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Highest-rated specialty museums in Louisiana by visitors

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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
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In 1683, Elias Ashmole, an Oxford graduate and true polymath, founded the Ashmolean, the modern world's first public museum. Stocked with his private collection of artifacts, curios, and special scientific equipment, the goal of the museum was to create a center for practical research and the advancement of knowledge. This, Ashmole felt, was a goal "very necessary to humaine life, health [and] the conveniences thereof."

According to figures from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there are more than 35,000 museums in the United States today. Their collections encompass everything from modern art, like at the MoMA in New York City, to mustard, like at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, and everything in between.

Museums are anchors of our communities. The American Alliance of Museums reports that museums support more than 725,000 jobs and contribute upwards of $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Three-quarters of Americans agree that museums are an important part of our civil society and have an important role in promoting knowledge and civic engagement.

Beyond their educational and economic significance, museums are just plain fun. Whether you have a developed interest in natural history or just want to learn a little bit more about funerary history (the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston), there's sure to be a museum that strikes your interest. There's simply nothing else quite like spending an afternoon learning about famous figures, arts and crafts, military history, or what else you fancy.

Here, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated specialty museums in Louisiana on Tripadvisor as of Aug. 13, 2025. Keep reading to see what unique museums are in your home state. Then, make sure to plan a visit. With many museums facing funding cuts due to the current administration's efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, who's to say how much longer these treasure troves will be available to us?

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#30. Haunted Museum & Voodoo Shop

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#30. Haunted Museum & Voodoo Shop

- Rating: 4.3/5 (67 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#28. The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

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#28. The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

- Rating: 4.9/5 (55 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#27. Treme's Petit Jazz Museum

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#27. Treme's Petit Jazz Museum

- Rating: 4.9/5 (54 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#23. Southern Food and Beverage Museum

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#23. Southern Food and Beverage Museum

- Rating: 4.2/5 (182 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#20. Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture

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#20. Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture

- Rating: 4.5/5 (154 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#17. Memorial Hall Confederate Civil War Museum

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#17. Memorial Hall Confederate Civil War Museum

- Rating: 4.3/5 (604 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#15. New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

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#15. New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

- Rating: 3.4/5 (884 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#14. Shreveport Water Works Museum

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#14. Shreveport Water Works Museum

- Rating: 4.7/5 (152 reviews)
- City: Shreveport
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#13. New Orleans Jazz Museum

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#13. New Orleans Jazz Museum

- Rating: 4.0/5 (680 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#12. Backstreet Cultural Museum

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#12. Backstreet Cultural Museum

- Rating: 4.6/5 (376 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#10. Acadian Village

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#10. Acadian Village

- Rating: 4.3/5 (411 reviews)
- City: Lafayette Lafayette Parish
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#9. The Historic New Orleans Collection

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#9. The Historic New Orleans Collection

- Rating: 4.7/5 (709 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#5. New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

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#5. New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

- Rating: 4.5/5 (1,210 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#1. The National WWII Museum

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#1. The National WWII Museum

- Rating: 4.8/5 (31,281 reviews)
- City: New Orleans
- Read more on Tripadvisor

This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Madison Troyer, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 51 states.

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