21 Things to Do in New Orleans

New Orleans is the most fun city I’ve visited so far. With its unique mixture of French, American, and African cultures, lively music scene, and vibrant streets, the city has a personality and charm found nowhere else. The French Quarter packs much of the fun with tons of bars, Jazz in every corner, beautiful houses decorated with ferns and flags, artists showing their art, and friendly locals. But that doesn’t there is nothing outside of the quarter. So I’ve complied a list of 21 things to do in New Orleans in and outside of the quarter.

 

1. Afternoon in Jackson Square 

The square is the heart of the city. There are always loads of things going on around. From noon until sunset it comes to life with street shows, live music, Tarot readers, people chilling out in the grass, and artist displaying their best artwork. Great spot for people watching with couple of beignets.

2. Eat Beignets 

These fried square pieces of dough are so… good (especially warm) that you’ll be craving them everyday. They’re basically a squared doughnuts but there’s something else that make them special. The best of all is that Cafe du Monde, the most popular place to eat them is open 24/7.

 

3. Royal Street

My favourite street in NOLA. Unlike Bourbon St, it doesn’t need the all the craziness and parties to draw the attention. Instead, its beautiful houses decorated with ferns and flags, shops, restaurants, art galleries, and a chill vibe will leave you enchanted. I loved it so much that I walked it everyday. Two of my favourite intersections are Royal St with St. Peter St, and Royal St with Dumaine St.

4. Bar Hopping in Bourbon St

No visit to New Orleans is complete without bar hopping in Bourbon St. Get one of their famous frozen drinks (my favourite is the 44 Magnum from Fat Tuesday), follow the neon signs, avoid the scammers, and enjoy the originality of street performers. 

5. Carousel Bar 

Located in the luxury Monteleone Hotel in Royal St, the Carousel Bar is the only rotating bar in the city. Drinks are expensive, but if you don’t mind the price it’s a cool experience. Expect some wait time because there are just 25 seats and they fill up quick.

6. Jazz at Preservation Hall 

Preservation Hall is a small and cozy music venue dedicated to the preservation of Traditional New Orleans Jazz. It feels like if you were in a living room, you seat in benches and on the floor. If you have a request the band will play it for a small tip. To attend you have two options:

• Go and make the line before the show – This way it will cost $15 (cash only). The show is quite popular, so don’t forget to arrive at least one hour in advance.
  
• Reserve your spot online – You can reserve your sport online but it will cost around $40.
  

Tips: The later the show, the less people are. You can bring drinks from outside. 

 

7. Visit a Voodoo shop 

The Voodoo is religion brought to New Orleans 300 year ago by African slaves and has been part of the city ever since. There are several shops and a Museum dedicated to Voodoo. The altars and artifacts in the shops are very interesting. You can’t leave the city without visiting one. Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo is pretty cool.

8. Visit the French Market

The market spans over 5 blocks and is the oldest public market in the U.S. You can find souvenirs, food like fresh produce, crepes, and Alligator, clothing, jewelry, and crafts.

9. Take photos at Exchange Place alley

Get your camera ready and head to the most beautiful alley in the quarter with your coolest outfit. At night is more picturesque. 

Address: Exchange Pl #1, New Orleans, LA 70130

10. Afternoon stroll in Louis Armstrong Park

Just off of the French Quarter is Louis Armstrong park, in honor to one of the greatest figures in Jazz. The park has a nice fountain, several sculptures, and pedestrian bridges covered in lush. Just don’t stay until night.

11. Frenchmen St

To experience how Bourbon St was back in the day head to Frenchmen St. It features vintage shops, restaurants, and the best venues for live music. 

12. Watch a band live music at Spotted Cat, d.b.a, or The Maison 

All located in Frenchmen Street. The Spotted cat (pictured above) is arguably the best place in the city when it comes to music. Although the highlight of the trip was watching Eight Cloth Dice (pictured in item #11) at d.b.a. It was awesome, like stepping back in time.

13. Palace Market

A small open air market in Frenchmen St, next to The Spotted Cat. You can find clothing, paintings, and crafts. It’s open Sun – Thurs 6pm -12am, Fri – Sat 6pm -1am, Sat Day noon -4pm.

14. See the city’s skyline from Algiers 

Head to Canal Street Ferry Terminal and take the short ferry across the Mississippi River to Algiers. And watch city’s skyline as the sun sets behind it. Drinks are allowed in the ferry and ride cost $2.00 each way (cash only).

15. Roosevelt Hotel Lobby

During Christmas the lobby is turned into a magical Christmas Passage. Go early in the morning, otherwise it’ll be full of people.

16. Take a ride on a Streetcar

But don’t just any streetcar, ride the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, the St-Charles line (route 12) to the Garden District.

17. Stroll the Garden District

Beautiful neighborhood with impressive mansions, patios, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, and tree lined streets. It’s also home of Lafayette Cemetery, and probably the coolest stretch of Magazine St. The most popular house is the Buckner Mansion which was featured on season 3 of The American Horror Story.

18. Visit Lafayette Cemetery 

Because the city is under sea level and its proximity to the Mississippi River, tombs are above ground, making the cemeteries a big attraction. You can pay $20 to visit St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 or Lafayette Cemetery at no cost. Lafayette is the most filmed cemetery in New Orleans. Scenes of NCIS: New Orleans and one of my favourite TV shows, The Originals, have been filmed here.

19. Magazine St

Magazine St runs from Canal St in the French Quarter to Uptown, passing by the Garden District. This features eclectic shops, vintage stores, cafes, bars, and restaurants.

20. Wine and Music at The Bacchanal 

The Bacchanal is wine laboratory (as they call themselves) in a 200 years old building, featuring music everyday in their courtyard. Pick your wine and cheese of preference and enjoy the music and the great atmosphere. (You’ll feel like you are hanging out at your best friend’s backyard). 

For a small fee you can make the cheese a platter, and they will chop it up for you and add several accompaniments like Ciabatta bread, candied nuts, olives and more. For those who don’t like wine there is also a bar upstairs. Vegans aren’t left behind, they offer vegan cheese as well. I highly recommend this place!

It’s located in Bywater, about 15 min from the French Quarter. You can take an Uber or use public transportation. For the latter, take bus #5 from Decatour St. to Chartres at Poland bus stop, which is right in front of the Bacchanal.

21. Do a Swamp tour

The swamp tour is super fun and you may get to see Hogs, Raccoons, Snakes, and Alligators. Even though we didn’t get see alligators and Snakes because it was a cold day, it was still worth it. Our Captain was great, he told us about the different types of trees, animals, and history of the bayou. He also did his best tying to find alligators. We went with Cajun Encounters since they were the cheapest we found. Just $56 p/p including transportation.

 

I hope this help you to discover some of the things you can do in the city. If you think I’ve had missed anything, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading 

j ⋀⋁ i e r ✧ ☽

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