Entry No. 9 — the New Orleans file — filed under: oddities

New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

Set in an 1823 apothecary built for Louis Dufilho Jr., often cited as America's first licensed pharmacist, this two-story museum keeps its original rose-and-black Italian marble soda fountain from 1855 and rows of hand-labeled drawers and bottles. Among the cures are gris-gris voodoo potions Dufilho reportedly learned to make from a local priestess and sold by number under the counter, plus a white ceramic jar labeled "Leeches" holding live specimens. The collection runs to bloodletting tools, opium tinctures and 19th-century surgical instruments.

The move: Take the morning guided tour together, then linger over the antique surgical cabinets and voodoo-potion shelf and debate which 1800s 'cure' you'd least want prescribed.

📍 Before you go Open Tuesday-Saturday, roughly 11am-4pm; the 10am Sunday slot is guided-tour only and they are closed Mondays.

• 📍 French Quarter
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 514 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Hours: Added 2026-06-22 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-22