New Orleans sits flat and low, which makes any change in elevation worth seeking out. These three get you up off the sidewalk.
Helicopter tours from Lakefront Airport
The only way to see New Orleans from the air is by aircraft, and Heli Co. New Orleans flies several routes out of New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The shortest runs seven to nine minutes over Jackson Square, the French Quarter grid, the Superdome, and the bend of the Mississippi. A longer City and Swamp tour stretches to about 30 minutes and adds the Louisiana wetlands.
Night flights are the other option, circling the city lights on a 10-minute loop or an extended 20-minute route. Group size caps at three passengers, so even the shared flights stay small.
Listed prices start around $114 per person for the short shared flight and climb from there for private and night options. A weight limit applies, listed at 295 pounds per passenger and 575 pounds combined. Flights depart from 8221 Lloyd Stearman Drive.
Steamboat Natchez, French Quarter
The Natchez is the last authentic steamboat working the Mississippi, and the experience starts before boarding with a live steam calliope concert on the wharf. Cruises run daily year-round from the foot of Toulouse Street in the French Quarter.
The two-hour harbor cruise comes with live jazz, narration on the passing shoreline and the Port of New Orleans, and a self-guided visit to the steam engine room, where the machinery runs in plain view. Three decks hold bars, and Creole food is available as an add-on. Evening jazz cruises and a Sunday brunch cruise with the Steamboat Stompers round out the schedule.
Tickets start around $37 for the daytime jazz cruise. Reserve dinner and Sunday brunch ahead, and book several days out during Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and Saints home games. The main deck and restrooms are accessible.
Paddlewheeler Creole Queen, Warehouse District
The Creole Queen is the only riverboat in New Orleans that stops and lets passengers off. Its historic cruise runs two and a half hours, narrated by a licensed historian covering three centuries of city history, and docks at Chalmette Battlefield for a 45-minute to one-hour guided talk by a National Park Ranger on the 1815 Battle of New Orleans.
A separate evening jazz dinner cruise runs two and a half hours with a live band, an optional Creole buffet, and a promenade deck for watching the sunset over the river. Holiday sailings include Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July fireworks, and Christmas Eve.
The boat departs from behind the Riverwalk Outlet Collection near the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Listed prices start around $47 for the historic cruise and $60 for the dinner cruise. Boarding for the day cruise begins at 1:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. departure, and Coast Guard rules mean the boat leaves on time. The vessel is wheelchair accessible with a weight-restricted lift, though Chalmette Battlefield is not.
