Vive L’histoire Française de la Nouvelle-Orléans
If you’re interested in bathing in a Carrara marble bathtub reputed to have once belonged to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, look no further than the Central Business District. The circa-1907 Le Pavillon New Orleans, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, has undergone a property-wide, multi-year renovation by the Dallas-based firm Premier. (Part of a conversion of the property to a Tribute Portfolio boutique hotel.) This most recent phase follows the Historic Hotels of America-listed hotel’s extensive renovation, also by Premier, from 2015 and 2019. Contemporary upgrades and modern design are married with Régence period extravagance to opulent (and often irreverent) results. The hotel has been celebrating the completion of the large-scale project over the past several months. Get in on the celeration with a staycation in The Napoleon Suite (or one of the other six suites), sip a cocktail from the hotel’s Bar 1803 amid the lobby’s dramatic white columns, avant-garde crystal chandeliers and golden friezes, and feel transported to another era. lepavillon.com
Just Dough It
If you missed the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown-fueled sourdough breadmaking craze of 2020, it’s not too late to start your starter. Bellegarde Bakery is bringing back its popular bread-baking workshops (they frequently sell out) at their new location at The Commissary Market + Kitchen by Dickie Brennan & Co., at 634 Orange St. Get hands-on experience working with dough, learn techniques, plus break bread with your fellow students during the class meal and take away your freshly baked bread to eat, ready-to-go dough to bake later on at home as well as tools and materials (including a starter, which is worth the $135 price of admission). bellegardebakery.com/workshops
Elevated Camp
If you haven’t yet dined at Delacroix — helmed by Shreveport native Chef Wiley Wilkinson Lewis — add it to your list both for the delicious seafood and the restaurant’s thoughtful décor. Overlooking the Mississippi River on Spanish Plaza, Delacroix is the latest offering from BRG Hospitality (formerly Besh Restaurant Group). The former home of The Crazy Lobster was reimagined with a nod to Louisiana fishing camps. In keeping with the family ambience being cultivated at Delacroix, former New York set designer Alison Mantilla Raskin — daughter of Chef John Besh’s BRG business partner Octavio Mantilla — served as interior decorator, which explains the use of personal items, such as fishing poles once used by her and her grandfather, in the décor. Photos of the staff at family fishing camps are placed around the space with crab traps and a restored pirogue, with the overall look elevated by design elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows with industrial accents, wood ceiling beams and modern furniture. BRG worked with Steven Finegan Architect for the interior architecture. delacroixrestaurant.com
Designing Woman
This autumn, Emilie Taylor Welty, co-founder of Colectivo, was recognized in the Forbes second annual 2025 America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects for her work in the practice. Taylor Welty is also the Favrot III Associate Professor of Architecture and director of architecture at Tulane University. She co-founded Colectivo with her husband, Seth Welty. The designing couple’s sustainably minded New Orleans home was featured in the popular shelter magazine, Dwell, in 2024, and Taylor Welty has received a host of awards and honors for her work. The first installment of the Forbes list included 200 architectural practices from across the United States. This year the publication expanded the list to include 400. colectivonola.com
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
The work of American design icon Louis Comfort Tiffany spans from the Art Deco movement up to contemporary design, with his influence continuing to this day in both decorative arts and jewelry. Through Jan. 3, explore the work of this legendary designer and the artists who followed in his footsteps at the M.S. Rau exhibition, “The Treasures of Tiffany.” The show covers 150 years of Tiffany windows, lamps and jewelry, with more than 75 objects on view. rauantiques.com
