Cabildo
Cabildo
4
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
A visit to New Orleans' historic French Quarter would not be complete without a stop at Jackson Square, which is where you will find the Cabildo. This elegant Spanish colonial building neighbors St. Louis Cathedral and houses many rare artifacts of America's history. Among them is Napoleon's death mask. It was made from a mold crafted by Dr. Francesco Antommarchi, who was one of Napoleon Bonaparte's physicians at the time of his death. The popular tricentennial exhibition "We Love You, New Orleans" gives a great overview of all there is to love about the city.
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: French Quarter
A small and teeming network of laissez-faire living lounged out on the balmy banks of the Mighty Mississippi, the French Quarter has long been a port of call for folks in search of a good time and a great story. Perpetually inebriated Bourbon Street runs across its midriff like a strand of cheap ribbon tied around an otherwise rather pretty and impressively well-kept vintage dress. Throughout the rest of the Quarter, brightly colored Victorian homes and businesses, famously done up with wrought-iron features, provide a distinct and immediately recognizable backdrop for all varieties of fun. At any given moment in this historic riverside setting, some of America’s finest meals are being cooked, most potent cocktails are being mixed, and most engaging music is being performed.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
450 reviews
Excellent
181
Very good
184
Average
65
Poor
11
Terrible
9
Heath W
Denver, CO64 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
It’s fine but not great. The whole thing feels a little run down. There’s a few informative exhibits but you are NOT going to come away with a good overview of New Orleans history. The subject matter is all over the place: a small overview of NO culture, an exhibit of the battle of New Orleans (1814) and an art exhibit. That’s it.
If I knew ahead of time what to expect I would have taken a pass on this one.
Also, visiting the sister building on the opposite side of the cathedral, the Presbytère, requires an additional ticket.
If I knew ahead of time what to expect I would have taken a pass on this one.
Also, visiting the sister building on the opposite side of the cathedral, the Presbytère, requires an additional ticket.
Written 18 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jenny from Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA828 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
We learned a fair amount at this museum (the Cabildo), but liked The Presbetyre next door better. When we were at the Cabildo, there were 3 main exhibitions. The one on the overall history of New Orleans was interesting. The contemporary art in the temporary exhibition was fun to walk through briefly.
But the exhibition about the Battle of New Orleans was disappointing because it was mostly about its pop culture history, and didn't do a great job of explaining the actual historical event. And the volume on the videos playing in the space was way too loud to be able to focus on anything else.
But the exhibition about the Battle of New Orleans was disappointing because it was mostly about its pop culture history, and didn't do a great job of explaining the actual historical event. And the volume on the videos playing in the space was way too loud to be able to focus on anything else.
Written 5 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EFGH_12
Wilmington, Delaware43 contributions
Jan 2025 • Family
This is definitely a great place to go for the history buffs! You learn more about the history of New Orleans, especially the Spanish occupied era. Some of the building was not well marked. We had to really study the map to find out how to get to one specific area. Then, we did not realize that when we got to the second floor, we were starting out of order, as they assume you came up the central staircase (we had used the elevator). We were so confused about many of the displays because we had missed the first room that gave the general background information to the exhibit.
If you are someone who needs lots of cool things to see as opposed to reading information, this is probably not the museum for you. There ARE some cool things to see, but we definitely got the wow from reading information about things that did not look particularly intriguing.
If you are someone who needs lots of cool things to see as opposed to reading information, this is probably not the museum for you. There ARE some cool things to see, but we definitely got the wow from reading information about things that did not look particularly intriguing.
Written 5 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rachel
Gold Coast, Australia491 contributions
Jan 2023
Great museum to learn about the history of New Orleans. Excellent volunteers, one of which was an older gentleman who told us some fabulous stories about some of the works on display. Great convenient location in Jackson Square that doesn’t require a lot of time to visit. We received a discount as were also visiting the Presbytere.
Written 18 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JerseyFern
New York, NY13 contributions
Mar 2022
We took Part One of the two-part Marigny tour with neighborhood resident Donna, and it was amazing. We learned about the history of the area primarily through its architecture from the 18th century to the present. Donna took care to specify the known, unknown, and guessed-at, and she debunked a few myths along the way. She chose her words carefully and acknowledged some difficult truths about local history that other tours gloss over or rationalize. After making sure it worked for everyone in the group, Donna let the tour run a bit long to make it complete - including a bonus interior visit when she recognized the owner of a historical home on the house's porch. A highlight of our trip!
Written 20 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jayboy4
DeLand, FL180 contributions
Feb 2020
We got into the Cabildo after several hours of walking and dodging the rain. As usual, this museum is very well done and populated with many real artifacts. One example is Napolean’s death mask, along with a small display on NO’s love of the French “hero.” Great exhibit on the Battle of New Orleans, along with a video section making fun of the Buccaneer movies in the mid-1900s and their historical inaccuracies. On the 3rd floor, there is a video display showing on maps various aspects of the crescent region. One sequence shows how population bloomed over the years, beginning in the late 1600/early 1700s to present, and the dramatic loss of population with Katrina. One shows the demographic shifts over time. One, near the end, displays the Katrina flooding over time. Impressive. Although you might bristle a bit at the $10/head (cheaper for seniors, students, etc) this museum is a good one to spend a couple hours out of the heat.
Written 29 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your thorough review of our museum! We love to hear from our visitors.
Written 3 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Thekansaspyet
Middletown, CT711 contributions
Mar 2022
The Cabildo is a large building, with exhibits spaced widely apart through out. We enjoyed the sense of history in the building. The 3rd floor has a room of photographs of people and places in and near New Orleans that were most interesting. We enjoyed the front of the building on the 2nd and 3rd floors. By looking out the windows, one could see elevated views of Jackson Square, the iron-grillworked shops on both sides and even ships on the Mississippi.
Written 6 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raven2015
Houston, TX147 contributions
Jun 2021
My husband and I visited this museum in the afternoon. It was not very crowded, and the exhibits were displayed well. We attended several museums during our visit to New Orleans, and found that each compliments the others. I recommend visiting this museum and allowing more than an hour in order to see everything.
Written 20 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bernard W
Dallas, TX1,946 contributions
Feb 2022
Cabildo is a Louisiana State Museum to the left of the Cathedral. NARM membership gets one in free. There are 3 floors of wide-ranging exhibits ranging from period cabinet craftsmanship to photographs of the area to Battle of New Orleans information to history of the area. Well worth visiting.
Written 23 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cindyp_nola
New Orleans, LA610 contributions
Nov 2021
Plan to spend at least an one hour wandering through the Cabildo. This Louisiana State Museum, conveniently located on Jackson Square next to St Louis Cathedral, has worthwhile collections, especially for visitors who are interested in history. Lagniappe ~ you can Napoleon's death mask plus other great exhibits that complement New Orleans. The architecture of the building is historic too.
Written 22 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much time would you allow to see the museum?
Written 23 February 2019
My apologies for the late response as we did not see the message until now.
Since the museum is self paced, it is hard to say, but most people spend about 2 hours. There are exhibitions on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor of the main building and there are smaller exhibitions in the Arsenal on two floors. All of this is contained in the one entrance fee for the museum.
Written 9 October 2019
Marvin M
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Hi, Thank you so much for your interest in the Cabildo. While the Cabildo does not have a gift shop, the 1850 House Museum does!
The 1850 House museum is in the Lower Pontalba building on Jackson Square only steps away from the Cabildo and it does sell books for children. The gift store is operated by the Friends of the Cabildo.
Written 26 January 2017
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