Ursuline Convent

The Old Ursuline Convent, completed in 1752, is the oldest surviving example of the French colonial period in the United States. The gardens are tended by the chef from Stella!, one of New Orleans’ best restaurants, to grow fresh veggies and herbs.

Here’s a legend with bite: In the late 1800s, a group of unwed French women arrived with their belongings packed in big coffin-like boxes, which earned them the nickname of “coffin girls.” Expecting to find well-bred men but finding mostly hooligans, the women were taken in by the Ursuline nuns, who stored the boxes in the convent attic. As the women were married off, the boxes were retrieved — but always found empty. Superstitious locals said the women had used the boxes to smuggle vampires to New Orleans.