Which New Orleans attraction lets visitors tour a warehouse where Mardi Gras floats are made?

Mardi Gras World lets visitors tour a working warehouse where New Orleans Mardi Gras floats are made.

The attraction is associated with Blaine Kern, whose company became one of the city’s best-known float builders. Kern came from a family of float makers and founded Blaine Kern Artists in 1946. After creating floats for the Krewe of Alla in 1947, the business expanded into major Carnival production.

Mardi Gras World opened as a tourist attraction in 1984, giving visitors a behind-the-scenes look at float construction, sculpture, painting, and decoration. Its warehouse contains large-scale props and unfinished pieces, so the tour shows the creative process rather than just completed parade floats.

The attraction is located along the Mississippi River near the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. The complex grew substantially over time; a 2008 expansion added a 300,000-square-foot facility. The Cabildo, Jackson Square, and Preservation Hall are important New Orleans landmarks, but none is a float-building warehouse.