Want to inspire your performing arts students? Then choose this epic school trip from Nashville to New Orleans!
School trips to New Orleans offer students the opportunity to explore the USA’s most unique city and its incredible musical heritage!
While a school trip to New Orleans is most popular among performing arts groups, the city is a fantastic choice for a number of subjects. Whatever your reason for visiting New Orleans, we’ll work closely with you to tailor make your trip to ensure that it suits your specific learning objectives and leaves your students feeling inspired!
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Why choose Halsbury?
We build your trip around you
Tell us your learning objectives, curriculum and budget and we’ll do the rest.
Contact usWe’re trusted for a reason
We’re members of ABTA, ABTOT and the School Travel Forum. We also hold an ATOL and the LOtC Quality Badge.
Read moreOur Education specialists
Laura Lucas
Tour Consultant
Paul Hudson
Tour Consultant
Laura Martin
Language Sales & Product Manager
Emma Gray da Silva
Tour Consultant
Meet our education specialists and get to know more about the people committed to making your school trip the best it can be.
Why visit New Orleans?
The birthplace of jazz
Jazz emerged in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Developed by the city’s African-American community, the genre was heavily influenced by blues and ragtime.
Jazz comes from the mixing of African rhythms and European harmonies, with slave folk songs and the music of West Africa combining with the traditions of European classical music, reflecting the history of the city itself.
Jazz was also influenced by other musical and cultural influences brought to New Orleans along the Mississippi River. These include blues and bluegrass from upriver, and African and Latin folk songs from the Caribbean islands.
Jazz is still a key feature in the culture of New Orleans. Your students will be able to learn more about the genre and its relationship with the city at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, housed in the Old U.S. Mint. An active performance venue, the museum’s exhibits include the instruments of some of the key figures in jazz.
Discover a rich culture
New Orleans has a rich culture that is unique within the USA. The city was founded in 1718 by French colonists and was later governed by the Spanish for a period. Louisiana only became a part of the United States when it was sold by Napoleon in 1803 in the Louisiana Purchase. The French and Spanish influences are still very evident in the city.
The mixing of those with French and Spanish roots, and later with those of West African heritage, led to Creole culture developing in the city. This is most evident in the incredible food and vibrant festivals, including Mardi Gras, for which New Orleans is famous.
Also evident in New Orleans is Cajun culture. The Cajuns were French-speaking Canadians exiled from the Acadia region. Although they settled mostly in rural areas of Louisiana, their distinct culture has heavily influenced that of the whole state and is particularly evident in the Cajun cuisine that is so famous.
Students will love the opportunity to explore the incredibly rich, diverse and unique culture that New Orleans offers.
Explore American history
Still a major port and commercial centre, New Orleans played an important role in the transatlantic slave trade and many African slaves were brought into the colony to provide labour for the many plantations.
The end of the Civil War brought in the abolition of slavery across the USA, but racial segregation continued, and New Orleans became an important centre for the civil rights movement.