Vice, Virtue and Negotiable Affection

duration: 2 hours cancellation_summary: You can cancel up tp 24 hours prior to tour for full refund meeting_point: 768 Decatur Street min_age: 16 max_age: 99 group_size: 15 description: A provocative and powerful tour through the hidden history of New Orleans' sex industry and the women who ran it.

From Gallatin Street’s crime-filled past to the glitzy brothels of Storyville, this walking tour reveals the bold lives of madams, sex workers, and Creole women who defied convention. Get to know real women like Lulu White, Josie Arlington, and Norma Wallace, who turned vice into empires. Hear stories of danger, survival, and strategy set against the backdrop of race, class, and morality in a city that has always celebrated its contradictions.

Explore the real locations behind the legends. Learn about the Blue Books, placage relationships, Creole identity, and the creation of Storyville, the nation’s first legalized red-light district. See where the music of jazz greats echoed through parlor rooms and where the law turned a blind eye until it didn’t. Spend some time in a real former brothel where you can sit down and converse with your guide over drinks.

You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of the women who shaped New Orleans not despite their profession, but because of it.

Distance: Approx. 1.5 miles Location: French Quarter Recommended for: Adults interested in real history, feminism, crime, culture, and jazz ⚠️ Mature themes. This tour discusses sex work, violence, and racial history. No one under under 16 is allowed on the tour. Ages 21+ preferred. what_is_included: * Licensed local guide * History of the Brothels and sex trade in New Orleans * Historically accurate information * Follow up email with more information and photos * Visit a former brothel where you can buy a drink what_is_not_included: *Drinks not included in tour price itinerary: * Pease meet us at the bottom of the concrete steps. This location is across the street from the mule and carriage rides

• See the original square of the city. See where the founders met, where women like Rose Nicaud sold coffee and the Baroness Pontalba's legacy shows today.

• See the Crescent Curve in the Mississippi River (why we are called the Crescent City). See where ships brought in the sailors who frequented the brothels. Walk along the famous levee of the city.

• Walk along the promenade with benches and bronze sculptures depicting French Quarter characters. See the famous mural that tells the history of the cities people.

• Stand in the very spot where the most dangerous street in the United States used to be. This was the center for New Orleans nightlife and sex trade priot to the legalization and many men never returned from visiting these boarding houses and "houses of ill repute"

• See the location where many of the famous Blue Books were printed. These were the guidebooks to sin. You will also be able to see a blue book, up close and in person.

• See the childhood home of EJ Bellocq, the photographer of the Storyville sex workers.

*See the last brothel of Norma Wallace, known as the Last Madam.

*See numerous locations where the sex industry and high society intersected.

• See the remains of the Storyville Red Light District. The 1st legalized prostitution neighborhood in America.

• Have drinks and conversation in a former brothel where an actual brothel business license still hangs on the wall and Bellocq's photographs of Storyville sex workers are displayed.

highlights: Out tour is given with historically accurate information and not done to glamorize or condemn the sex workers of New Orleans. Our guides have ancestral ties to the city. They are descendants of New Orleanians dating back hundreds of years. Some are descendants of brothel owners, madams, or sex workers. Our goal on this tour is to bring this subjects sorted past to life, while presenting the facts in an interesting and engaging way. check_in_details: Please arrive 15 minutes before the tour begins. what_to_bring: Wear comfortable shoes Bring water to drink Umbrellas come in handy in case of rain special_requirements: ⚠️ Mature themes. This tour discusses sex work, violence, and racial history. No one under under 16 is allowed on the tour. Ages 21+ preferred. restrictions: This tour is not recommended for those with mobility issues due to the walk and the lack of accessibility for wheelchairs and scooters at our final stop. disclaimers: Our tours run rain or shine. We do reserve the right to cancel the tour, with full refund, if the weather is deemed too dangerous.