Jean Lafitte National Historic Park (French Quarter Visitor’s Center)

While in town to see Beyonce’s Rennaisance Tour, we stopped by Jean Lafitte’s French Quarter Visitor’s Center to learn more about Jean Lafitte National Historic Park, named after the infamous figure in the cty’s history.

Shortly after the French founded New Orleans in 1718, engineers drew up a formal city plan for Nouvelle Orleans---the area that we now call the French Quarter. The city quickly expanded beyond those original boundaries to become an important American port. People arrived from all over the world, joining the early inhabitants of the area to create a distinct culture rich in food, music, and tradition. Jean Lafitte's French Quarter Visitor Center shares the history and traditions of the city and the lower Mississippi River delta through visitor center exhibits and a film.

We also planned to see the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, but they are currently closed for renovations. They have live jazz on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2-3 PM, but we just missed the performance during our visit. There are several Ranger-led programs at this location, so be sure to take advantage of these learning experiences. We didn’t make it to see the Jean Lafitte preserve and historical park since we were in town for such a short time, and hadn’t rented a car, but will definitely plan to come back to learn more about the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte and his history.

New Orleans is rich in Black history and culture and much of it was on display in the visitor’s center. Not far from this location were several beautiful city parks, and gorgeous architecture to take in. We stopped by The French Market and Loretta’s Authentic Praline’s to enjoy the taste of New Orleans and did not regret waiting in the long line to taste these sweet treats.