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Plan My Trip: New Orleans

Posted by Janelle Nanos on January 9, 2009
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New Orleans, Bourbon st in the rain

Mardi Gras is here! Okay well not exactly, but earlier this week, the city residents celebrated Twelfth Night, the celebration of the Epiphany and the Three Kings’ arrival, which is the day that officially kicks off the Carnival season. So I’m heading down to New Orleans tonight to do some reporting on how best to celebrate like a local, and naturally, I need your help. I’ll be in town for four days meeting up with some of the krewes, but I’m always up for suggestions and recommendations.

What’s the advice you’d give a Mardi Gras virgin? What are the ways the locals experience the festivities? What should you not do while you’re there, so as to avoid being a total tourist? Let me know. And stay tuned for updates from my visit!

Photo: A rainy day on Bourbon Street, by Divemasterking2000 via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool

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  1. feisty tourist
    January 9, 2009, 11:11 am

    new orleans musts: have a hurricane at pat o’s and enjoy the piano ladies there; get beignets at cafe du monde; eat pralines (and pronounce it prah-leenz, not pray-leenz), a po’boy, gumbo, jumbalaya, and anything else you can get your hands on; and shop. http://feistync.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/destination-friday-nola/

  2. hauteroute
    January 9, 2009, 12:38 pm

    try planning your trip to the Big Easy using NileGuide’s guide to New Orleans at http://www.nileguide.com/destination/new-orleans. We’ll help you find personalized recommendations on where to stay, what to do, and where to eat and drink. Then, you can organize your itinerary, book everything that’s bookable, and download and print your own free custom travel guidebook for your trip. Let us know what you think!

  3. Mohammad Zohaib Khan
    January 9, 2009, 5:15 pm

    I think u brows & find more information about “New Orleans” so after that u able to plan your trip easily. Thanks for sharing.
    Mohammad Zohaib Khan from Atlanta

  4. RoShelle
    January 12, 2009, 9:52 am

    Another great alternative to New Orleans Mardi Gras is on Galveston Island, 50 minutes from Houston, Texas. It is a much more family friendly event.

  5. Dan Boudreaux
    January 13, 2009, 9:35 am

    Haven’t been to NO a lot since the storm. I moved from NO to the Mississippi Coast prior to Katrina. If you’ve seen 3-4 hundred parades… So some of this may be dated.
    A few of my favorite activites when I lived there. And when I return. A drink on the patio at the Napoleon House. (On Chartres.)The seats in the main bar are also nice to watch the people strolling through the quarter.
    I believe Muriel’s is now located where the old Chart House used to be. If it is, and the balcony is open. (Overlooking Jackson Square.) It’s a great place to relax and watch life on the streets and square below. (Haven’t been there since it was the Chart House. So I can’t comment on the food.)
    A drink on the Patio at Pat O’Briens. (Best evening.) A ride on the St Charles street car. A stroll down Prytania through the garden district. Also strolling through the back part of the quarter, from Jackson Square to Esplanade.
    Mardi Gras prior to Fat Tuesday is in anticipation of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras day is when the real party is held.Even when Mardi Gras is called off due to a police strike. (Still my vote for the best Mardi Gras ever.)
    Though everyone knows of the parades. Mardi Gras is a participatory event. If you run into one of the marching clubs. Jump in at the back. Tag along. (Costumes and beads to throw to the crowd help. (You can recycle what you caught before. But long, nice beads sometimes bring premiums.)
    Though watching the parades is fun. I liked the Quarter. Bourbon isn’t for the claustraphobic. Bourbon from about St Ann on is more humane. And Royal, and Chartres are less crowded with more costumes. (People in large and fancy costumes usually try to avoid the crowds on Bourbon.)
    Hope this helps.
    Laissez les bon temp roulez!

  6. Deanna Repose
    January 20, 2009, 1:10 pm

    New Orleans
    My tip: seating at Cafe Du Monde is “open patio seating” – this means you don’t have to wait in line to get a table. Many tourists stand in a line at the street waiting for someone to seat them. No one does. Go around the line to the back of the patio and wait for a table to open up – then run, otherwise, you could stand around all day!
    ONE OF THE MUST DO’s: have a drink at Jean Lafite’s Blacksmith Shop and Bar, toward the end of Bourbon Street. It is noted as being the oldest working bar in America housed in the original building at the original address since sometime in the 1790′s. They still have the same lighting too! (Luckily they updated the bathrooms!) It is very romantic, in an old pirate sense of the word!
    On the religious side of things: Mass on Sundays (or Catholic Holy Days, such as Ash Wednesday – the day after Mardi Gras) at St. Louis Cathedral is amazing. They have a boy’s choir that sings from the balcony, and it is so pretty. The ceilings are painted and the church is very ornate. It has been a working church since the 1790′s – and locals attend services there daily. Even if you are not religious, it is an amazing building!
    Even though it is a “tourist” thing to do the New Orleans Vampire Tour from Haunted History Tours (www.hauntedhistorytours.com) is fabulous! The tour takes you through the streets of the Quarter, adds a little vampire mystery, and explains some of the 200+ years of history. It is a great way to learn the streets (so you don’t get lost), see how locals act (so you can pretend to be one later), and learn some deep, dark secrets about the city’s past.
    I usually trek to NOLA for the French Quarter Festival because it is less crowded. The festival celebrates everything that is the quarter: music in the streets (literally), food, art, and parades. Lots of fun!!!

  7. LTL01
    February 5, 2009, 12:03 pm

    If you’re going to spend Mardi Gras like many, if not most, locals, you’ll spend minimal time in the French Quarter. You’ll avoid seeing parades on Canal Street, although I try to do that once every season. You’ll see one or two parades in Metairie.
    In my experience, the Mardi Gras that locals experience and love is about celebrating with family and friends along the more “family friendly” areas of the parade routes and the Bourbon Street thing is something you see glimpses of on TV.

  8. Janelle Nanos
    February 5, 2009, 5:30 pm

    That’s actually exactly what I found LTLO1, during my recent visit there. Though I was in Jackson Square for this event, I spent the majority of my time around the edges of the city. Stay tuned for more dispatches from my Mardi Gras Moments:
    http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/02/mardi-gras-moments-the-krewe-o.html

  9. Coconut Palm
    July 10, 2010, 3:59 pm

    New Orleans has the best dining in the US. The cuisine is like no other in the world. Find time to enjoy New Orleans food.

  10. Steve
    Boston
    November 1, 2011, 3:51 pm

    Check out the guides at Free Tours by Foot. They work just for tips, ensuring that your tour has to be great, or they don’t make any money http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/neworleans/.