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Help me plan a vacation to N'Orleans
Hacksaw
J. Duggan Esq.Wrestler at LawRegistered User regular
J. Duggan Esq.Wrestler at LawRegistered User regular
Pretty much the title says it all. Yours truly is planning to take a trip to New Orleans with his fiancee and he needs some help. I've never travelled to The Big Easy, and what little I know about it mostly comes from second-hand knowledge and (fictional) TV shows. So, basically, I'm really out of my depth on this one and I'm in need of some dire assistance. The plan is to fly out in the middle of June for at least 4 days and 3 nights. It'll just be the two of us.
First and foremost what I'd like to know is: what's a good establishment to stay at that's close to traditional tourist activities and night life, but isn't so close that we run the risk of not being able to get restful sleep due to Night Noise? I know NOLA is a party city, so of course some noise is inevitable, but that doesn't mean we want the party to be directly outside our front doors. Neither one of us is in our 20s and looking to party every night, so a quiet place to decompress is exactly what we'll need to make this vacation a fun one.
Secondly, what should we see? I intend to see if I can take her to Preservation Hall at some point during the trip, as well as whatever restaurants and live event clubs we can get to over a long weekend. I don't know what other tourist activities there are for us to enjoy, but hopefully someone here has some tips.
Thirdly, what should we absolutely avoid while we're staying there? Are there areas where it's not safe for tourists to tread? Are there establishments that will gouge us on prices and provide us with shitty returns for our money? We're well able to handle our bills, but we're not big spenders by any means, so keeping costs down would be a nice bonus.
Our operating budget is about ~$2000, not including airfare.
First and foremost what I'd like to know is: what's a good establishment to stay at that's close to traditional tourist activities and night life, but isn't so close that we run the risk of not being able to get restful sleep due to Night Noise? I know NOLA is a party city, so of course some noise is inevitable, but that doesn't mean we want the party to be directly outside our front doors. Neither one of us is in our 20s and looking to party every night, so a quiet place to decompress is exactly what we'll need to make this vacation a fun one.
Secondly, what should we see? I intend to see if I can take her to Preservation Hall at some point during the trip, as well as whatever restaurants and live event clubs we can get to over a long weekend. I don't know what other tourist activities there are for us to enjoy, but hopefully someone here has some tips.
Thirdly, what should we absolutely avoid while we're staying there? Are there areas where it's not safe for tourists to tread? Are there establishments that will gouge us on prices and provide us with shitty returns for our money? We're well able to handle our bills, but we're not big spenders by any means, so keeping costs down would be a nice bonus.
Our operating budget is about ~$2000, not including airfare.
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First and foremost, Cafe Du Monde. Order 3 Beignets and a Cafe Au Lait. They have other stuff on the menu but you're missing the point if you order anything else.
For lunch, Central Grocery for an original muffuletta.
If you're feeling ritzy, have dinner at The Napoleon House.
You could take a little drive down to Magazine st and hit Guy's Po-Boys. The Shrimp Po-Boy is their specialty. Bring cash
Find a little snowball stand on the side of the road. They're great!
For entertainment, you could spend days just wandering the French Quarter, enjoying all the sights and smells. There are tons of little trinket shops during the day and booze at night. It's hard to go wrong with the Hard Rock Cafe. They have live acts pretty often. If you want to try your luck at turning that 2 grand into nothing, there are some neat Riverboat casinos that operate just outside of town.
The French Quarter and Downtown have transit options aplenty. Outside of that immediate area you're probably not going to see cabs roaming the streets. For example, you're not going to find a lot of cabs around Magazine st. However, there is still probably an Uber/Lyft driver within 5 minutes of you.
Oh, and I recommend trying Gumbo and Red Beans at a few different places. There are several local varieties. When I was growing up we never went out for Gumbo or Red Beans so I'm really not sure the best places for them. They were always something we made at home.
If you do end up renting a car there is a cool NASA museum about 30 minute drive east.
Stay in town, but away from the quarter. We really like the Doubletree over on Canal - it's walkable to all the good stuff, from the warehouse/casino area over to the quarter. It's also easy to get to if you're coming in from the airport. It's quieter/cheaper than locations neck deep in the quarter.
If you want to keep it classy, City Park (good zoo!), Magazine Street, and Mid-city are great walkable spaces. The French Quarter is what it is - if you're into it, you can't get it wrong. I recommend going during the early afternoon if it's your first time - get your bearings, find the edges of the area (don't go too far east into the Marigny unless you've got local advice or specific target). Pat O'Brien's is a tourist trap that is worth going to in every way. Check out the farmer's/flea market if it's open when you're there (down by the waterfront).
There's a cool Mardi Gras float museum/storage hangar down there too, IIRC.
My restaurant recs are probably out of date, but honestly, it's all good. Bring your lipitor, though - they only know how to make one kind of food.
That said, if you're an adventurous traveler, there are some killer Vietnamese, Latin, and Soul Food/Southern cookin' restaurants sprinkled throughout various sub-neighborhoods.
Standard rec that's gotta still be there (it's a pillar): Muffaletta @ Central Grocery and Deli on Decatur (I think).
A walk away from the French Quarter is Louis Armstrong Park which is a nice park with several statues and lets you escape the bustle of the French Quarter.
I sadly didn't do a good job of rating restaurants I tried there so I can't remember the ones we went to, but we would just pick places that looked interesting and it all worked out for us.
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Food stuff there is plenty to like, but definitely avoid the tourist traps. I think the general tip would be the same for any city. Look for the hole in the walls rather than the nice places typically. Most of my favorite restaurants are in the Marigny/Bywater area. Bennachins is great Ethiopian food. I love Mona Lisa for Italian. Verte Mart are the best po-boys in the city if you ask me, and very affordable. I will say these are all within like a block of each other so maybe I just like eating in that area. If you are coming here it definitely makes sense to check out the sandwiches. Central Grocery is also a wonderful choice, but more touristy located so the prices, as I recall, are not quite as friendly. Red beans and gumbo really should be available at nearly any place you could want. They are all pretty awesome. I am a more make it at home girl for those dishes so I can't tell you a ton about a great place for those. Deanie's is great seafood, but please tip your wait staff well since it is an awful place to work by all accounts I have heard. Seafood in general is awesome here, although probably not the draw for you given where you live now. All the Brennan's restaurant are also good if you are willing to pay a premium for a night out. It isn't quite worth the price if you ask me, but it is definitely solid food. I am also a big fan of Budsi's Thai which is outside that area near St. Claude. More of a take out place but has places to sit. I will warn you they are not kidding with their spice levels. They don't do white people spicy as far as we can tell. They just melt your mouth.
Jackson Square, shitty person it is named after aside, is a pretty awesome place to chill. You can see some artists doing their thing in a cool way. There are also mule rides you can take for a tour which is fairly fun at least once. The flea market, Cafe du Monde, and St.. Louis Cathedral are all in the area as well. You wouldn't be far from the Aquarium/Insectarium area that will be opening up again on June 8th. I can't say how they will look entirely since they are doing some massive renovations including building the new Insectarium section. If you @me closer to the event I probably will have been there to give you some better impressions. The zoo is also pretty gorgeous as a park/chill area. They are all run by animal rights people so it is as ethical as these places can be. Live music is very much everywhere in the Quarter/Marigny/Bywater area. Live music isn't my typical jam so it is hard to give specific recommendations. I have been to a few places and none of them terrible. Preservation hall is an amazing place certainly. Congo Square has some really cool experiences on the weekend as well that is worth going to. A lot of the African culture that has helped shape the city and country gets shared last I was there. Very worth checking out. City Park is very pretty and a chill experience as well. WW2 museum is also really good if that is your jam. I am certain I am forgetting some stuff as well but this is the base stuff.
In terms of places to avoid there are a few. There is no where that is generally super unsafe for tourists. Tourism is the life blood so the cops go full mask off fascist brutal shitheads when people fuck with them too much. Generally these leaves them, and the areas they frequent as being understood as off limits for doing stupid shit by locals. Definitely some of the same urban area stuff you see everywhere, but mostly it is dangerous for the locals. Bourbon St, and Magazine St are both just tourist traps come to life for the most part. A lot of the stuff in the Quarter is, but generally fairly obviously so. Avoid buying stuff in the Quarter is a good rule. The food is still worth it typically outside of Bourbon, but a bit pricier.
I think that answers most of the questions? Feel free to ask follow-up or more details. Inevitably something super relevant was left off because I am just not quite connecting all the dots I would like to.
You should also get a jazzy pass and use the trolly. Not only is it super easy to use it to get around the city it's a great way to meet some wonderful people.
In terms of travel our public transit is workable. All the good options for a place to stay are at or near the mini hubs they recently setup. Getting anywhere you need to go is probably a 30 minute bus or street car ride away. You can get just about anywhere in the city so long as you are willing to take the time as well, but mostly those areas aren't terribly interesting to visit without another reason.
It was close enough to everything to be handy but far enough from the party to be quiet. The room was free, so I can't say how much it would run regularly.
We did a distillery tour and brewery tour while we were there that was nice.
Specifically, go to this and find the interviews they did with surviving veterans. I haven't seen an exhibit like it.
Ubers/lyft are readily available for hard to reach locations.
I will do a more thorough recommendation later but for now two things.
You could easily spend the afternoon exploring the zoo. There's a lot to see. From there walk or take a short uber to to Oak St and have an early dinner at Jaques-imos. They open at 530 and do not take reservations. They have a wide variety of southern dishes. You cannot go wrong with their menu.
When exploring the french quarter at night, avoid straying off bourbon st and the blocks close to the river. If you inadvertently walk west into the interstate, turn around.
My wife and I grew up in New Orleans and go back periodically.
Cafe DuMonde is awesome but if you don't like the crowds look up The Morning Call.
I know people say their snow cone place is the best but Hansen's Sno-Bliz has the best snow cones I've ever had. They have been around 84 years, all the flavors are home made. I had a Satsuma one that was awesome.
Look it up. They do Snow Cones in a Giant Garbage can for parties.
We usually do the Zoo and have done the WWII museum 2x now.
Went to Seether's Seafood Restuarant in Harahan, it was awesome, had this softshell crab tower thing with shrimp.
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Also. Stay out of New Orleans East