The Mule-Drawn Carriage Difference: An Experience, Not Just a Tour
Meet Our Team of Professional Carriage Drivers and Mules!
Each of our mules are cherished, loved, and respected for what they are capable of and what they do for us. Those who work with animals can understand how impressed we are day to day with the intellegence of our four-legged partners.
Charles has worked for Royal Carriages for over 20 years. He can be seen in the French Quarter at night working with a female mule named Lindy. His mule, Lindy, was named after an influential New Orleans woman known as Lindy Boggs, who helped keep the French Quarter preserved as a historic district.
"WE were in NOLA for the week at a business conference and a group of us took the first ride with Charles and Lindy. Charles was a hoot. Extremely funny and knowledgeable. Everyone raved at how much fun it was. It was the highlight of everyone's week. Thank YOU to Charles. Your the BEST!!!!!" - Tammy Z of TripAdvisor
Ben is a Graduate of Equine Sciences from Clemson and worked as a professional horse trainer in South Carolina before he moved down to New Orleans. He was excited to expand his equine experience with the opportunity to work at Royal Carriages. He's one of the trainers who helps train new drivers and mules to be the best they can be!
"Our tour guide, Ben, was very informative on local history. Napoleon was our mule. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable experience. The stable is right in the city and a very clean facility. We were able too meet the other mules and feed them carrots. All of the employees that we interacted with were friendly and appreciative of our business. We would highly recommend seeing the city by using Royal Carriages." - TripAdvisor.com Review
James and Pearl are the ones who escort the bride to her wedding ceremony at the cathedral. They also scare the pants off of people with their History & Haunts Spooky Nighttime Carriage Tour. He calls her his "sweet girl, Pearl" and "Miss Piggy"!
"We loved our carriage ride with James and Pearl! It's such a great way to see the city while staying cool and learning all about New Orleans James was such an informative and animated guide! He told us so much about the history of the city, shared of it's spooky stories, and gave us some great recommendations for restaurants and the best places to see live jazz!" - Kathryn J of TripAdvisor.com
Both Fiona and Chicory arrived in New Orleans in early of 2017 to start their career at Royal Carriages. Fiona, a native of New Orleans, owned and operated her own carriage company in Austin, TX before moving back home! She never worked with mules before, only horses, but this completely black Molly mule stole her heart! Together, they gave Prince Charles-Philippe D'Orléans Duc D'anjou of France, and his wife and family, a carriage ride in a royal procession throughout the French Quarter.
"I was in New Orleans last month and had a wonderful time, The MOST fun thing I did was to take a Royal Carriages tour of the French Quarter. Our driver, Fiona, was personable, funny, and knowledgeable. She sweet-talked her mule, Chicory, into doing whatever she wanted. Fiona's knowledge of the French Quarter and its historic places was impressive. She's entertaining and smart! I got some great photos of places I would never have seen if I had stayed on foot. Besides, Chicory likes the exercise. Thank you, Royal Carriages (and Fiona), for a great time!" - John D. of San Diego, TripAdvisor.com
KJ is Veteran of our ARMY Reserve. Being a Veteran-owned company, this is important to us! We appreciate his dedication to our company! KJ and Pretty Boy provide lots of ghost stories in the evening time.
"We had KJ and Pretty Boy (mule) as our tour guide. They were phenomenal! KJ gave excellent history background of the French Quarter and even little details about the architecture of the buildings... I would highly recommend riding with KJ and Pretty Boy if you are interested!" - Melanie T of TripAdvisor.com
She's a theatre professional that just loves mules, and her name is Rebekah. This New Orleans native is working on her Masters Degree in education. She's one of our many guides who loves doing tours of Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1. She works with a young mule named Shine!
"One of the best and most informative tours. We had Rebekah and Shine the mule. Rebekah was fantastic and was full of information on the cemetery and city. Would highly recommend Rebekah as your guide! She was wonderful." - Jim S of TripAdvisor.com
Michelle is a former teacher as well! She just loves spender her days working besides Queenie in the lovely French Quarter.
"We loved the carriage ride we took in NOLA. Michelle was a terrific guide, super friendly and informative. I think everyone should take a carriage ride around the French Quarter- it is a great way to see the town and learn a little about its history." - Lori I of Los Gatos, California on TripAdvisor.com
Cloudy was named after the boss's 4-year-old! Since we care for both Cloudy and her sister, we named her sister Stormy. Emily works with Cloudy in the evening, and they tend to be involved with lots of surprise engagement proposals!
"Cloudy the mule was in wonderful condition and her caretaker, Emily, was excellent with her. Emily explained that the mules only work for 2 months at a time and then take a hiatus on a farm for a month or so before they come back to work. After taking a good look at Cloudy and seeing that she was well groomed, cared for and healthy we agreed to the tour. Emily was great and shared lots of unique bits of knowledge regarding the French Quarter. It was a lovely way to spend a short time of our visit. Cloudy is very smart and practically leads the tour without guidance from Emily!" - Stephanie of Philadelphia, PA on TripAdvisor.com
Hannah competed in barrel racing before she drove carriages in Jekyll Island, GA. She moved back home to Louisiana for college, majoring in business, because she hopes to own her own horse-focused business one day. Since she's a college student, you mostly find Hannah in the evening times working with Mae West.
Nate is a former history teacher who decided driving mules was more fun than spending all day doing paperwork in a classroom. He loves to be able to share his knowledge and love with visitors as Dooky trots around the French Quarter. Dooky, and her brother (Prudhomme, are both named after famous chefs in New Orleans: Dooky Chase and Paul Prudhomme! Both mules are super cuddly and friendly, so make sure you stop by for some mule-loving!
"Nate was our carriage driver and he was really relaxed! He knew a lot about the city and was really easy to talk to! Highly recommend Nate and his mule. It was also very nice to see how caring and compassionate Nate was toward his mule!" - TripAdvisor.com
Rich decided that he wanted a fun job, so he left the corporate world and we're so happy to have him as one of our many professional and licensed tour guides. History, culture, and architecture is what he specializes in on his nightly tours of old New Orleans! Grab some beignets to-go and go for a ride with him and Snoball!
"Rich & his mule, amazing. Thank you for making us feel welcome, the laughs & great history." - Jo, Cinderella & Cilla of Sydney, Australia on TripAdvisor.com
Kim spends her Mardi Gras season on horseback, riding in all of the parades throughout South Louisiana, including all of the big parades in New Orleans! Since she loved horses so much, she thought it would be fun to work with mules in New Orleans. She's having a lot of fun with Stanley showing people around the French Quarter.
Johnathan is a professional actor in the local film community and has been featured in a few different big box office films. He fell in love with carriage driving when he began working at Royal Carriages many years ago. He even discovered that his great grandfather plowed farmland with mules in Alabama.
"My wife and I brought a few friends to New Orleans for the first time for a little R&R. We schedule a tour with our guide Jonathan and his mule Elizabeth. The tour was great and our guide was very knowledgeable of the area and culture. We ask him what is his favorite restaurant which he gave us and we ate later that night was delicious! We always have a great time in New Orleans! Thanks again." Troy C of TripAdvisor.com
Ready to see the French Quarter? Let Blanch and Cayenne cart your around old New Orleans! With them, you'll learn about the history of our beignets, poboys, daiquiris, and more!
"I recently did the hour long French Quarter/Cemetery Tour with Blanche--and it was a great time. Blanche was knowledgeable and so much fun. As someone who has been to New Orleans several times, it was nice to learn more about the culture and history of the city. The tour was all around a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat!" - Alicia W of Chicago, Illinois on TripAdvisor.com
November 19, 2021 - Our hearts go out to Harvey Marsolan and the Marsolan Feed and Seed Store Family on the devastating loss of their historic and iconic Feed Store in Downtown Covingt...read more
Mark and his sweet horse, Elizabeth treated us to a close-up and very informative tour of the French Quarter, including the oldest cemetery in New Orleans. We saw, in an open carriage which allowed for a full view, the grandest and most interesting sights of the French Quarter, learning interesting history and facts of the area as we rode through the streets. Mark gave us a very interesting tour of the oldest cemetery, adding interesting and curious stories about some of the famous people who are interred there and how the cemetery is run. His added humor made this a very fun tour! This was one of the highlights of our visit to New Orleans
TripAdvisor Member: Paulette A of Bloomfield, New York, USA
