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Activities
Evening Events
Welcome Reception
Creole Queen CruiseBoard the Creole Queen and enjoy a private cocktail party as the charming paddlewheeler riverboat takes you on a short excursion down the Mississippi River. On board there will be a strolling Dixieland Trio to entertain, as guests sip cocktails and nibble on the sumptuous hors d’ouvres.
Networking Reception and Dinner
House of BluesThe House of Blues is the hot spot in New Orleans, and its popularity is well deserved. Since its establishment in the French Quarter in 1994, the House of Blues has been the premiere performance location for well-known touring bands. It is also a dynamic eatery, serving a variety of menu items ranging from down home New Orleans cooking to selections from the Southwest and the Pacific Rim. The atmosphere is eclectic, extending from the "Voodoo Lounge" patio, to the dining room, decorated in bas relief sculptures of blues artists, to the Club which features a multitude of primitive religious artwork all over the walls and anywhere else it can fit!
Gala Dinner
Mardi Gras WorldRevel in the amazing maze of Mardi Gras props and floats of New Orleans' spectacular showcase of carnival, where thousands of sensational sculptures and breathtaking giant figures are part of the decor year-round.
Parallel Activities & Tours
French Quarter Historical Walking Tour
Experience the old-world charm of the Vieux Carré. You will discover not only its history, but also its bustling present. Strolling through the Vieux Carré you will get a glimpse of the oldest section of New Orleans with its narrow streets. As you travel through this ageless area, you will view outstanding examples of 18th- and 19th-century French and Spanish architecture, as well as the cast iron fences of Jackson Square and a wide array of emporiums and internationally famous restaurants.
Your walk will include entrance into the Historic New Orleans Collection. The beautiful rooms, each dedicated to a different period, showcase materials chosen from the Collection's holdings. Maps, documents, artifacts, prints, photographs, paintings, rare books, and furniture chronicle Louisiana's history from the earliest explorers to the modern day. Changing exhibits focus on art, music, and literature among other topics.
Following the visit to HNOC, guests will stroll to the Beauregard-Keyes House. One of the most romantic and fascinating old houses in New Orleans, the Beauregard-Keyes House was once owned by Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. After his residence there, however, the home sank into disrepair. In 1944, novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes saved the home from destruction. This stately home also features an outstanding formal garden. Your last stop will be at the Café du Monde for café au lait and beignets.
Your tour will leave you with a lively impression of New Orleans' architecture and a realization of the expansive culture, influenced by its legends and wealth of history, in which its people have lived and worked.
Now You're Cookin'!
Get a first-hand demonstration on what makes New Orleans cooking special (as well as yummy!). Our professionally licensed tour guides will meet you at the Royal Sonesta Hotel and guide you through the French Quarter to the New Orleans School of Cooking, which is located in a quaint renovated molasses warehouse built in the early 1800s.
During the demonstration, you’ll learn the basics of Louisiana Cooking, with fun as the primary ingredient! The personable chef will teach such New Orleans specialties as Gumbo, Jambalaya and Pralines, and season them with history, trivia and tall tales. It's a "ga-ron-teed" good time for all! Following the class, everyone will enjoy a delectable tasting drawn from the menu items that have just been prepared before your eyes!
Everyone will take back written recipes, so that they can return home and cook like a New Orleans chef no matter where they are from! Your tour guide will escort you back to the hotel.
Southern Journey
A privately chartered, air-conditioned motorcoach will take you on a tour down the Great River Road where the guides
will reminisce with stories and anecdotes of the Old South as it once was along this pathway.
You will then disembark the motorcoach at Houmas House Plantation. Built in the last quarter of the 18th century, Houmas House Plantation was the setting for the classic movie, "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" starring Bette Davis. Departing Plantation Country, you will have truly experienced the hospitality and warmth of the Old South.
Swamp Romp
Travel into a land of timeless beauty where exotic plants and animals thrive in unsurpassed splendor...the very definition of Cajun Country! Your professional tour guide will tell you a little bit about our swamplands as the motorcoach transports you to a nearby fishing village. Here, guests will board pontoon boats captained by experienced guides who will point out indigenous plants and animals of the bayous of Louisiana. The captain will also share the history of the Cajun people who inhabit this area. Alligators, turtles, and egrets are but a few of the possible animal sightings on this watery eco-journey.
Round trip private motorcoach transportation to and from this Cajun village will be provided.
Uptown On The Avenue
Uptown. This area of New Orleans evokes images of grand mansions set within the confines of the city -- an elite area of beauty and refinement. This unique tour will take you up St. Charles Avenue, which belongs among the nation's most fabled streets. You will journey past the historic Garden District’s magnificent mansions and majestic oak trees. Your guide will describe the history of this area, while she reveals stories and anecdotes about the residents of this grand area.
Your first stop will be at a private home in the vicinity of the Garden District, showcasing the marriage of 19th century charm and beauty with 20th century convenience. The tour will then proceed to the Elms Mansion, a beautiful example of Italianate style architecture. Built in 1869, it continues to provide exquisite grandeur to St. Charles Avenue and the Garden District section of New Orleans. Surrounding the Mansion are lovely gardens and patios, while inside are such elegant touches as an important mantel of hand-carved carrara marble, ornamental plaster cornices, 24 karat gold sconces, and a 48-ft Grand Ballroom lined with jeweled windows. The House has been meticulously cared for and is complimented with impeccable period furnishings.
The tour will conclude as you meander back down St. Charles Avenue, returning to the hotel impressed by all that you have seen.