Mardi Gras World, Float construction facility in Downtown New Orleans, US.
Mardi Gras World is a large workshop in New Orleans where hundreds of carnival floats, props, and decorations are built for the annual celebrations. The place displays the craftsmanship and artistic work that goes into these elaborate parade creations.
The workshop was founded in 1947 and has served as the main production hub for carnival floats that roll through New Orleans streets year after year. It became deeply tied to the development of Mardi Gras traditions and evolved into a center of this local art form.
The place displays traditional craft techniques passed down through generations in New Orleans and shows visitors how this art form shapes the local identity. Colorful costumes and giant figures everywhere reflect the importance of these celebrations in the city.
Visitors can explore the facility with guided tours that provide a good overview of the workshop and how it operates. It helps to wear comfortable shoes since you spend considerable time walking and exploring.
Artisans work on the floats while visitors are there, so you can observe the creative process live. Many visitors are surprised by the size and complexity of individual floats and the many layers of materials needed to complete them.
Location: New Orleans
GPS coordinates: 29.93467,-90.06160
Latest update: December 6, 2025 16:03
New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, reveals its musical history through its neighborhoods and concert halls. The French Quarter features wrought-iron balconies and Creole buildings facing St. Louis Cathedral, while Bourbon Street is home to jazz clubs and music venues. Preservation Hall has upheld the jazz tradition since 1961 in a building from the 18th century, and Jackson Square hosts musicians and street performers in the city center. The musical heritage extends from the Marigny district, with its Creole houses and clubs, to Congo Square, once a gathering place for African music in the 19th century. The Garden District showcases its 19th-century homes surrounded by gardens, while City Park offers 500 hectares of century-old oaks and botanical gardens. The Louisiana State Museum completes this exploration with its regional history and art collections.
Louisiana preserves a diverse heritage through its plantations, museums, and natural areas. This collection includes sites where French colonial architecture can be seen along the Cane River, plantation buildings like Melrose and Frogmore that reflect cotton farming and African-American history, and the archaeological site of Poverty Point with its mounds dating to 1700 BC. Museums record the settlement of German communities in Germantown, Acadian culture, and the political history of the state at the old Capitol in Baton Rouge. Gardens and parks provide access to the region's characteristic landscapes. Avery Island Botanical Garden features 70 hectares of vegetation on a natural salt dome, while the bayou wetlands host a variety of wildlife. Places like the Chauvin Art Garden add a modern aspect with sculptures along a waterway. This route allows exploration of different periods in Louisiana's history, from pre-Columbian cultures to developments in the 20th century.
Louisiana blends old neighborhoods, plantation houses, and diverse natural landscapes. The French Quarter of New Orleans keeps its 18th-century Spanish colonial architecture, with wrought-iron balconies and lively streets where jazz and the sounds of passersby fill the air. In Baton Rouge, the USS Kidd remembers World War II, while in Lafayette, the Vermilionville Museum celebrates the lives of early Acadian settlers with demonstrations of traditional crafts and cooking. Plantations like Laura or Rosedown open their doors to tell the rich story of the South, with restored outbuildings and gardens where time seems to stand still. Along the Gulf of Mexico, Holly Beach attracts families who come to swim, fish, or collect shells. Everywhere, Louisiana culture is part of daily life, seen in festivals like Mardi Gras with its parades filling the streets, in spicy dishes served in local restaurants, and in the music that accompanies every moment of the day.
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