I’m going to be the “trailing spouse” in New Orleans over spring break while DH is at a convention. We will be going out at night, but I’m looking for things to do during the day that don’t revolve around eating and drinking. I don’t want to go out of the city for day trips to the plantations, etc. (I’ve been to Oak Alley and Nottoway). Any suggestions?
There are the WW II museum and the Confederate memorial hall museum.
My d went to Tulane and we went to both of these several times while visiting. I never did do a plantation visit.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/2041751-new-orleans-in-january.html#latest
You might be find some ideas in this thread.
NOLA has a nice art museum. DH and I took the streetcar up Canal Street to the end of the line right in front of the museum. It was a bit of a walk down to entry road to get to the building, so I recommend taking a taxi there since you’ll be on your own.
Magazine Street has nice unique stores for browsing and shopping. The Warehouse District near the CBD has art galleries and shops. The food is exquisite in NOLA – I know you asked for activities besides eating and drinking, but you’ll need to have lunch! 
Couchon Butcher has fantastic sandwiches on Tchoupitoulas Street near the CBD and Watehouse District.
I’ve only visited twice, but I’m in love with that city! Have a great time.
Thanks. WWII museum sounds like a go. I have been to New Orleans twice previously and everything I have done is bars and beignets and high end restaurants (August, Commanders Palace etc.). So I am looking for house tours, museums, etc.
I love the WWII museum. I’ve heard the Backstreet Cultural Museum is pretty neat, although I’ve never been.
New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. If the weather is nice, there’s a cool sculpture garden. I assume you’ll be downtown, so it’s not super-close but it is accessible by streetcar.
^^ yes, that’s the name of the art museum we visited! My DH and I rented a pedal surrey in City Park to ride around the park. There are gorgeous majestic live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss.
Thanks! We are staying at the New Orleans Sheraton on Canal St.
https://nola.curbed.com/maps/new-orleans-historic-haunted-old-beautiful-home-tour
I go to house museums between meals.
There used to be a nice small zoo innthe garden district sort of near Loyola. Is it still there. Nice park for walking around…even if you are not into the animals.
There is also a great doll museum.
That’s a great central location. The hotel concierge will probably be able to make recommendations for you. You do need to keep your “spidey sense” up in NOLA, as random opportunistic crime is an unfortunate reality there even in the nice neighborhoods. A local may be able to give you a better sense of where you should venture out as a solo (presumably) female traveler.
The old cemeteries are interesting. There are some guided tours.
I enjoyed taking a carriage tour when we were there. There were lots of drivers and carriages on the side of Jackson Square by the river and it is easy walking to get there from the Sheraton. You get to see some interesting architecture and they take you to several cemeteries.
I’ve been looking at some cemetery tours. There are some cheesy “voodoo” tours in which I have no interest but there is also an organization called “Save Our Cemeteries” that is associated with the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and the cost of the tour goes toward restoration.
Group tours are a great idea, and the cemetery tour sounds interesting. My first visit to NOLA was for business, and my team did a “ghost tour” one night after dinner in the FQ. The name is goofy, and it wasn’t very ghosty, but I had a great time learning about the rich and unique history of the city. So yes, definitely plan on one or more walking tours! Another place I visited in the FQ is the Pharmacy Museum. It’s a quick stop, but it’s interesting to see how medicine was done in the olden days.
Yes, Audubon Zoo is in Audubon Park which is across from Tulane and Loyola. The park is beautiful even if you aren’t into the zoo.
Magazine Street has an interesting assortment of antique and vintage shops.
Ok sorry to dominate this thread, but I thought o one more thing! I didn’t visit this but saw that there’s a tour you can take of the warehouse where the Mardi Gras floats are kept. I’m pretty sure it’s near the Convention Center.
I would consider a cemetery tour because you really do get a lot of history along with the tour. I second Audubon Park and zoo. It’s small but nice and I’m not particularly a fan of zoos.
@madgemini4 this might be what you mean: https://www.mardigrasworld.com/tours
We liked the pharmacy museum. It’s very quirky and I think there’s only one guided tour each day, but it was very interesting.