There are
plenty of thing to keep you entertained during your visit to
New Orleans (pronounced N'awlins or New Or-luns,
not New Or-leens). Many fun and informational guided
walking tours are available. Or if you like to explore on your
own, grab a map and visit some of the suggestions below, stopping
at whatever else catches your fancy along the way.
- Explore
the streets of the French Quarter. There is plenty to see
and do from historial buildings and exhibits to shopping and dining. Around Jackson Square you can find live entertainment. Make sure the toss a dollar in the bucket or hat if you like, a must if you take a picture.
- Wander
through the French Market—daily flea market and farmer's
market—a good place to buy souvenirs!
- Enjoy
some beignets and café au lait at Café du Monde,
800 Decatur Street, French Quarter. Open 24 hours. Find a
clean table, sit down, place your order, and watch the world
go by.
- If you
are an architecture buff and love big, old houses, take a
walking tour of the Garden District, visit the cemetery and have lunch at Commander's
Palace. Or gawk at the houses along St. Charles Avenue from
the comfort of the St. Charles street car. If you have a car,
Esplanade Avenue has some fine houses as well.
- Go shopping
and gallery-hopping on Magazine Street. Magazine is very long,
so don't attempt to walk. Take the Magazine Street bus if
you don't have a car. There are stops every 2-3 blocks. The
best stretches are: Felicity to Jackson Avenue, in the Lower
Garden District; Washington to Louisiana Streets in the Garden
District; Foucher Street to Napoleon Avenue and Jefferson
Avenue to Nashville, Uptown. There are also many great restaurants, bars and coffee houses. Take the Magazine Street bus to the end of the line for Audubon Park and Zoo.
- Visit
The National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine Street, Warehouse
District. (St. Charles streetcar stop: Lee Circle or St. Joseph Street). Or if teh Civil War is more your thing, visit the Civil War Museum, 929 Camp Street.
- Ride
the ferry across the river to Algiers Point. Stunning views
of the French Quarter and a close-up of the churning, muddy
Mississippi. Board the ferry at the foot of Canal Street. Free for
pedestrians.
- Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World started on the Westbank, and there are still warehouses there. But their new space is next to the Convention Center. Take a tour and learn about Mardi Gras in New Orleans, see real Mardi Gras floats up close and personal and see the artists at work.
- NEW! Visit the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, home of the Museum of the American Cocktail. Inside the Riverwalk Marketplace (CBD) enter from Julia Street at Convention Center Blvd.
If you plan
to stay a few extra days, here are some ideas for day trips:
-
Take
a riverboat cruise. There are several to choose from of various
time lengths. A few stop at Chalmette Battle field for the war buffs.
-
Maybe not considered "fun" but local tour agencies now offer driving "Katrina" disaster tours. If you don't have a car or don't feel comfortable driving around on your own, one of these tours may be the way to go.
-
Visit
some of the plantation houses outside New Orleans. You can
join a tour or drive yourself.
-
Visit
the swamp and see alligators up close and personal, as close
as an hour drive from downtown at the Barataria Preserve.
Visit the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park visitor center
in the French Quarter, 419 Decatur, for details and maps.
Visit the State of Louisiana Travel web site for information.
In the spring and fall when the weather is usually nice, festivals abound in town and statewide. Most festivals you will find music food and arts/crafts. Some festival calendars:
http://www.neworleans.com/new-orleans-events/
http://www.nola.com/festivals/
Markets have gotten popular and almost every weekend you can find one. You can find locally grown produce, food, art, crafts and all sorts of neat things.
Crescent City Farmer's Market - They have three markets: 1) Uptown - every Tuesday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Uptown Square parking lot, 200 Broadway; 2) Mid-city - every Thursday 3-7pm at Orleans Ave and Bayou St John in the American Can Company parking lot; 3) Downtown - every Saturday from 8 am to 12 noon at the corner of Magazine and Girod.
Gretna Farmers Market - Every Saturday 8:30am - 12:30pm, Huey P. Long Avenue, between 3rd and 4th Streets Gretna, LA 70053
Lakeview's Harrison Avenue Marketplace - 2nd Wednesday of the month - 5:000-8:30pm, 801 Harrison Ave.
Freret Market - An Art/Food/Flea market, noon - 5:00 pm first Saturday of the month except July and August. Free live music.
The Arts Market of New Orleans - Palmer Park (S. Carrollton Ave. at Claiborne Ave.) Last Saturday of the month, 10am - 4pm
The Gretna Art Walk is held on the 2nd Saturday during the months of
September through May from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on beautiful Huey P.
Long Avenue in Historic Downtown Gretna.
|