"The Sun" sculpture by Ugo Rondinone, located in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in New Orleans.

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Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

Top choice in New Orleans


The sculpture garden that sits just outside the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park is a wooded quilt of streams, pathways, lovers' benches and, of course, sculpture, mainly of the modern and contemporary sort. During spring and summer, theatrical productions are often put on here, but it's a lovely spot for a stroll any time of year.

Three of George Rodrigue's "Blue Dogs" – in red, yellow and blue – await your arrival in the garden, which opened in 2003 with pieces from the world-renowned Besthoff collection. Today, it holds more than 60 pieces, dotted across 5 acres. Most are contemporary works by artists such as Antoine Bourdelle, Henry Moore and Louise Bourgeois.

More to explore in City Park

Art- and nature-lovers could easily spend a day exploring the park. Anchoring the action is the stately New Orleans Museum of Art, which spotlights regional and American artists. From there, stroll past the whimsical creations in the sculpture garden, then check out the lush Botanical Gardens.


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