New Orleans Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery Guided Tour

American Horror Story’s Coven House Also known as “Miss Robichaux’s Acadamy For Exceptional Young Ladies,” the Buckner Mansion was built in 1856 by cotton magnate Henry S. Buckner. The mansion was built to outdo his ex-business partner’s well-known Stanton Hall mansion in Natchez, Mississippi. The Buckner Mansion has galleries on three sides, an amazing honeysuckle motif cast iron fence and a triple ballroom. The mansion served as a home to the Buckner family until 1923, when the prestigious Soule Business School moved in. Soule was the best business school in the South until it closed doors in 1983. The mansion is now a private residence, available as a vacation rental for the tidy sum of $20,000. According to the show’s Facebook page “Extreme precaution was taken to not damage the 156-year-old mansion.” It’s a popular photo spot in the Garden District though, so join the other fans parked in front for a photo opp.

Mayfair Manor was commissioned by Albert Hamilton Brevard and built in 1857 by James Calrow and Charles Pride. The home was later purchased by Anne Rice and became the inspiration for Mayfair Manor, the Garden District home of Anne Rice’s famous Mayfair Witches.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is a historic cemetery in the Garden District neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1833 and still in use today, the cemetery takes its name from its location in what was once the City of Lafayette, a suburb of New Orleans that was annexed by the larger metropolis in 1852. The city’s first planned cemetery, it is notable for the architectural significance of its tombs and mausoleums, often containing multiple family members, and for its layout, a cruciform plan that allowed for funeral processions.

Sandra Bullock's Home Oscar winner Sandra Bullock has many homes but here in NOLA she lives part time on Fourth & Coliseum Streets. She still resides in this home with her two children and current boyfriend, Bryan Randall. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

The Payne-Strachan House located in the Garden District of New Orleans is of Greek Revival design. It is best known as the home that Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America died in December of 1889.

The Briggs-Staub House broke from Garden District tradition with its sharp arc windows and Gothic Resurgence design when it was constructed for gambler Cuthbert Bulitt in 1849.

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel is located on Prytania Street in the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Italianate style mansion was designed by architect Henry Howard in 1857. The house is complete with elaborate metalwork on the fence and galleries, a gaslight on the porch, and Romeo spikes atop the metal columns, which were intended to keep over-eager young suitors out of the house. The Madonna and canopy in the yard used to be a Catholic chapel. The chapel is one of the locations used in Anne Rice’s novel Violin. Rice also owned the property for a period of time, as did actor Nicholas Cage.

Founded in 1947, the Women’s Guild promotes and fosters understanding of opera, cooperating with New Orleans Opera through active fundraising, opera advocacy, and custodial care of the Opera Guild Home. With over 350 members, the Women’s Guild ensures that the gift of opera remains an integral part of New Orleans culture.

Toby's Corner Constructed in 1838 for Philadelphia-born wheelwright Thomas Toby, this Greek-Revival house is said to be the oldest in New Orleans’ Garden District. Toby’s Corner, also called the Thomas Toby-Westfeldt House, is located along Prytania Street and was later purchased by Thomas Dugan in 1858 for his daughter whose husband was part of the Westfeldt family.

Archie and Peyton Manning Childhood Home The childhood home of NFL superstars Peyton and Eli Manning, also where Archie still resides with his wife Olivia.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button House 2009’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was extensively filmed in New Orleans and surrounding areas. Much of the filming took place in the Nolan house in New Orleans. Right around the corner from Commander’s Palace restaurant, the 7,800 square-foot mansion has 6 bedrooms, a music room, a library, and a reception hall. Filming took place in virtually every room in the house. Built in 1832 (and renovated substantially in 1872), the house has been the home for three generations of William T. Nolan II’s family. Nolan’s daughter, Ashley, plays a doctor in the movie.

Musson-Bell House The Musson-Bell House, an imposing Italianate home in the Garden District, was commissioned in the 1850s by Michel Musson, a prominent cotton broker and the maternal uncle of French Impressionist Edgar Degas. For many years a small reproduction of the painting, “Portrait of Mme. Rene Degas” hung in the home.

John Goodman’s House Famed actor John Goodman who’s filmed many movies and TV shows in New Orleans might be walking his dog around the neighborhood. It seems that it’s his love of the city that keeps him here when he’s not working. John Goodman purchased it in February 2005 for $1.8M from Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor.

Walter Grinnan Robinson House This 10,516-square-foot mansion was built in 1859 by New Orleans’ most famous architect Henry Howard for Walter Robinson, a cotton merchant from Virginia. It is one of the first houses in New Orleans to have indoor plumbing.