parade tradition with a working attraction rather than seeing only finished floats during Carnival season.

Stop 18 at 2 Canal Street serves the riverfront, including the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen, the VUE Orleans Observation Deck, and the Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium. It is a strong final stop because you can pair river views with an attraction, then return toward the French Quarter.

The riverfront stop also gives the bus route a clear ending point before it returns to the starting area. If you plan to visit the aquarium or take a paddlewheeler, check the attraction’s own admission and timing separately. Those tickets are not included.

How to use the one, two, or three-day pass

The one-day ticket costs $51 per person based on the supplied price. It makes sense if you want a broad overview, especially on your first day, and if you plan to complete a full loop before choosing one or two stops.

The two-day ticket is more useful if you want the Garden District guided walk or if your schedule includes a major museum. You can use one day for the French Quarter, French Market, and riverfront, then spend another day around the Garden District, Magazine Street, or the museums without trying to fit everything into one circuit.

The three-day ticket suits a slower visit. The added French Quarter guided walk gives it the strongest sightseeing value, but only if you will actually use the extra time. Do not buy three days simply because the route has many stops. Buy it if you want to explore on foot and use the bus to connect separate areas.

A full bus tour lasts about 1.5 hours. I would take that complete loop early in your visit, listen to the guide, and note the places you want to revisit. Several guides have different styles, so the live narration can vary from one loop to another. Linda has been praised for her humor and tips, while Chris, Ron, Bill, Mary, Deidre, Sydney, and others have been recognized for making the history easy to follow.

Timing, comfort, and practical limits

Buses run roughly every 30 minutes. First departures from stops 1, 5, 6, and 17 are between 9:30am and 9:40am. The last departure from any stop is at 4pm, and the final tour ends at 5:30pm.

That schedule is the main planning issue. If you get off late in the afternoon, you may have limited time before the last bus. Keep an eye on the clock, especially at a museum or market.

The buses are wheelchair accessible. Mobile and printed paper vouchers are accepted and can be redeemed at any stop along the route, but the voucher is valid only for the date selected at booking. Pets and smoking are not allowed.

The tour does not operate on several listed dates in February, April, November, and December, and service ends early on a few special dates. Stops 1 through 4 also close on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 April. Check the operating date carefully before you plan your day around this route.

Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours in advance, and you can reserve now and pay later. Those policies help if your New Orleans plans are still shifting, but they do not change the need to check the specific start date and meeting point.

Who will get the most from this New Orleans ride

I would recommend this bus to first-time visitors who want help sorting New Orleans into districts. It is also useful for anyone who prefers not to arrange separate transport between the French Quarter, Garden District, museums, and riverfront.

Families and mixed-age groups may appreciate the hop-on, hop-off format because nobody has to walk the entire city at once. The live guide also gives the ride more personality than a silent transfer.

It is less suitable if you want a late-night activity, a highly detailed museum tour, or a fully walking-based experience. The buses finish early, attraction admission costs extra, and the route can only introduce you to streets that deserve more time on foot.

Should you book the City Sightseeing New Orleans bus?

Book it if you want a practical first look at New Orleans, live storytelling, and the freedom to spread sightseeing across one, two, or three days. I especially like the two-day option for the Garden District walk, and the three-day option for adding the French Quarter walk without rushing.

For a one-day visit, stay on for the first full loop, then choose Jackson Square, the French Market, Royal Street, the National World War II Museum, or the Garden District based on your priorities. Just remember the early final departures. Used with a little planning, this is a useful way to see more of New Orleans with less transport hassle.

FAQ

How long does the complete bus tour take?

The bus tour lasts about 1.5 hours for a full loop.

How often do the buses run?

Buses run about every 30 minutes.

What time does the first bus leave?

The first departures from stops 1, 5, 6, and 17 are between 9:30am and 9:40am.

What time is the last departure?

The last departure from any stop is at 4pm, and the last tour ends at 5:30pm.

Which languages are available?

The live tour guide speaks English.

Are attraction tickets included?

No. Admission to attractions, along with food and drinks, is not included.

Does the tour include walking tours?

The Garden District guided walking tour is included with two-day and three-day tickets. The French Quarter guided walking tour is included with the three-day ticket only.

Where does the bus stop?

Stops include Jackson Square, the French Market, Marigny and Bywater, Tremé, Basin Street Station, Canal Street, Caesars New Orleans, Poydras, St. Charles Avenue, the National World War II Museum, Magazine Street, the Garden District, Mardi Gras World, the Arts District, and the riverfront.

Are mobile vouchers accepted?

Yes. Mobile and printed paper vouchers are accepted and can be redeemed at any stop along the route.

Is the bus wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The buses are wheelchair accessible.