My daughter (age 22) and I will be going to New Orleans for a long weekend. Looking for all suggestions of “can’t miss, must see” attractions, as well as restaurant and hotel suggestions. I have never been steered wrong on travel advice from the folks at CC!
Of course I will also be perusing Trip Adviser tonight as I watch the Stanley Cup playoffs and get this vaca planned.
I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton a few years back. It was nice but didn’t like being so close to Canal St. Thought St. Louis Cemetery was fascinating, as well as Jackson Square and the Garden District. After dark, make sure you don’t wander out of the French Quarter. Canal St. after dark can be rather frightening and downright unsafe.
We had nice meals at Commander’s Palace, Dickie Brennan’s, and Emeril’s but, for the money, liked NOLA (owned by Emeril’s).
When are you going? You probably want to stay in or near the French Quarter (FQ, Central Business District, Warehouse District). Most of the major tourist attractions are in that area. Specific hotels depend on what you like–small and quaint or more modern. The Monteleone is one of my favorites, and if you are a dinker you should stop by their lounge for a cocktail even if you don’t stay there. Rooms are a bit small as it’s older but it’s a beautiful hotel–and depending on budget you can upgrade to larger rooms if that’s an issue.
If you are interested in history the WWII museum is well worth a visit.
Parts of Canal aren’t great at night but I wouldn’t say it needs to be avoided entirely after dark. The area closer to the river is generally OK and has lots of foot traffic until pretty late. Definitely stay with the crowds as it gets late–even in the quarter some of the side streets are pretty deserted at night and probably best avoided.
My young D prefers the nightlife on Frenchmen street, in the nearby Marigny, to Bourbon street and most of the quarter. There are several places there that have live music without a cover, like Maison.
There was a thread back from the beginning of the year that might be helpful to read:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1827984-3-days-in-new-orleans-in-january-where-to-stay-and-what-to-do-p1.html
Lots of young people love Bayou Beer Garden and Bayou Wine Garden (near Bayou St. John and City Park). The food is really good (unlike at some other places beloved by young people, I’m looking at you Tacos and Beer and the Blind Pelican).
There’s also a lot to do and food to eat along Magazine street, especially from Sophie Wright Place to Napoleon Avenue, and also in the first few blocks from Canal Street. If the streetcar is crowded (which happens often!), you can take the #11 bus along Magazine.
Not sure when you’re coming but here’s a list of upcoming events: http://www.neworleansonline.com/calendar/year.html
Here are some smaller hotels, if you’re into that.
http://www.bestneworleanshotels.com/by-type/boutique.html
Went for a week in April - Jazz Fest. Stayed at the Homewood Suites on Poydras - away from the Canal and Bourbon Street noise but walkable to restaurants, French quarter, the river attractions, trolley stops. Enjoyed the shrimp po’boy and sweet potato salad at Killer Po’Boys. There is a free standing one but we ate at the pop-up in the back of the Erin Rose so also enjoyed a Frozen Irish Coffee. Very nice meal at Lukes, lunch at Mothers. I preferred the the beignets at the Morning Call in City Park - my companions preferred Cafe du Monde. The sculpture garden at City Park is quite nice. Also did a swamp and plantation combo tour - we went to Laura Plantation. If your trip includes a Wednesday evening, head to Lafayette Square for free music and food and craft booths.
Have an Abita Spiced for me!
I’d recommend you read the threads on this topic in the Tulane forum. Tons of great suggestions there.
Mardi Gras World was a hit with our group when we visited several years ago. It is both a storage facility for old floats and a workshop for new ones. Very cool. I will caution that NOLA areas can change from safe to unsafe very quickly. If your hotel recommends you take a taxi, do so.
New Orleans School of Cooking, lessons entertainment and a meal all together!http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/index
I second the New Orleans School of Cooking. D & I did that in 2014 after a fellow conference attendee recommended it and we loved our afternoon there. We ended up making the shrimp & artichoke soup that was part of our lesson later that year when she was home for the holidays.
Thanks so much for the suggestions. We have the following on our to do list now: Plantation Tour, Jackson Square with a peek in the Louisiana St Museum and St Louis Cathedral, walking tour of the garden district and a cemetery (there seem to be several…any suggestions on the best to visit?)
A stop in to Pat OBriens and Cafe du Monde to say we have been. Lunch or dinner at Commanders Palace and drinks at the carousel bar…streetcar ride and Mardi Gras World to see the floats…
I am currently looking at older luxury type hotels in the French Quarter …any ones you have loved and recommend or ones to avoid?
If you do lunch at Commander’s Palace you can tour the cemetery across the street by yourself. I believe it closes at 3 PM. If you want to tour St. Louis Cemetery #1, you need to join a professional tour. There was too much damage being done to the tombs by people to just let them in unsupervised anymore.
I prefer Cafe du Monde as an evening/late night snack. Much less crowded.
My favorite place to stay is the Soniat House. It is in the French Quarter but on the fringes so it isn’t in the middle of all the frenzy. You can have your moning coffee outside in a beautiful courtyard.
We enjoyed staying at Hotel Monteleone (home to The Carousel Bar). Elegant, quiet and comfortable. For restaurants, my boss loves August. We never made it there but really liked one of John Besh’s other restaurants, Domenica, which is more casual. Also lived Cochon Butcher which is super casual but really good (and very busy).
I like the Monteleone a lot.
Dominica is great. There’s a Pizza Domenica as well. Never been there but Domenica’s pizza is great, so… Cochin is really good, never been to Butcher.
Went to Emeril’s Nola last year for the first time. I really enjoyed my meal and the service was excellent.
We will be down there in a couple of weeks. Need to try some new places. There are so many.
A business associate of mine stayed at the Hotel Le Marais when I was there last. It looked great both inside and out. Loved the decor!
We spent a fair amount of time there, as DS was in NOLA for 6 years. We enjoyed the Segway tour and personal stories from the folks in Treme. As for restaurants, DS’s favorite was Dante’s.
We recently stayed at Prince Conti hotel last month which is in French quarter just off Bourbon Street. Great location.
The hotel rooms are nice, nothing to brag about but again you can’t beat the location and the staff were great.
The bar within the hotel has a great happy hour.
They are working on cable cars for downtown (they used to just go uptown to garden district)
so there is a lot of construction going on in the roads arouuand the borders of French Quarrter. Not a big deal unless
Emeril’s warehouse district had( THE best food and dining experience .No contest. Can’t go wrong on anything ordered.
The duo of beef is just… wow.
Commander’s Palace was okay (I’ve been before twice and was disappointed this time around).
but that maybe was just our particular experience. For the price I wanted more than okay.
La Petit Grocery has phenomenal service and the crab beignets are to DIE for. If you go and like crab you just have to get them. They are small but packed with huge flavor. Still talking about them. Just sayin. Great food. Everyone loved their meal. Worth it.
Gotta hit Pat O’Briens. Decent food. Two entrances .Check out piano bar.
You can no longer tour any of the main cemeteries without being part of a tour. So check out times to make sure you don’t miss it.
We visited the Laura Plantation which isn’t the most beautiful house but did have the most history we were told.
Really enjoyed it. Great experience.