New Orleans is by far our favorite city we’ve ever visited. We’ve visited dozens of times and even got married here. There really isn’t any city on the planet like New Orleans. It oozes authentic culture out of every pore and sucks you into a world that exists completely by itself seemingly in another dimension lost to time and outside influence.

New Orleans isn’t just a fun Southern Town to go binge drinking at in the United States its a unique Caribbean country that just so happens to be surrounded by the Southern United States pulling cultural influences from France, Spain, Africa and the Caribbean Islands it feels more foreign, and yet more at home, than any city you can visit in the US.

New Orleans has the most unique culture of any American city and the distance between The Crescent City and whichever city you’d want to put at #2 is vast. New Orleans is the birth place of American Jazz Music, it boasts incredibly unique and delicious food and even has its own regional dialect. But, the thing that really separates New Orleans from other cities around the world is the feeling that the entire city has bought in fully on embracing and perpetuating this unique culture. The city hums with a constant energy filled with live music coming from every direction, spontaneous parades, art spilling out onto the streets and just fun times being created all day, everyday. Whenever I think about New Orleans, I can’t help but think of this tweet I saw recently:

New Orleans is a Happy Place. And, the more you visit the more it sucks you in and makes you a part of the happiness. The more time you spend there, the more you learn about its history, it’s hidden nooks and crannies, it’s unique list of local celebrities that no one outside of New Orleans cares about or even knows about, but who are rock stars within those city limits, and essentially, the more it becomes a community of friends. And, ultimately, the more it draws you back. If you’ve never been…don’t hesitate! Make your next trip a trip to New Orleans. It’s a life changing city and you don’t want to miss out on it.

The French Quarter

The French Quarter is the center of tourism for New Orleans and for any first time visitor this will most likely be your first stop. The French Quarter is fun, it’s loud, it’s buzzing with energy and it’s like no other city center in the United States. Crumbling French style buildings with balconies, live music, street performers, art shops, restaurants, parades, open air bars and the no open container policy that exists throughout the city makes this the ideal spot to walk around for multiple days – drinks in hand the entire time, of course. But, don’t spend all your time here. There’s so much more to New Orleans than just the French Quarter and too many of the visitors that come through this great city don’t venture outside it’s small confines.

Best things to do in the French Quarter

Don’t over think this too much. The best thing to do in the French Quarter is to just spend a day or two walking around. Royal Street is a gorgeous street full of interesting shops, art galleries and street performers. Make sure to walk the entire length of Royal Street at some point during your stay. Walk through all the amazing art galleries. The Vena Gallery, Caliche and Pao and Craig Tracy are some of our favorites. Make sure you check out Craig Tracy’s work. He’s a nearly blind artist that specializes in body painting and photography. Some truly amazing and unique stuff in his gallery. The street performers are out on most days, but the street is particularly full from Thursday to Sunday. Look for some local legends like The Yes Ma’am Band, Doreen’s Jazz Band and Grandpa Elliott.

Walk around Jackson Square in front of the Cathedral at the center of the French Quarter. On the weekends, the fence around the park is lined with local artists’ works that are a lot cheaper than the expensive galleries lining Royal Street. Make sure you check out Rhonda Papania. She’s there every weekend and specializes in drip painting. Her work is incredible and her personality is even better. Bring a full drink with you because you can easily end up spending an hour or more talking to her about everything New Orleans.

At some point you gotta stop at Cafe du Monde and have one of their famous beignets. Lines can be long during peak mid day hours, especially during peak tourist season, but they move quickly. If you don’t care when you get your beignets, a pro tip is to wait ’till night time. Cafe du Monde is open 24 hours. Stop in on your way home and avoid all the lines.

Check out the most haunted bar in New Orleans at Muriel’s on the Square. Just to the right of the St Louis Cathedral if you’re looking at the church. The bar and restaurant are nice and they make a mean milk punch, but ask if you can walk upstairs and see the seance room where the original owner committed suicide and apparently still haunts the premises.

Stop in and get some oysters. The best place to go to sit at a bar and enjoy some freshly shucked oysters is the Royal House on the corner of Royal and St Louis. Their crab claw appetizer sautéed in lemon butter garlic sauce with toasted French Bread for dipping is a must try and their chargrilled, rockefeller and royale oysters are all phenomenal. Ask the staff if you can get a sample platter with a couple of each.

Stop at Fifi Mahoney’s. Even if you’re not in the market for a costume, gaudy wigs, cool sunglasses or bold costume jewelry it’s still worth a look around. If you are in the market for any of those things it’s the best store you’ll ever find. Everything is made by hand by their fantastically talented artists and the prices are incredibly reasonable.

Grab a German beer on tap and watch live jazz music at Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub. The bar is small and seating is just wooden benches, but this is the best spot to watch authentic live jazz music in the quarter and they have a pretty decent selection of German beers as well. If you happen to find a Vampire themed shop in the quarter, ask the person behind the counter what the password is for the Vampire Speakeasy above Fritzel’s. It’s slightly underwhelming and the cover charge is way over priced…but, if you’re out of things to do, it’s worth finding New Orleans only secret, password only, Vampire themed speakeasy.

Stop in at Pat O’Briens and grab one of their famous Hurricane drinks in their gorgeous courtyard. Afterwards, head into their bar for a dueling piano show that typically puts most other dueling piano shows to shame.

Next door to Patty O’s is a place called Preservation Hall. This Hall is an absolute gem. It’s a jazz hall that has been preserved exactly as it was in the 1930s. They play multiple 1 hour shows every night where a band of jazz musicians, decked out in period attire, using no microphones or electricity play New Orleans Jazz classics for an audience of about 40-50 people. Buy tickets beforehand for the front two rows, it’s well worth the extra couple bucks compared to the standing room only tickets sold at the door and you don’t have to wait in line. Seating is benches and pillows on the floor and the shows end up being more like 45 min of music once everyone sits down and gets settled in, but this is a quintessential New Orleans Experience.

Visit Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar which is the oldest bar in America

Catch a burlesque show at One-Eyed Jack’s

Visit the Pharmacy Museum which is a really cool old time pharmacy featuring thousands of old medicine bottles. It’s a great place to take photos.

Get a plate of BBQ oysters from Red Fish on Bourbon Street. The chargrilled oysters you get everywhere in New Orleans are certainly to die for, but no oyster eating trip to New Orleans is complete without a plate of these hot sauce and crumbled blue cheese based oysters.

A word about Bourbon Street: Bourbon Street caters almost exclusively to tourists. It is the party until you puke area of town. It’s fun. But, it’s also dirty and smelly and full of tourists and pretty much devoid of anything that makes New Orleans special. You should absolutely go there and enjoy a day or night of getting drunk there, but expect rock music, cover bands and incredibly drunk tourists…and strip clubs. Our personal rule with Bourbon Street is to avoid it after dark at all costs. However, it is the perfect place to dip into during a mid day drinking binge to get 3 for 1 beer specials for walking around. Due to the huge amount of bars on the street and the fact that they are all competing for customers, you’ll find the cheapest prices for booze here. And, there’s just something about walking into a bar and saying I’ll take 3 beers TO GO, pouring them all into a giant plastic cup and hitting the street with them that feels so amazing.

Frenchmen Street

If the French Quarter is for tourists, Frenchmen Street is the local hang out spot for great authentic live music. Located just a few blocks walk outside the French Quarter, Frenchmen Street is the perfect spot to walk to after a day strolling around the Quarter. This is not a college aged, Bourbon Street bar scene. This is more your late 20s/early 30s spot for people who want to blend in with the locals and experience some more authentic New Orleans flavor. As this is a local hangout…don’t be a dick tourist if you go here. No one wants to see the cool local hang out turn into a bunch of drunk tourists throwing up on the street. Keep that shit on Bourbon.

Best things to do on Frenchmen Street

Go see live music! There isn’t a bad music venue on this street, but The Spotted Cat, The Blue Nile, dba and The Maison are our four favorites. Local legends like Washboard Chaz and Kermit Ruffins will play at these small venues every weekend. And, local jazz bands like The Cottonmouth Kings are a staple at The Spotted Cat. Check out their calendars and make sure you see Washboard Chaz one night and absolutely DO NOT miss buying tickets in advance for Kermit’s show at The Blue Nile that happens almost every weekend that he’s in town. Kermit is one of New Orleans’ greatest living performers at the moment and his shows are can’t miss.

Get dinner at Three Muses. This tapas restaurant has some of the best food in New Orleans and has absolutely fantastic live music every night of the week. Reservations are a must beforehand.

Enjoy the Brass Bands that play on the corner of Frenchmen and Chartres every night. Young, up and coming brass bands routinely play on the corner of Frenchmen and Chartres every night where the party pours onto the streets.

Check out local artists’ work on display at Frenchmen Street’s outdoor art gallery. On the same block as The Spotted Cat is a large outdoor art gallery with some of the coolest local art you’ll find. In between live music bars make sure to walk through the gallery and check out the tables of cool things to buy.

Grab a late night loaded hot dog at Dat Dog

The Garden District

The Garden District is New Orleans fancy residential area filled with stunning victorian houses where the rich and often times famous live. People like Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt and Matthew McConaughey all have houses in this gorgeous area. There’s a handful of good restaurants and bars in the area, a couple stunningly creepy New Orleans style above ground cemeteries, the quintessential New Orleans Street Car line along St Charles Avenue and Magazine Street which makes up the longest continuous street of boutique shopping in America at 7 miles long. If you’re looking for a relaxing day in New Orleans, jump on the St Charles Streetcar and head through the Garden District before walking back towards town along Magazine Street.

Best things to do in the Garden District

Take a ride on the St Charles Avenue Street Car. You can pick up the street car just on the other side of Canal St when coming from the French Quarter. This line will take you west towards the Garden District. The streetcar fare is $1.25 and must be paid with exact change when you board. One, three, and 31-day unlimited ride “Jazzy Passes” are also available for $3, $9 and $55 respectively. Visit the Regional Transit Authority (RTA)’s website for a list of places to purchase these as well as information about wheelchair accessibility. You can also download the RTA gomobile app and pay your fare instantly from your phone. When you pay with the app, you’ll scan your confirmation by holding your phone UNDER an infrared scanner that points downward just as you enter the streetcar. It’s confusing the first time, but pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

A great place to make your first stop on the St Charles Line is at New Orleans’ famous The Columns Hotel. This gorgeous victorian era hotel is an excellent place to stop for classic cocktails.

After a stop for drinks at The Columns you can either walk around the area and look at some of the magnificent single family homes that make up the Garden District or head back onto the St Charles Streetcar and do your sight seeing that way.

The next stop to get off at is between Washington Ave and Sixth Street. If you get off here and walk into the neighborhood on the left side of St Charles Avenue you’ll reach Lafayette Cemetery #1 in just a block or two walk. Entrance is free, but make sure to check in advance that they are open.

Just a bit further down Washington St is Commander’s Palace. This is Emeril Lagasse’s world famous restaurant and New Orleans’ premier fine dining establishment. Their Sunday Jazz Brunch is phenomenal as are pretty much all their meals. If you enjoy fine dining, don’t leave New Orleans without stopping here for a meal.

Continue on your way down Washington Ave and eventually you’ll hit Magazine Street. Magazine Street deserves it’s own entire section, but this 7 mile long stretch of road featuring dozens of boutique stores, tiny family owned restaurants, bars and ice cream shops is the perfect place to spend an afternoon walking, shopping and eating.

Best Spots to Stop on Magazine Street.

Coffee

– French Truck Coffee (1200 Magazine Street)

– District Hand Pie & Coffee Bar (5637 Magazine Street)

Bars

– Barrel Proof (1201 Magazine Street): Paradise for Whiskey lovers

– Tracey’s (2604 Magazine Street)

– Ms Mae’s The Club (4336 Magazine Street): Classic Dive Bar

– St Joes (5535 Magazine Street): Mojito Bar with cool Decor

– Le Bons Temps Roule (4801 Magazine Street): Local music joint

Clothes

– Vegas (1924 Magazine Street): Modern and classic men’s fashion

– Falcone Custom Lounge (2049 Magazine Street): Custom suits, dresses and Accessories

– Friend (2115 Magazine Street): Small label men’s clothing from New Orleans

– Goorin Bros Hats (2127 Magazine Street): Best hat shop in New Orleans

Trashy Diva (2048 Magazine Street): Hip retro female clothing

Food

– District: Donuts. Sliders. Brew. (2209 Magazine Street): Best artisanal donuts and sliders you’ll ever have. Plus they make an amazing Vietnamese Coffee.

– Dat Dog (3336 Magazine Street): Loaded hot dogs New Orleans Style.

– Big Fisherman Seafood (3301 Magazine Street): When it’s Crawfish Season, early March through mid-June, grab some seasoned crawfish and fixing from Big Fisherman and head over to Audubon park for a picnic.

– Tee-Eva’s Praline (5201 Magazine Street): Sweets

– 3 best Vietnamese Restaurants in town: Magasin Bistro (4201 Magazine St), Pho Cam Ly (3814 Magazine St), and Lily’s Cafe (1318 Magazine St)

– Shaya (4213 Magazine St): Israeli food…honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

– La Petit Grocery (4238 Magazine St): local food shop turned bistro making delicious blue crab beignets and the some of the best burgers in town.

– Sucre (3025 Magazine St): Ice Cream, chocolate and candy shop

Central Business District

The Central Business District comprises the small area from Canal Street at the edge of the French Quarter and the beginning of the Garden District. It’s not a huge area and there’s not a ton to do here, but there’s enough cool spots and incredible places to eat to make it worth a stop as you travel between the two.

Best things to do in the Central Business District

– Walk through the Julia Street Art Galleries. Along Julia Street are about a dozen or so art galleries that make a fascinating afternoon of browsing. Unlike the galleries that line Royal Street in the Quarter where you’ll find a hundred paintings that you’d die to hang in your house, these galleries feature more of the, ‘Holy shit…who the hell would spend $20,000 on that creepy ass sculpture’ variety of artwork. Still it can be a fun hour or two to kill some time if you’re into that sorta thing.

– If you happen to find yourself in New Orleans on the first Saturday in August, check out Julia Street for their White Linen Night. All day and night the galleries on Julia Street open their doors and wine and live music pours into the streets that are a sea of people dressed in white linen.

– Cochon Butcher and Restaurant: There are two restaurants in this area, right around the corner from each other named Cochon. One is their sit down restaurant which features some delicious meat based dishes. The other, their butcher shop, is a sandwich shop that features the best Muffaletta, reuben and a host of other sandwiches in town. It’s a great place to stop for an afternoon sandwhich.

– National WWII Museum: Not much to say about this museum other than it’s pretty cool and it’s a must stop if you’re into WWII history.

– Circle Bar: An excellent local dive bar often with live music situated on Lee Circle.

– Peche Seafood Grill: The perfect seafood experience in New Orleans

– Steamboat Natchez Riverboat Jazz Cruise: Sunset jazz cruise on this steamboat is the perfect way to experience an evening on the Mississippi River.

– The Howlin’ Wolf: Great local music venue. Check out their calendar if you’re ever in town.

– Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel: Steeped in history and ambiance this is the perfect place to try New Orleans’ famous cocktail. In fact, this place claims to be home to America’s very first cocktail…the Sazerac.

– Loa Bar at the International House Hotel: The former location of the worlds first World Trade Center in 1943, this is the perfect spot for an afternoon cocktail.

New Orleans Drink Lab: A fun interactive cocktail experience where you’ll learn history and techniques of making classic cocktails and then get behind the bar and practice making them yourself.

Marigny & the Bywater

Mostly residential, Marigny and the Bywater are excellent places to stay. But even if you don’t decide to rent an Airbnb and live in this little hipster enclave of shotgun houses, there’s plenty of reasons to take a short ride outside the French Quarter to go see some of the unique gems in this part of town.

Best things to do in Marigny/Bywater

– Bacchanal Wine: Bacchanal is a place that I could only see making it in a city like New Orleans or Austin. It’s basically a backyard party with live music and fresh food being served out of someone’s house. At Bacchanal you will show up and pick out a bottle of wine, some cheese, charcuterie and anything else you might want to eat and drink from a small grocery shop located at the entrance. After paying for your stuff, you’ll head out back where there are tables situated outside, a live band stand, and a small second story bar with a balcony. Pick your preferred location and the waiters will bring you your bottle of wine and whatever food you picked out, along with freshly baked bread presented and plated beautifully. It’s rustic, bare bones and absolutely perfect in every way.

– St Roch Market: A really cool chef centric food market featuring multiple stands of some of the most creative chefs and beverage makers in New Orleans.

–The Art Garage: A converted autobody shop that features art projects, displays and live graffitti painting.

– Marigny Opera House: A gorgeously cracked and crumbling opera house where you can see classical music and ballet in New Orleans.

Music Box Village: A unique contemporary art sculpture garden where each house is a musical instrument. Explore and participate in hands on play during public hours, see orchestral shows with local and national musicians as well as many other live theatre performances.

Other Cool Stuff to Check Out

New Orleans has plenty of cool excursions you can go on just outside the city as well as tours that take you throughout the city to experience the culture of New Orleans in pretty much every way you can imagine. Some of our favorite activities are listed below.

– Bike Rentals and Bike Tours through New Orleans are a great way to spend an afternoon. Our favorite tour company is Free Wheelin’ Bike Tours. They have a number of tours that will meet whatever your tastes are and the friendliest staff and tour guides. If you want to just rent bikes, there are a number of rental outfits and even blue bike rentals which are just set up on the street that you pay by the hour for. Our favorite route is to start in the French Quarter, drive up Esplanade Ave and end at City Park where you can get Beignets and Coffee at what used to be Morning Call, but has since changed to Cafe du Monde’s City Park Location. You can also see the oldest tree in New Orleans.

– Fan Boat Tour: Going to New Orleans isn’t fully complete unless you head out to the Bayou and jump in a fan boat with a guy with 4 teeth who barely speaks intelligible English to pet baby alligators. All the tours offer pretty much the same experience and it’s pretty easy to find and set up a tour via the tourist stands in the French Quarter. If you’re interested just head to one of the stands and book your tour. They’ll pick you up in a bus and drive you to and from the Bayou.

– New Orleans has some of the most beautiful city parks in America. If you like parks, make sure to walk about Audubon Park (particularly the area around Newman Bandstand), Louis Armstrong Park and City Park. They’re all beautiful in their own unique way.

– Have a crawfish boil. Audubon Park is a great place to host a crawfish boil. You can just show up and have your picnic or boil or rent out one of their enclosures if you have a large group. Crawfish King does a fantastic job if you want to hire someone to do the crawfish boil for your group on site.

– Throw yourself a parade. There’s nothing I could possibly say about the fun of throwing yourself a second line parade that comedian Hannibal Burress hasn’t already said better. Check out his routine on the pleasures of New Orleans’ incredible culture of parades and second lines. Watch his bit on New Orleans by clicking here. And, then click below on the photo of the Madi Gras Indian to learn more about Second Line Parades and the history behind Mardi Gras Indians.

Places to Eat

~French Quarter~

Royal House – Perfect place for sitting at the bar and having oysters and bloody Mary’s. Get a combo of their royale, rockefeller and chargrilled oysters and don’t miss trying their crab claw appetizer.

Red Fish Grill – Stop in, sit at the bar and split a plate of their BBQ Oysters

Napoleon House – Have an old fashioned or a Pimm’s Cup and a delicious Reuben sandwich

Brennan’s – Home to the first Banana’s Foster. High end classy restaurant.

Port of Call – Best Burgers in town.

Cafe Amelie – Al fresco dining in a gorgeous courtyard. One of the best brunches in town. Reservations are a must.

Central Grocery Co. – Best Muffaleta in the Quarter.

Court of Two Sisters – Hands down the best Sunday Jazz Brunch in the Quarter.

Antione’s – High end dining with some of the best Oyster Rockefeller. Make sure to try their Cafe Brulot for desert – flambeed coffee and brandy…you can’t go wrong.

Brousards – Al fresco dining on classic New Orleans dishes in an inviting courtyard.

Arnaud’s – Classic iconic New Orleans fine dining.

Mr B’s – Another fine Creole dining experience.

~Frenchmen Street~

Three Muses – Fantastic and eclectic tapas menu that serves up more than just the New Orleans traditional fare. Also has excellent live music. Reservations a must.

Praline Connection – homemade fried chicken and pralines.

Dat Dog – Loaded up hot dogs.

Adolfo’s – New Orleans premier Italian Creole restaurant

~Garden District/Central Business District~

Shaya – Israeli food and honestly one of the best meals you’ll ever have.

Compare Lapin – Fantastic high end menu with unique dishes.

St James Cheese Company – pick out your cheeses and sit in their small shop enjoying some cheese and wine.

Herbsaint – Fresh local ingredients prepared in a 5 star fashion

Cochon – Both the butcher shop for sandwiches and the restaurant for a meat based sit down meal are phenomenal.

Jaques-Imo’s Cafe – One of the coolest dining experiences in New Orleans. Cool, crowded, loud restaurant with brightly painted walls. All local, homemade food. Don’t leave without eating their garlic cornbread or their famous Alligator Cheesecake.

Commander’s Palace – Emeril Lagasses flagship New Orleans restaurant.

Best Restaurants

Best Bars

Places to Stay

Our favorite place to stay in New Orleans is the French Quarter Guesthouses. This is a series of hotels that has converted houses in the French Quarter into hotel rooms. Our favorite is The Lamothe House. This hotel has the perfect location just outside the French Quarter, straddling the Quarter and Frenchmen St. on the most beautiful street in New Orleans, Esplanade Ave. If the Lamothe House is available and within your price range, I highly recommend that you don’t over think it and just go ahead and book the room. All of the other Guest houses are nice too, but we simply prefer the location with easy walking distance to both the Quarter and Frenchmen St that you get at Lamothe. Plus it’s a little more quiet.

If you’re looking for a more bargain place to stay that is plenty nice, just outside the Central Business District along the St Charles Streetcar Line, we highly recommend the Maison St Charles. You’ll have to take the streetcar in and out of the Quarter, but the rooms are lovely and comfortable and the price is extremely reasonable.

If you have a group and are looking for an excellent Airbnb, look no further than Greatman Cottage in the Bywater area of town. The house is phenomenal and the owner is the most organized Airbnb host I’ve ever encountered. Both sides of the house are available. You can rent out one side or both so as many as 5 couples can stay at the cottage.

If you prefer chain hotels, the Hilton Riverside is very nice and The Saint Hotel Autograph Collection by Marriott on Canal Street is nice as well.