New Orleans enjoys well-deserved renown as one of America’s most festive and flavorful destinations thanks to its spicy Creole and Cajun cuisine, boisterous nightlife with jazz serenading Bourbon Street and hedonistic upholding of the mantra “Laissez les bon temps rouler” (Let the good times roll). Yet beyond the obvious indulgences in outstanding food and libations, the Big Easy offers no shortage of compelling attractions, oddities and pastimes unique to its eccentric character and culture.
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Explore the French Quarter | Visit historic buildings, vibrant markets, and listen to street musicians for a taste of New Orleans’ rich culture. |
| Cruise on the Mississippi | Enjoy riverboat cruises offering dining, music, and skyline views. |
| Tour Plantations | Explore historical plantations to understand the region’s past. |
| Delve into the Supernatural | Experience ghost tours and voodoo shops in one of America’s most haunted cities. |
| Savor the Culinary Scene | Taste iconic dishes like gumbo, beignets, and po-boys at local eateries. |
| Enjoy Live Music and Dance | Immerse in the birthplace of jazz with live performances in bars and clubs. |
| Family-Friendly Attractions | Visit the Audubon Zoo, Aquarium, and Butterfly Garden and Insectarium for fun with kids. |
| Explore the Garden District | Admire antebellum mansions and lush gardens in this historic neighborhood. |
| Take a Swamp Tour | Experience Louisiana’s unique ecosystem with a guided swamp tour. |
| Engage with Art and Museums | Visit museums and art galleries showcasing the city’s history and contemporary culture. |
| Experience Mardi Gras | Join the vibrant parades, costumes, and festivities of Mardi Gras season. |
| Tour the Historic Treme Neighborhood | Learn about the African American and Creole cultures and histories in one of the oldest neighborhoods. |
From admiring elegant antebellum architecture in the historic French Quarter to testing your threshold for spicy heat levels to strolling the same corridors as supernatural vampires and voodoo priestesses, New Orleans opens doors to extraordinary experiences around every corner. Here are 12 of the most memorable things to do in New Orleans sure to show first-time visitors the scintillating side of the city that makes it unlike anywhere else while giving returnees novel adventures.
Wander the French Quarter
French Quarter (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: The vibrant French Quarter is the historic heart of New Orleans. Founded in 1718 by French colonists, it’s defined by wrought-iron balconies, vibrant architecture, jazz clubs, Cajun eateries, and raucous Bourbon Street nightlife. This iconic neighborhood buzzes 24/7 with the spirited, spooky, and sensual soul of the Big Easy.
What to Expect: Shop colorful art galleries along Royal Street, people watch from an open-air cafe on Jackson Square, sip sazeracs at the historic Napoleon House, join a ghost tour to peek inside the brooding LaLaurie Mansion, catch Dixieland jazz on Bourbon Street, and wander the rows of the historic St. Louis Cemetery #1.
Visitor Information: The compact French Quarter is easily explored on foot. Guided walking tours available. Exercise caution at night when things get rowdy. Limited parking – take a taxi or Uber instead.
As the crown jewel anchoring New Orleans tourism scene, no visit feels complete without exploring the storied streets of the Vieux Carré (Old Square) better known as the French Quarter. The vibrant neighborhood overflows with wrought-iron balconied buildings dazzling like wedding cakes and colorful architecture hearkening back over three centuries oozing Old-World romance sure to enchant.
Meander down Royal Street popping into posh antique shops and art galleries that dazzle the eyes before settling into a courtyard cafe to rest weary feet. Time your outing for catching a special event like the French Market Creole Tomato Festival for trying hundreds of tomato dish varieties or viewing magnificent mansion home tours hosted by preservation foundations.
As evening encroaches, catch casual jazz concerts around Jackson Square or join a Haunted History Ghost Tour for macabre tales about the LaLaurie House tortures before capping off your day slurping oysters at classic Creole restaurants like Arnaud’s mixing melt-in-your-mouth flavors with melt-in-your-mind ambiance.
Cruise the Mississippi
Mississippi River Cruises (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: The mighty Mississippi River is the lifeblood of New Orleans. Riverboats have navigated these muddy waters for over 300 years, from 18th century colonists to modern day paddlewheel sightseeing cruises. Floating slowly past the port, guests gain a new perspective on NOLA.
What to Expect: Sightseeing narration on landmarks like Jackson Square and Superdome, views of sprawling plantation houses upriver with oak alley promenades, lively jazz, Dixieland or zydeco music, indulgent Creole buffets, and swinging parties during sunset & holiday cruises all while watching working barges ply the Mississippi against Gulf horizons.
Visitor Information: Most lines offer 1-2 hour sightseeing trips that run daily. Book tickets in advance online. Arrive 30 minutes early to park, check in. Boarding is first come first served so come early for best seats. Cruise year round with enclosed lower decks.
Beyond the levees lining its shores, the mighty Mississippi River serves as the lifeblood for New Orleans functioning as both major port and picturesque backdrop anchoring abundant attractions. Several riverboat sightseeing tours cruise past imposing landmarks and lonely reaches revealing intriguing insights about river trading influencing local culture and cuisine over three centuries.
For eco escapades on the water, kayaking along the Mississippi offers quality bird watching and chances to glimpse grand antebellum plantation homes only visible from the river winding along the West Bank through history-rich communities like Gretna. Groups like Kayak-iti-yat offer guided tours explaining the river’s unique hydrology and precarious path that makes life in New Orleans an annual gamble against flooding.
On land by the riverside, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas transports visitors below sea level into the Mississippi’s depths for upclose encounters with playful otters, toothy sharks and other aquatic life its currents carry downstream into the Gulf of Mexico beyond. Don’t bypass the butterfly garden flourishing outside either for colorful winged beauties that may land delicately on your shoulder.
Head Out of Town
City & Swamp Tours
History and Significance: Beyond its lively streets, New Orleans borders bayous and wetlands teeming with birds, gators, fish, and more. Airboat swamp tours allow visitors to spot alligators, snakes, turtles, herons and other wildlife while learning about Cajun culture and life in Louisiana swamplands.
What to Expect: Skim through lush swamplands and hidden lagoons in small covered boats while native guides identify flowers, ferns, trees draped in Spanish moss and the eyes of alligators peering just above the waterline. Some tours allow hands-on wildlife encounters like baby alligator holding.
Visitor Information: Wear pants, hats and bug spray. Pack water and cameras with straps. Morning light best spotlights wildlife. Confirm tour length, hotel transport. Add City Park, Garden District or cemetery tours too!
While the metropolitan mix of Creole culture and Mardi Gras magic concentrated around New Orleans obviously intrigues, several side trips outside city limits unlock beautiful bayous and plantation histories offering insider perspectives on influences shaping the region’s customs over centuries.
Excursions to former sugarcane fields lined grandly with magnificent plantation manor homes along the Great Mississippi River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge reveal the lavish lifestyles their opera-loving owners maintained thanks to fortunes funded through slavery’s tragic injustices. Most estates offer insightful tours recounting these complex social dynamics that resonate still today.
South of the city, Lafitte Barataria Preserve and Jean Lafitte National Historic Park preserve over 22,000 acres of evocative swamplands for kayaking through the canopy studying alligators or touring Acadian folk homes on stilts that kept pioneer families safely elevated from slithering serpents. Learn how linguistic traces of these original Cajun settlers evolved into the playful patois and spicy cuisine still celebrated today.
For more bayou byways, check out neighborhood recommendations in Westwego or venture further towards enchanting gardens showcasing exotic plant species rarely strayed far from the equator yet here thrive happily bathing year-round in the balmy Gulf breezes. You’ll find vegatation vacations verge on magical as Michaelangelo moss beards baroque branches evoking fantastical shapes and textures transfixing minds and senses equally.
Haunts, Herbs & Healers
Voodoo & Ghost Tours
History and Significance: With a long history of piracy, plagues and the supernatural, New Orleans boasts countless ghost sightings. Nighttime lantern tours tell the real stories behind its grisly past, including voodoo priestess Marie Laveau’s cursed home, the LaLaurie mansion torture chamber and St Louis Cemetery #1.
What to Expect: Follow experienced guides through dimly-lit streets to hear legends of ghosts emerging from the city’s darkest corners. Stops include the LaLaurie mansion, St Louis Cemetery #1 and former dueling grounds. Keep watch for spirits and paranormal activity as you learn NOLA’s haunted history.
Visitor Information: Wear comfortable shoes for outdoor walking tours. Compare routes when booking. Pre-purchase tickets, which can sell out. Ghost tours run year-round with indoor options in bad weather. Private group tours available too.
Beyond booze, New Orleans satiates curious minds with concoctions summoning the supernatural and natural worlds imparting potent brews that navigate nil planes between body and spirit realms.
Those seeking vampires find inspiration in novels detailing the exploits of Anne Rice’s bestselling indianct Lestat prowling historic haunts like Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 where elaborate above-ground tombs house generations of ghosts. Fans flock to her former Garden District mansion looking for apparitions.
For real world magic practiced more pragmatically, shops selling voodoo wares fill bourbon street windows with talismans and potions catering to casual dabblers or formal initiates like Island of Salvation Botanica, whose proprietors descend from Haitian houngan priests adept handling hexes. Visitors can assemble custom gris gris amulet protection bags filled with crystals and herbs picked from in-store spirit gardens brimming with sacred plants.
Those seeking solace secularly through alternative therapies instead should visit the bustling French Market district and peruse stalls stuffed with natural oddities like Dr. Bob’s Folk Art specializing in quack medical collectibles and snake oils from less regulated eras.quare antique eye wash devices, Civil War surgeon sets and flasks filled with unknown fluids to surmise homespun healthcare’s shocking substances adopted daringly by our determined ancestors gambit against gangrene and lockjaw when physicians proved poor options for poultices probably poisoning patients worse!
Cemetery Strolls & City Parks
City Park (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: At over 1,300 acres, City Park has been a beloved public green space since 1854. Home to towering live oaks, gardens, lakes and a children’s amusement park, this park provides a relaxing escape from the city and is also home to NOMA – the impressive New Orleans Museum of Art.
What to Expect: Sculpture gardens, walking paths under sprawling oak branches, paddling on the bayou, flying kites on open lawns, riding the historic antique carousel, playing mini golf, grabbing snacks at Cafe Du Monde’s outpost, admiring local artwork at NOMA, and spotting turtles, rabbits and birds throughout the grounds.
Visitor Information: Located in Mid-City district. Multiple free parking areas. Open daily, sunrise to sunset. The Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA requires separate admission and hours.
Aimless ambling always uncovers something of intrigue even occupying ordinary green spaces scattered throughout the Crescent City delivering welcome respites between raucous revelry.
Woldenberg Park’s leafy promenade overlooking the Mississippi coats city skyscraper views in soothing nature while streetcars ding-dinging down St. Charles Avenue pass parades of prominent mansions fringed by fragrant magnolia trees purging traffic exhaust from the lungs.
For quiet contemplation instead, enter maze-like Lafayette Cemetery No.1 whose elaborate above ground tombs contain crumbling crypts covered in crosses and weeping angels standing sentinel over the remains of prominent New Orleanians interred ingeniously elevated in response to the area’s swampy soil and storm surges making traditional subterranean burials impractical. Ponder passing time turning formidable captains of commerce into nameless fragments alongside pauperized slaves sharing the same fate finally equal despite society’s uttered injustices. Feel folktales stir among these marbled halls warning againsttempting wake-less spirits by whistling or tapping on vault doors when traversing through.
Those preferring their park excursions more playful can climb colossal oaks draped gracefully with Spanish moss at New Orleans City Park said to be world’s largest and most beautiful urban green space outside those grander gardens gifteded graciously by Empress Josephine’s malcontent Malmaison until Napoleon impetuously impounded even Eden’s once cherished botanicals. Today one finds airboat rides, gold courses, art museums and circus carnival carousels keeping kids gleefully grinning so joyously that missing mass seems no mortal sin inside these sovereign city limits blessed by botanicals.
Culinary Feasts
Culinary Tours & Classes (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: Food lies at the heart of New Orleans’ rich culture with influences from French, Spanish, African, Sicilian and Caribbean traditions blending over 300 years into signature Creole and Cajun cuisines. Numerous tours and cooking classes allow visitors to dive into time-honored NOLA specialties.
What to Expect: Walking tours visit long-running mom-and-pop restaurants to sample local dishes like gumbo, jambalaya, po’ boys and beignets. Hands-on classes teach the basics behind roux, mirepoix and creole seasoning, allowing you to whip up your own NOLA-style seafood boils or banana fosters. Bring containers for leftovers!
Visitor Information: Advance reservations required for cooking classes – spaces fill quickly. Weather-friendly options available. Check tour length, group size restrictions, dietary needs accommodation when booking. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Private tours by request.
Trying standout eateries tops every Nola visitor’s list thanks to Cajun and Creole cuisines packing explosive seasonings that titillate tongues and tantalize tummies with bold flavors. While ginormous seafood platters overflowing with crustaceans and mollusks drenched in buttery sauces may stereotype the city’s notable fare, don’t overlook meaty specialties too.
Finding consensus naming New Orleans’ best restaurants rivals attempting unanimous verdicts from a jury box filled with hungry food critics, yet legendary establishments standout decade after decade. SoBou’s seven course tasting menu reinterprets Creole classics into miniature masterpieces sure to satiate sophisticated pallets desiring delicacies over heaping potions. Their rare wine collection provides perfect pairings that don’t drain the wallet quickly thanks to half-glass options offered enabling customers to sample broadly across vineyards and vintages.
Those seeking quintessential local specialties condensed conveniently into single savory dishes must make mandatory meaty stops at Mother’s Restaurant lauded for debris po’ boys loaded with bits of juicy roast beef debris scraped deliciously from the oven’s depths. There’s simply nothing better for staving off hangover headaches plaguing Bourbon Street revelers after late nights howling at the moon. Heartier appetites should supersize shrimp versions for true surf and turf sensations stuffing bellies like Christmas stockings sans costly credit card bills left behind for old Saint Nick’s north pole tax workshop to tally tidily.
Dance the Days Away
Dance Halls (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: Dance halls have kept New Orleans’ feet moving for over a century. Historic venues like Tipitina’s and the Maple Leaf Bar allow visitors to dance alongside locals to live Louisiana acts dishing up spicy Cajun and zydeco sets as well as jazz, brass band, funk, Dixieland, and bounce music traditions.
What to Expect: Catch regularly scheduled local bands like Grammy-winners Rebirth Brass Band at Maple Leaf plus special guest artists like blues legends, jazz patriarchs, and next-gen funk masters throwing down new riffs and Mardi Gras anthems. Most shows start at 10 PM so expect late, lively nights!
Visitor Information: Some venues restrict ages or have cover charges. Buy tickets online in advance when possible. Take Uber/Lyft to neighborhood venues. Pack earplugs for long sets. See NOLA music festival schedules for more big band options.
Rhythms resonate intrinsically through every neighborhood where barefeet tap almost involuntarily keeping cadence with the constant percussion pulsating intrinsically as blood through Nola’s flourishing heart.
For toe tapping with professionals, Preservation Hall maintains treasured traditions showcasing New Orleans jazz foundations that later evolved influencing swing styles which jitterbugged across dancehalls into early rock melodies now revered as monumentally as Moticello’s immortal architecture.Queue curbside early before the sparse wooden venue fills with campaigns clinking cocktails relishing acclaimed alumni who’ve graduated Preservation Hall’s hallowed stage now headlining Hollywood film scores and festival circuits globally.
Those itching for informal dance clubs can juke joints along Frenchman Street like spontaneous second lines where mocking sass and brassy beats signal the capitvating calliope inviting even casual ears tempted bypassing into brightly bedecked watering holes like The Spotted Cat or Blue Nile to witness authentic shows sans amplification played passionately by generations maintaining earnest devotion towards nurturing America’s extraordinary gift to 20th century music almost single-handedly dubbed jazz. Local lyricists standing amidst the revelry spin boastful ballads promising paradise allurements naughtier than union from Napolean or that ever flowed freely from Mark Twain’s pen peeking slyly over cards at poker games going bust.Hooks and harmonicas harp unceasingly as paradise allures nightly naughtier than Huck Finn dared dream drifting southward towards these sultry shores where cotton was king yet music reigned freely as church hymns or French opera arias echoing harmonically across ironwork balconies beckoning literary legends and laughing cajuns alike.
Amusement for All Ages
Six Flags (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: Situated on a 245-acre site that formerly hosted the 1984 World Fair in New Orleans, Six Flags amusement park opened in 2000 featuring a Mardi Gras section, Looney Tunes kids area, concerts, shows, thrill rides and water park alongside local cuisine.
What to Expect: Highlights include riding the towering 150-foot tall Jester rollercoaster, plunging down near-vertical Zydeco Scream drops, looping Medusa-style on the Ragin’ Cajun, flying through inversions on Catwoman’s Whip and more alongside milder options like antique carousels for younger families – plus meet & greets with Bugs Bunny and DC comic heroes around the park!
Visitor Information: About a 30-minute drive from downtown. Check site for opening schedules. Purchase discount tickets online. Free trams and shuttles help navigate large grounds. Note ride restrictions by age/height. Water park requires separate admission.
Finding family fun flourishes easier in New Orleans than beignets buried under powdered sugar thanks to amusement attractions catering to all ages from wee toddlers to centenarian grandparents.
Storyland entrances kids with over two dozen storybook sets brought colourfully to life from pages peeking beloved bedtime classics. Costumed characters like Humpty Dumpty orprotosaur Tick Tock wander the enchanted forest ready to demonstrate Mother Goose’s immortal nursery rhymes choreographed cheerfully beside ziplines and climbing structures sized for diminutive daredevils.
Bigger kids craving water slides over pigtales rush towards cool relief at the audaciously named Six Flags Hurricane Harbor parsed pluckily into Caribbean and Cajun themed sectors with Tonga Twist drenching riders roaring through sunken galleon wrecks alongside raging Bayou rapids churning through logjams nearly capsizing thrillseekers bucking the final falls. Parents enjoy lounging lazily aside yo-yoing wavepools gazing tranquilly as preteens plunge screaming with surprised delight down steep Todd’s Twister tailings plunging thirty vertically before submerging blissfully again into endless summer unencumbered by September’s return nor October’s textbooks.
If neither generation desires drenchings nor dizzying drops, consider Audubon Park Transporting tykes onto safari adventures discovering rare species like whooping cranes among bayous where real gators gaze hungrily from swampy shores dexterously stalking families distracted pointing excitedly towards otters playfully peeking behind floating fronds. Numerous spacious pecan tree orchards offer Instagram moments capturing glimpses of gibbons swinging trapezes or lazy bison bedded down dozing during midday’s sultry embrace.
Treme Tours
Tremé Neighborhood (New Orleans, LA)
History and Significance: Just outside the French Quarter lies historic working-class Tremé – known as the oldest African-American neighborhood in the US and the birthplace of jazz pioneers like Sidney Bechet alongside other musical greats like Fats Domino and Lil Wayne.
What to Expect: Visit Desire Projects area that inspired A Streetcar Named Desire plus the former site of Storeyville red-light district. Find vibrant street murals honoring civil rights leaders and jazz icons. Look for impromptu second line parades, clubhouse social aid and pleasure gatherings, popup brass bands, southern Sunday gospel choirs infusing local pride.
Visitor Information: Guided specialty neighborhood tours like Le Musée de f.p.c. walk the historic sites illuminating local legacies. Private group tours available. Self-guided options visit key music history landmarks identified by plaques and colorful building exteriors. Area best known today for scrumptious soul food cafes.
Among America’s most prominent African American artistic communities, New Orleans neighborhoods like Treme fostered distinguished musicians, dancer, poets plus culinary wizards whose creative contributions warrant greater acclaim as cultural foundations now celebrated internationally.
Seeking to spotlight these talents and traditions overlooked by mainstream tourist maps, local historians lead enriching explorations of Treme educating outsiders while celebrating insiders whose resilience maintained cohesive communities even enduring devastating disasters or economic depressions threatening traditions tenaciously preserved patiently through faith despite persecutions challenging dignity decade after decade. Walking tours make tangible ongoing struggles via ruin pdidences half-repaired years post-Katrina and grassroots memorials honoring unjust police violence haunting recent memory among locale youths inheriting bittersweet legacies who’ve shared sorrowsmake solidarity’s strengths woefully overlooked by outsiders lacking context of systemic marginalization holding back potential abundantly evident.