By Jeanni Ritchie
As America prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary, New Orleans is already finding ways to bring history to life.
Visitors can explore museums, exhibits, and experiences that connect the city’s past with the larger story of America while still enjoying all the food, culture, and atmosphere that make New Orleans unmistakably New Orleans.
My stay at Higgins Hotel & Conference Center immediately set the tone for the trip. Located across from the National WWII Museum and serving as its official hotel, the property became home base for several days centered around history, entertainment, and discovering America250 experiences throughout the city.
The National WWII Museum itself served as more than simply another museum stop. Between exhibits and experiences—including the Final Mission Submarine Experience in The U.S. Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center—history felt immersive rather than distant.
A Victory Belles performance—A Salute to Hope—in BB’s Stage Door Canteen at the museum brought history to life via song and dance. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the finale honored servicemen from each branch of the military, the men and women who are the reason we are able to celebrate America’s 250th birthday today.
Several of the museums I visited during my New Orleans trip are part of the Louisiana State Museum system, which includes historic sites and museums across the state.
I explored The Cabildo, The Presbytère, the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum, the 1850 House, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
At The Cabildo, I visited exhibits including Gálvez and Louisiana in the American Revolution and Bienvenue Lafayette, which commemorates the Marquis de Lafayette’s historic visit to New Orleans.
Lafayette slept here was the unofficial slogan, and the rooms were filled with artifacts from his time in New Orleans.
The nearby 1850 House and Museum Store also serves as the starting point for America250 tours focusing on Spanish Louisiana and the American Revolution.
At the Presbytère and adjoining Arsenal, I took in a rooftop view of the city with a vantage point of the Mississippi, heard the story of the great fire of the French Quarter when officials refused to ring the fire bells on a Sunday, and saw a book of Manumission proclamations. Imagine having to carry a paper to prove your freedom.
America250 is about so much more than fireworks and parades.
Another official America250 exhibit was American Revolution: The Augmented Exhibition at The Historic New Orleans Collection. Created by French technology firm Histovery, the interactive experience uses handheld HistoPads to transport visitors into pivotal moments of the American Revolution—from the Boston Tea Party and the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the victory at Yorktown and the Treaty of Versailles. Along the way, guests encounter the soldiers, leaders, and everyday citizens who helped shape the nation’s story through immersive 3-D reconstructions and interactive storytelling.
History wasn’t limited to the museums either.
I explored New Orleans via the City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off tour as both transportation and entertainment, riding atop the double-decker bus while taking in the city from a different perspective. I was the last one standing, er sitting, on the final loop of the day and had a private narrated tour as the sun began to set.
I also watched the Crescent City sunset aboard the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen one evening. Combining New Orleans cuisine with live jazz and sunset views over the Mississippi River, watching the New Orleans skyline illuminate in the moonlight was a spectacular sight to behold.
After my sunset jazz cruise, I opted to take a pedicab back to my hotel, enjoying the nightlife from my perched seat as my driver and I chatted. The nightlife energy was contagious but that soaking tub in the Higgins Hotel that overlooked the NOLA lights was calling my name.
I made a stop each evening at Rosie’s on the Roof, the rooftop lounge of the Higgins Hotel, where I once again became known as the chick who likes Coca-Cola in a wineglass. Sipping my drink and looking out onto the city below was magical.
But no New Orleans story is complete without mentioning the food.
Brennan’s is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, while Bananas Foster—created there—turns 75. I enjoyed an off-menu Steak Diane prepared tableside before ending the meal with the restaurant’s famous Bananas Foster, also prepared tableside.
In between I couldn’t resist their to-die-for Snickers chilled dessert, the most elevated take on a candy bar I’ve ever had. Did I need two desserts? Absolutely not. Was I getting that Snickers bar? Absolutely. I think we all knew that as I pretended to make the responsible decision.
A midday lunch at Cafe Beignet also brought a difficult decision. Which beignets… the tried and true traditional? Or something more adventurous? Ultimately I tried the traditional, the chocolate-covered strawberries, and the salted caramel beignets.
I shared my bounty with a table of teens next to me. We all had different favorites, but I think the best bite came from tearing off a piece of each and eating it as one sweet and savory bite!
The celebration didn’t end when my trip did. A friend came in just as I was leaving to celebrate Armed Forces Day at The National WWII Museum. Veterans, current military personnel, and their families from all branches of service were invited to enjoy a cookout-style lunch and family-friendly activities to kick off this year’s Blue Star Museums program.
Between May 27 and June 1, 2026, New Orleans will be the first stop as America welcomes the tall ships of the world to the Port of New Orleans for a nationwide celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. The largest-ever flotilla of tall ships from around the world will create a majestic nautical spectacle along the historic Mississippi River for an unforgettable once-in-a-generation event.
As New Orleans celebrates America250, visitors will discover that the city isn’t simply displaying history behind glass.
It’s inviting them to step directly into it.
