Key Takeaways Free walking tours in New Orleans provide local guides sharing historical insights on French Quarter and Garden District architecture. Tours operate on pay-what-you-feel pricing, with guides receiving gratuities based on guest satisfaction after tour completion. Walking tours reveal hidden courtyards, art installations, and local restaurants beyond typical guidebook recommendations. New Orleans, Louisiana, the vibrant and culturally rich city located on the banks of the Mississippi River, is known for its unique blend of French, African, Spanish, and Creole...

Key Takeaways Three-day New Orleans itinerary covers Garden District, French Quarter, Marigny, and Mid-City neighborhoods with local dining and attractions. Essential experiences include beignets at Café du Monde, Magazine Street galleries, Commander’s Palace dining, and Frenchmen Street nightlife. Transportation recommendations include rental cars for neighborhood exploration and New Orleans Streetcar day passes for $3. New Orleans is a city that constantly evolves while staying rooted in rich history and tradition. While Nola is known for its massive Mardi Gras...

Key Takeaways New Orleans offers indoor activities including National WWII Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, and Audubon Aquarium during rainy weather. French Market, Magazine Street antique shops, and local art galleries provide covered shopping experiences throughout the city. Cafes like District Donuts, Willa Jean, and Café du Monde offer comfortable spots to wait out rain with food and drinks. If there is one thing we know to be true about Crescent City and the Bayou area, it’s that the weather is totally unpredictable. Known for its hurricane seasons and humid...

Key Takeaways New Orleans December weather averages mid-60s highs and mid-40s lows with mild winter conditions and unpredictable temperature swings. Major holiday events include Celebration in the Oaks light festival, Christmas Eve bonfires, Reveillon dinners, and Caroling in Jackson Square. Holiday attractions feature Garden District home tours, Nola Christmasfest at the convention center, and New Year’s Eve celebrations. New Orleans is an exciting place to visit year-round, but it transforms into a winter wonderland during the holidays. What can we say? New Orleanians...

Key Takeaways New Orleans winter features mild weather with average highs in the mid-60s and lows in the mid-40s from December through February. Winter attractions include Celebration in the Oaks light festival, Christmas Eve Bonfires on the Mississippi River, and traditional Reveillon Dinners at local restaurants. Mardi Gras season officially begins on Twelfth Night in January and continues with parades and celebrations until Fat Tuesday before Lent. While most of the world slows down for the winter season, New Orleans comes alive. In fact, New Orleanians would tell you that...

Key Takeaways Spring is the busiest season with Mardi Gras in February or early March and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April. Fall offers the best weather with temperatures in the 70s and 80s, fewer crowds, and major events like Oktoberfest and Restaurant Week. Summer features lower prices and fewer tourists but extreme heat and humidity with temperatures averaging over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August. If you are looking for a fun place to go and visit, you have probably thought about spending time in New Orleans. The bayou is a beautiful place to...

Key Takeaways Audubon Aquarium of the Americas features over 250 animal species and reopened in summer 2023 after major renovations adding new exhibits. The Gulf of Mexico Exhibit contains 400,000 gallons of seawater at 17 feet deep, showcasing sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, and Gulf Coast fish. Single admission tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for kids, with discounted combo tickets available for the aquarium, insectarium, and zoo. New Orleans might be best known for its cuisine and culture, but did you know that it also boasts one of the top-rated aquariums in the...

*Updated July 2024 Key Takeaways Fontainebleau State Park on Lake Pontchartrain is the closest beach to New Orleans with hiking trails, kayaking, and a $3 entrance fee. Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, is the closest Gulf of Mexico beach only one hour away, offering shallow waters, wide sandy beaches, and free parking. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama provide clearer waters than Mississippi beaches and feature miles of beaches with public access, shopping, and restaurants. Nestled between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans offers a unique blend...

Key Takeaways Metairie is a lakeside suburb 10 minutes from Louis Armstrong International Airport and 20 minutes from Downtown New Orleans offering suburban amenities. Pontchartrain Lakefront Trail is a 24-mile round-trip paved trail along Lake Pontchartrain with spectacular lake views for walking, jogging, and cycling. Lafreniere Park is the largest outdoor space in Metairie featuring a 2-mile track, 21-hole disc golf course, carousel, splash pad, and 5-acre dog park. Just west of the city of New Orleans lies Metairie, a thriving lakeside suburb with its own distinct...

Key Takeaways New Orleans features 10 must-visit museums including the National World War II Museum in the Warehouse District and New Orleans Jazz Museum in the historic Old U.S. Mint. The Presbytere houses the Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit documenting Hurricane Katrina’s impact and New Orleans’ community resilience and rebuilding efforts. New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park contains over 5,000 years of art and includes the adjacent Besthoff Sculpture Garden with 90 art pieces. New Orleans is home to some of the best museums in the...

Key Takeaways Six best New Orleans neighborhoods include Central Business District for museums and events, Uptown for Victorian architecture, and Marigny/Bywater for local arts and live music. Treme/Lafitte dating back to 1783 is one of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the country and the birthplace of jazz music. Mid-City features City Park as the largest outdoor space in New Orleans and offers walkable access to breweries, mom-and-pop restaurants, and beer gardens. New Orleans, Louisiana, might be most famous for the French Quarter, but its charm stretches...

Key Takeaways Canal Street at 171 feet wide dates back to 1807 and runs from the Mississippi River through the Warehouse District to Mid-City. The Canal Street Streetcar Line is a 5.5-mile route running along the middle of Canal Street, connecting the riverfront to City Park for $1.25 per ride. Saenger Theatre opened in 1927 with Italian Baroque architecture hosts Broadway shows, local performances, and the yearly Nutcracker Ballet every December. At a whopping 171 feet wide, the infamous Canal Street embodies all that we know and love about New Orleans. Steeped with...

Key Takeaways New Orleans bachelor parties feature airboat swamp tours, NOLA Motorsports Park go-karting, Pelicans basketball and Saints football games at neighboring stadiums in Warehouse District. Bourbon Street spans 13 blocks with over 50 bars including historic Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar and Pat O’Brien’s famous Hurricane cocktails. Harrah’s Casino opened Caesars Sportsbook in 2022 with 5,000 square foot betting room featuring 147-foot video screen and state-of-the-art audio system. Let’s be real: New Orleans makes it easy to plan an...

Key Takeaways Bywater neighborhood located two miles from French Quarter features historic 19th-century shotgun homes and Creole cottages along Mississippi River east of Central Business District. StudioBE is 35,000-square-foot warehouse art gallery opened in 2016 by Brandan ‘Bmike’ Odums, largest public art exhibit in South featuring over 40 artists. Crescent Park spans 1.4 miles along Mississippi River through Bywater and Marigny offering best views of New Orleans skyline and 20 acres of riverfront recreation. Just two miles from the heart of the French Quarter...

Key Takeaways Country Club Drag Brunch happens every Saturday and Sunday at 10 am and 1 pm in Bywater neighborhood with post-brunch pool access for $20. Carousel Bar inside Hotel Monteleone is New Orleans’ only revolving bar with 25 seats, offering live music, craft cocktails, first-come first-served seating in French Quarter. Magazine Street in Garden District features local shops, antique stores, restaurants in colorful historic buildings including La Boulangerie French bakery for lunch with wine and champagne. When looking for the ultimate bachelorette party, New...

Key Takeaways Faubourg Marigny is one of oldest New Orleans suburbs founded by Bernard de Marigny of Mandeville, now part of National Register of Historic Places. Frenchmen Street features over 20 bars, venues, event spaces offering live music spanning reggae to jazz with various genres showcased nightly along pedestrian-friendly street. Marigny Opera House housed in historic church building on edge of Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods offers Opera Ballet performances throughout year supporting performing artists. Marigny is a New Orleans, Louisiana, neighborhood ripe with...

Key Takeaways Central Business District originally residential neighborhood transformed into business hub after 1803 Louisiana Purchase with largest public transportation system including oldest operating streetcar line. Canal Street Streetcar runs from French Quarter to Mid-City passing through CBD for $1.25 per ride or unlimited Jazzy Pass for streetcars, buses, ferries. Arts and Warehouse District features Ogden Museum of Southern Art with world’s largest Southern art collection, Contemporary Arts Center, Julia Street Gallery Row with dozen art galleries. The New...

Key Takeaways New Orleans features 47 gambling locations with over 3,000 slot machines and 130+ table games throughout city, gambling legal since 1992 after casino ban from 1866. Fair Grounds Race Course opened 1872 is one of oldest racetracks in America, hosts New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival annually, features over 600 slots and TwinSpires Sportsbook. Online sports betting became legal January 2022 in New Orleans with casinos adding Sportsbook rooms featuring state-of-the-art screens, betting kiosks available at bars and restaurants citywide. There are no shortage of...

Key Takeaways City Park New Orleans spans 1,300 acres in Mid-City neighborhood featuring fine arts museums, sculpture garden, golf, tennis, equestrian stables, 10-minute trolley ride from French Quarter. New Orleans Museum of Art houses over 40,000 curated items, adjacent Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden features over 90 sculptures across eleven acres with paved paths. Carousel Gardens Amusement Park features iconic Carousel dating back to 1906 with hand-carved animal figures from 1885, includes 56 animals comprising 53 horses, lion, giraffe, camel, two chariots. ...