Suggestions for New Orleans visit?

We are considering a quick trip to New Orleans in March and looking for advice on a hotel for about 3 nights as well as on things to do/see.  Have been there only once and it was so many years ago that the memories are hazy.  We'll want to do the usual tourist things which, of course, would include some time in the French Quarter.  Not sure, however, if a hotel in the French Quarter is the way to go (noise? safety? congestion?) or if we'd be better off staying elsewhere such as in the Garden District?   And any "must do/see" suggestions when visiting New Orleans?   Much appreciated.
 


The French Quarter is generally fine, but steering clear of Bourbon Street is always recommended. It's like Six Flags with liquor. Garden District is also lovely. There are a million guidebooks out there that cover the basics, but I do recommend a few places that are somewhat off-the-beaten track: 

-- Frankie and Johnnie's on Arabella Street, for a real neighborhood restaurant.

--  The Mother in Law Lounge to worship at the shrine of Ernie K. Doe

-- Mena's Palace on Chartres Street for breakfast. It's fairly non-touristy for that neighborhood. 


 


Consider The Columns in The Garden District and you can catch the street car to The Quarter right out front.

https://thecolumns.com/

It's touristy but a swampboat ride is great fun and usually there are herons and gators.

Enjoy, my favorite city in all of The US.

Oh and did I  mention music?

Start listing to WWOZ prior to your trip to hear who and where people are playing.

Best Regards,

Ron Carter


One more comment:  A longtime friend/resident said of NOLA, the only place where the food on gas station hot tables is world class...

-Ron


try the Monteleone. Just a block or off bourbon st. Gorgeous hotel, great location. If staying 3 days, I wouldn’t pick a hotel in the garden district. Visit it, for sure on a streetcar ride. 


Bayona for dinner. Commanders Palace for lunch especially on a Friday


We stayed at Hotel Mazarin between Royal and Bourbon Streets and loved it. We pretty much walked everywhere from there. Monteleone is great, too, and has the revolving bar.

It's worth doing the touristy things. If the weather is good, go on one of the swamp tours and meet the gators up close and personal, then go to a restaurant and eat one of their cousins for dinner.


There are a lot of newer hotels - the familiar chain names but usually smaller in scale - in the Warehouse District west of the French Quarter and Canal Street, kind of between the Quarter and the Garden District but closer to the former, not far from the waterfront. Last time I was there, five years ago (stayed in the Quarter) I was walking in the Warehouse area and thought it would be a good place to stay. Renaissance is one, many others.

For food I like places off the beaten path a bit farther west - Jacques-Imo's, Dick and Jenny's, Brigtsen's, Upperline as well as Patois in Uptown. The oft-recommended higher end places are Bayona (as mentioned), Cochon, Shaya, Coquette, Compere Lapin and so many others as well as the classic places.


I second the Monteleone. Great location, historic hotel.


Stayed at the Ambassador Hotel near the French Quarter after doing the drive from San Francisco with

my flower child.  A full service hotel was very much needed for R and R .  My mission completed of being a

Dad and and primary driver .   Got to spend some time in the Quarter before heading North.

Most enjoyable stay and building is a block from the Quarter-now called Old No.77 Hotel and Chancellery.


I really liked staying at the Roosevelt, across Canal Street from he French Quarter, but close enough that it's a quick walk. Even if you don't stay there, don't miss having a drink at the Sazerac bar and checking out the amazing tile in the lobby.

More things I really liked include

A bike tour of the Ninth with Confederacy of Cruisers, local guides who can tell you everything about everything. Totally flat, slow, and has at least one stop for drinks.

A walk along the Mississippi. Easy to overlook, but really cool to see.

A performance at Howlin' Wolf of the Hot Eight Brass Band, indescribable and a lot of fun.

Brunch at Cochon

Dinner at Il Mercato on Magazine Street

Uber drivers were all moonlighting musicians and had great suggestions for what to see on Frenchmen Street.

Frenchmen Street after midnight

Antique shops in the Quarter -- didn't buy anything but they're fabulous.

The Tulane campus is very pretty, if you have any reason to be there. We went to an art exhibition.

On the other hand, IMO it is not worth spending one minute in line for beignets at Cafe Du Monde (but there's no line at 2 a.m.), brunch at Brennan's was merely OK (although service was outstanding), and we went to a jazz club that was also only OK. 



If your group includes history buffs, you can’t miss National World War 2 museum—trolley takes you that way from French quarter. We stayed in large hotel on the edge of the quarter above an upscale shopping mall—maybe a Marriott? Very convenient to everything but you can get away from noise/crowds/party scene in the quarter.


Word of advice, bring everything that you own. You are never going to want to come back.


Disagree about Cafe du Monde. while maybe not the greatest beignets in the city, sitting outside at cafe du monde listening to someone playing music on the street a few feet away, thinking about the history of all who sat there before is one of life's amazing little pleasures. 


Agree on THIS 

Morganna said:

Word of advice, bring everything that you own. You are never going to want to come back.



music and food are highlights, make your restaurant reservations well in advance, you’ll have more latitude in which places to visit fir jazz

Personally I think it’s a rather scuzzy city - way way too much alcohol, way wAy too much poverty, and the once fantastic mix of local shops and curiosities looks more like any mall now.

My daughter went to school there — if you’re not into the parade/ Krewe thing and super partying, it’s a nice place to visit for a long weekend, but that’s about it. And anytime around summer, it’s tropical and unbearable. And don’t go during ant swarm season, it’s truly gross.


The line might be worth it to some, but there is so much to do in NOLA that I just didn't have two or three hours to stand in line. "Everyone" suggests going there, but I'd pick something else -- for example, the Katrina exhibition at the Louisiana State Museum nearby. It's not really about the flavor or the atmosphere, but rather about how many other things there are to do. (Crab beignets at Il Mercato might be a different story.)

Interesting points, @peteglider -- I enjoyed the long weekend and loved learning more about the city's fascinating history, but the tourism excess and drunkenness and hedonism (all very much a part of the city's character) went against my personal Northeastern grain. Good for a visit, wouldn't want to live there.

conandrob240 said:

Disagree about Cafe du Monde. while maybe not the greatest beignets in the city, sitting outside at cafe du monde listening to someone playing music on the street a few feet away, thinking about the history of all who sat there before is one of life's amazing little pleasures. 



I wouldn’t wait for much for 2-3 hrs definitely not Cafe du Monde. I’ve never seen a line like that though. 


What does drunkenness and Northeastern grain mean? I’m not sure what that means. Do we not have drunkenness in the Northeast? We live right outside the original up all night, million bars, city of excess city.


But definitely Bourbon st on a Fri or Sat night is likely a young persons game. Fun to see for about 30 minutes if you’ve never seen it before but I doubt I’d have much patience for it now. During the day, it’s a whole different story. Still, at night there’s some coolness and relaxation to be found here and there off the beaten path of Bourbon St if you slip into some jazz clubs.


Don't miss the Audubon Zoo, Central Grocery, or live jazz...

-s.

Oh, and...


Wow!  Thanks to everyone for all of the great suggestions.  Looks like we have a lot to think over but it should be great fun!  Much appreciated.   


Make sure to make reservations well in advance https://www.preservationhall.com/


Been there a number of times recently on business.  There are a bunch of really nice hotels in the Central Business district just on the other side of Canal from the French Quarter (between Canal and Poydras). Have fun!


Like any city, there is some grit for sure. But it is so interesting/different--there definitely is a NO "personality" unlike NY metro. Southern hospitality with a little bit of an edge?

We enjoyed a tour of the warehouse where they make the Mardi Gras floats. Another bonus--we were there in Feb and were able to use the rooftop pool oh oh.


I adore New Orleans and am there often (offspring in college there).  If you don't want to try an airbnb (there are many nifty ones) and don't want to be in the FQ, I recommend the Hampton Inn and Suites on St. Charles. It's a very nice, well run hotel, affordable and convenient for the streetcar (which you should ride just for fun). If you are there on a Sunday, I urge you to discover which social aid and pleasure club is second-lining that day, and plan to meet up with them and follow the parade for a while. It's my favorite thing to do in New Orleans!  I also love Frenchmen Street -- hardly anyplace charges a cover, so you can just wander from bar to bar and listen to whatever strikes your fancy. (I'd make a special effort to hear John Boutte at dba on Mondays, tho there is a cover there; also Tom McDermott at his various dates at Three Muses and other places, and Kermitt Ruffins anywhere he is playing.)  Rebirth Jazz Band at the Maple Leaf Tuesdays is another terrific evening, and Rock 'n Bowl on Carrollton is a hoot.  We also loved the Lower 9th Ward bike tour.  As for food, of course there are many fabulous places -- I'm not huge on 'fine dining,' tho Commanders, Galatoire's, Napoleon House, Domenica and Cochon are all excellent and not unreasonable for lunch. Lots of simpler places serve superb food, such as Lil Dizzy's in Treme and Praline Connection on Frenchmen. I even love Dat Dog!!  I can wander for hours in the quarter, Garden District, Uptown, Marigny, Bywater, just admiring the colorful houses and enjoying the beads in the trees. My happy place -- have a blast.


We haven't been in a while but stayed at the W in the French Quarter. They made it a lovely boutique feeling hotel and the patio out back at night is all sorts of sexy chic. Enjoy your stay no matter your choice. It's a fascinating city. https://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=97508&language=en_US



what iwasmim said. Zackly. Do not miss rocknbowl Zydeco night.  But only if you want an unforgettable evening of fun.

Also, her other suggestions. Yup.



We must be soulmates, kidsbooks!  


I don't remember waiting more than 10 minutes or so for beignets at Cafe Du Monde on more than one trip to NOLA. Maybe I was just lucky. I thought it was good, but I doubt that I would wait in line for 2-3 hours for any food anywhere. 


I commuted to NOLA for 12 years, but spent most of the time on the other side of the lake.  If you have a car for transportation:

Visit one or two of the plantation museums up the river.  Oak Alley is one of the best known, but there are many others, and all with interesting histories.

On the way, you have an opportunity to try lunch or dinner (early, they close at 9 PM) at a local restaurant named Middendorfs.  It opened in the 1930s, and has never been updated; it has linoleum floor, flourescent light fixtures, and waitresses with blue hair and sequined eye glasses.  Their fried food is tops:  

  • The boiled shrimp appetizer (you peel them) is good, but mix your own cocktail sauce (add a touch of lemon, some hot sauce and extra horseradish).
  • Main claim to fame is fried catfish (cut thin or thick), shrimp & oysters, can be ordered in combination.  The thin cut catfish is best.
  • Their broiled flounder is good too.  
  • If in season, try the speckled trout, Bienville style (= smothered with crawfish etoufe) if available.
  • And, do not forget to try the bread pudding with hard sauce.  It is over the top.

It is 16 miles north on I55 in Manchac (exit 16).  I55 is 20 miles west of NO, but if you do a trip along the river it is sorta on the way.


Watch Treme before you go!


jimmurphy,

Great Suggestion!

Best Regards,

Ron Carter



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