Mardi Gras World is a working warehouse and studio where Blaine Kern Artists, the largest float-building company in New Orleans, constructs the enormous floats that roll through the streets during carnival season. Guided tours take you through the workshops where fibreglass figures the size of houses are painted, costumed, and assembled — the same floats you see parading past on Fat Tuesday. Visiting when construction is in progress (October through January) gives you the best behind-the-scenes experience.
The scale of the operation is staggering: Mardi Gras is not a small event. The warehouse contains thousands of past and present figures, from traditional kings and queens to enormous caricatures of politicians and pop culture figures. The tour includes a short film on the history of Mardi Gras, the chance to try on costume pieces, and king cake (in season). It is a genuinely fascinating look at the industrial side of New Orleans's defining ritual.