Architecture in the Garden District (October 2025)
The city of New Orleans has many nicknames: NOLA, The Big Easy, and even “N’awlins,” reflecting the local’s accent. Regardless of what you call it, it has a long and rich history that blends French, West African, Creole, and American cultures into one. Despite enduring multiple hurricanes and hardships, NOLA continues to rebuild and revive itself over and over again, demonstrating its tenacity to keep moving while still celebrating life.
Following my first afternoon in town, I woke up early the next morning to catch an Uber to the Garden District, where I would spend the first half of the day in. I started with breakfast at Lagniappe Bakehouse, located inside one of the neighborhood’s historic buildings– it was like having a meal inside someone’s home! I’d heard of this bakery through social media, as it’s black and women-owned and combines traditional West African/Creole flavors into its baked goods.
Lagniappe Bakehouse
There was already a small line outside the bakery just before opening at 8h00. I ordered a few pastries to try, including a sausage roll, a cardamom bun, and a poppy seed alligator claw. Also got a spiced fig latte to wash them all down. I especially enjoyed the sausage roll, which was beautifully-latticed and extremely flaky, as well as the poppy seed alligator claw (think “bear claw” pastry, but just a different animal!), which was rich with praline filling inside. The spiced fig latte was aromatic and subtly sweet, and overall, it was a delicious way to start the day!
Cardamom bun and sausage roll (with spiced fig latte)
Alligator claw
Next, I took the historic streetcar ($1.25 USD per ride) over to the meeting point of the architecture tour at 10h00. Although the streetcar went slowly, it was a nice way to see NOLA from a unique perspective. Soon enough, I reached the meeting point, located in the heart of the Garden District, where along with 24 other tourists, we spent the next two hours walking around to learn about the district’s history and the various architecture throughout it.
Streetcar approaching…
Riding the streetcar
The Garden District is touristy, but residential; it felt very peaceful strolling the streets and coming across stately, impressive homes in Victorian, Gothic Revival, even Italianate design. We even saw a few celebrity homes, including those of actor John Goodman, actress Sandra Bullock, and author Anne Rice (RIP), a NOLA native and famous for her Gothic-horror stories.
Sandra Bullock’s house
John Goodman’s house
Anne Rice’s house (RIP)
We also got a glimpse of the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 through its iron-bar gates, as it’s not open to the public. Our tour guide was very informative and, besides offering a lot of history and architectural knowledge, dipped a bit into the supernatural lore of the cemetery and NOLA’s ghosts. Although the ghost tours are a completely-separate kind of tour, it was nice to get a bit of it in our architecture tour! Overall, it was enjoyable, and thankfully not too crazy hot, as we’d started in the morning and mostly walked under shade.
The tour concluded at 12h00, and I grabbed lunch in the area. I really wanted to try gumbo and étouffée, so I found a restaurant that served both. Unfortunately, both dishes were not very good: they were way too salty, and because of that, I couldn’t finish them. It was a bit disappointing, but in any case, I’m glad I got to try some of the famous Cajun and Creole dishes from the area!
Seafood gumbo
Étouffée
That concluded my first morning in NOLA; I’ll recap more of my time soon, as well as my afternoon trip to the swamp. Stay tuned! 🙂
— Rebecca
