Fodor's Expert Review Musée Conti Wax Museum
Editor's Note: This location is no longer in operation.
The history of New Orleans and Louisiana unfolds in colorful vignettes in this kitschy but fun museum, often used for private events and weddings. Local legends are captured life-size at seminal moments: Madame LaLaurie discovered torturing her slaves; Napoléon in his bathtub, arguing with his brothers over the Louisiana Purchase; Marie Laveau selling gris-gris (bundles with magical ingredients) to downtown customers; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor attending a Mardi Gras ball. Print and audio explanations supplement the dioramas. A miniature Mardi Gras parade fills one corridor. The museum provides an enjoyable way to get acquainted with New Orleans history, though the history depicted here does tend toward the sensational and, occasionally, the unsubstantiated.