It's easy to walk in the 1850 House Museum and get a ticket, which is $20. We parked in a pay lot a few blocks away. The guides are volunteers, and the money from the tickets goes to help maintain the museums in New Orleans, so this tour group benefits New Orleans and visitors.
Our guide was J.S., a retired theater professor, who grew up in New Orleans. You could tell she is interested in many different aspects of the history of New Orleans, and she made it interesting for us. We started near Jackson Square, went to see the Mississippi River, and walked around the French Quarter. The main emphasis of this particular tour was on the original settlement of New Orleans and its architecture-- a blend of primarily Spanish and French influences that were followed by the Black and Creole influences-a fascinating story of changes each group made. I never knew that the location of New Orleans had a lot to do with the native tribes that helped the French find a faster route to the sea than coming up or going down the Mississippi.
Our guide showed us different types of houses and government buildings and talked about the materials they were made of--some bricks were made from the Mississippi River mud, and some were made from the mud from Lake Ponchatraine. I like this kind of detail. We walked on Bourbon Street and stopped and listened to the Jazz musicians in the street. We heard some of the history of jazz from our guide. We walked by Preservation Hall.
Definitely wear walking shoes on this trip and bring your camera. It was a hot day, but they sell water at the 1850 House, and they give away free fans with Louis Armstrong on them. If it's hot, which it was when we were there, take both.
The best part of our experience was our guide's level of knowledge about New Orleans and it's architecture, art, food, music, and the mix of people who make New Orleans what it was and what it is today.
Since the guides are volunteers, it seemed to us that tipping would be recommended if you like your tour.