Nostalgia Walking Tours

Dedra Simpson is an educator and a licensed tour guide.  Her company, Nostalgia Walking Tours, is one of the newest tour companies in New Orleans.  411 NOLA recently spoke with Dedra to learn more about her company and what it has to offer visitors.

What is the mission of your company?  What makes your company stand out in a city full of tours?

My tours bridge the past with the present and are more than just a collection of facts.  They are intended to be educational as well as entertaining.  I also offer a tour of the American Sector of the city.  NO ONE offers this right now.

What tours do you offer?

American Sector/French Quarter Combo (two tours, two days, one price!) is normally $25, but I am running an Early Fall Special for $20.00.  The American Sector/French Quarter combo is designed to link the two areas together; no one has really offered such a tour as this.

The French Quarter only tour is normally $15, but right now, the Early Fall Special price is only $10.00.

The Super Cemetery Tour (two cemeteries - St. Louis #1 and Cypress Grove and Hurricane Katrina Memorial) is $20 but the Early Fall Special $15!  The cemetery tour covers the architecture of the cemeteries and touches briefly on the haunted aspects/voodoo background some of them may have.

Tours are offered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting at 9:45 a. m. and last from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours.  Tours can be arranged by special advance appointment for other days.  Visitors are asked to book tours at least 48 hours in advance.

Do you require a minimum number of people for a tour?  

Five minimum, up to ten maximum people per tour.  I prefer an intimate group, but larger groups are welcome by advance appointment.

What makes you a good tour guide?

I am currently a Public Safety Ranger here in New Orleans.  I help the residents, tourists and business owners downtown and serve as extra eyes and ears for the police.  This is a highly social job, and the ability to socialize / relate is important when giving tours to a group.    

I am also a former teacher of middle-school English literature and grammar, so I feel that this greatly enhances my storytelling abilities.  Being licensed (which is actually required) also adds a dimension of legitimacy

Last, but not least, I am a native Louisianian who has lived in New Orleans for ten years.  My love for New Orleans is a passionate love.  Everything here from the architecture to the music, people and food fascinate me!  This makes me a great tour guide because no one wants to be guided by someone who is simply going through the motions or offering the tour through rote memorization.   People expect the guide to have ENTHUSIASM as well as knowledge.

What kind of tourist would be interested in your tours?   

An intellectual tourist or someone who knows little about New Orleans but hungers to learn.  I hope they can actually imagine themselves in another time while learning about our rich history.