Beginner’s Travel Guide to New Orleans
Cher! NOLA, The Big Easy, The Crescent City, The Mardi Gras capital of United States… Yes these are all the nicknames of the same city, New Orleans. Be it food, culture, traditions or local experiences, New Orleans is a city which can surprise you in more than one way. On a weekday, the city is bustling with life. There are people working in high rise buildings in downtown, while one block away, there are Mardi Gras fans day drinking and dancing on the streets half-naked. Come the weekend, there is not a soul on the roads. Everyone is either having jambalaya relaxing with their family on their porch or praying at church.
So it’s important to plan your trip respecting this tradition. Here’s a check list of what to definitely do and where to eat when in New Orleans.
Bourbon street
This is popular street right in the middle of French Quarters where every day is Mardi Gras. If you plan on visiting New Orleans around Mardi Gras, do plan your trip way in advance. All hotels sell in thousands of dollars per night and are typically overbooked. Back to Bourbon Street, this is a good place to start exploring from around sunset to midnight. Most bars open around 2 in the afternoon until midnight. Grab a Hurricane with a NOLA blond beer and get going.
French Quarters
There is really so much more at French Quarters than the Bourbon Street. The colony has buildings with beautiful architecture hundreds of years old, with legendary tales and extremely well maintained décor. I suggest taking the 2hr guided Segway tour of the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. They tell you all about the murder on the 2nd floor to the ghost lurking around in the basement of the hotel to the suicide of the mysterious girl.
Art District of French Quarters
A little inward, away the noisy Bourbon Street is the art district of French Quarters. Every house in the street is either an art emporium or a boutique. The whole street is filled with pretty windows – all Instagram ready – with artists painting and street musicians performing. A stroll up this street is definitely inspiring.
Jackson Square and Esplanade Avenue
At Esplanade Avenue are the trail of shops, bars and restaurants alternating along the Mississippi river. Make sure you have sunglasses or a hat on when you are here. New Orleans is generally a humid place with lots of outdoor tourism. Be sure to stock up on sunscreen along with the hats and cold beer. Right where the Esplanade ends is where Jackson Square begins, a historic park with the iconic view of the cathedral behind and horse carriages in the front.
Frenchmen Street
While downtown and French Quarters are for the weekdays, they are pretty barren on weekends. Frenchmen Street is where you’ll find all the locals enjoying themselves with jazz stars and local draft beers. I had no idea that I was a jazz fan, until I saw someone perform live here, that too with a such immense passion. The quiet streets with jazz bars is a worthy local experience.
Garden District
Further away from the city is the garden district. The name is self explanatory and whole district is a big garden with streets full of mansions from the 1800s and oak trees older than your great great great grandparents. Park your car at the beginning of the street, take a gander, explore the local cuisine and come back to your car. The mansions with little historical notes and facts sealed on them, with real people living inside them is a different vibe altogether.
There is also America’s biggest World War II museum and the walk around Magazine Street which I didn’t get a chance to see. Do check them out.
Voodoo Experience and Haunted Tours
New Orleans is rich and famous for their haunted tours around the oldest and famous St. Louis Cemetery and many related voodoo experiences. The cemetery has not been open for public viewing since the pandemic, but the other haunted houses around the French Quarters and Garden District are still covered by the tour. There are also many voodoo stores selling crafts and artifacts in Bourbon Street. Madame Leveau’s House of Voodoo is literally a museum of black magic. If you are into this stuff, do visit this odd place for a bizarre experience. Photography was strictly out of limits, but the house has a replica of Goliath’s head from the David and Goliath legend, along with accounts of voodoo practices and used tools from around the world. Chicken feet, rabbit paws and pig tails are apparently collector’s items each with a history of why.
Food and Drinks
New Orleans’ food culture is vastly influenced by either the French or the Cajun and Creole cultures. Jambalayas, rice based bowls, tomato sauces are staple in both Cajun and Creole foods. I noticed, that almost all of these dishes can be customized with specific meats or even just vegetarian options. Each bite is a burst of flavors in the mouth and sits well with a tourist’s gut. When in a south port city, oysters bars are popular go to options. I tried to taste oyster for the first time and I must say, it is an acquired taste. Not mine for sure. But if you are sea foodie then almost all the restaurants are good according to my expert friends.
One cannot finish a NOLA blog without talking about Cafe Du Monde, Cafe of the World. Established around 160 yrs back, this coffee shop is famous for it’s beignets and coffee with chicory, literally the two items on their menu. They don’t have decaf options in case you are wondering. If you are an Indian like me and are missing the south Indian filter coffee, the one with chicory in it, this is where you can satisfy your cravings. May be even buy a tin for the road. Because Americans don’t have chicory in their grinded coffee beans, this might seem like a different taste, a stronger version perhaps. The lines are typically huge if you are at their Decatur St location, the original one, but they have franchises all over the city.
“Laissez les bon temps rouler”
As they say in NOLA, let the good times roll and experience the joie de vivre in the Crescent city. Check out my other travel blogs here and food blogs here.
Happy Exploring!!!