After a recent business trip into Mississippi, I had two days to spend in New Orleans. On my first day, in order to get my bearings, I took one of the well-known hop-on-hop-off red bus tours. The red bus tour covers a relatively small area of the city in two hours.
In contrast, the City of New Orleans and Katrina Recovery Tour lasts around three hours and covers the four corners of the city. It's an informative, fun, and comprehensive tour done in a van with a small group. On my tour there were five other guests from a variety of places around the country and one couple from London. I know that because our tour guide made it a point to let each new arrival know where the other guests live. This was a nice ice-breaker for folks about to spend an entire afternoon together.
The tour included the 7th and 9th Wards to the east, the French Quarter and the waterfront along the Mississippi river to the south, the Uptown district to the west, and Lakeshore Drive and City Park along Lake Pontchartrain to the north. Midway through the tour there is a rest-food-beverage-restroom stop in City Park. The stop is approximately 15 minutes long. In my case, this was sufficient time to grab a cup of gumbo and some pralines from the concession stand inside the park pavilion.
Our tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and the tour was a wonderful way to really see the city.
Being picked up and dropped off in front of one's hotel is also a nice touch.
Highly recommended tour of New Orleans.