I went to New Orleans a couple years ago, and I loved going to Preservation Hall to hear a traditional New Orleans jazz performance. The place is small and not at all fancy, but well worth it, IMO. Next to Preservation Hall is a bar called Pat O'Brien's which is famous for its Hurricane drink. We had a lot of fun watching the dueling pianos there. Café du Monde is famous for its beignets. Because someone in our party couldn't walk long distances, we took a 3 or 4 hour tour by van. Worked out well because It was a great way to see the city, cemeteries, park, etc. Have fun on your trip!

DH and I were just saying we are due for a trip. It has been a few years since one of my conferences was there.

Bring good shoes to walk in!

Everything kellystar said:

The French Market

Ghost Tours

Garden District Tour

Boat cruise down to the harbor.

Swamp and Plantation Tours (but these require a pick-up at the hotel)

If you like oysters, I recommend Acme Oyster House, but really you can get oysters and crawfish almost anywhere.

People can dress up a little more for dinner, but you will see a mix.

Cafe du Monde for sure! If there is a line to sit at the tables, you can go to a walk up window and order your cafe au lait and beignets there. It is facing the patio at the back. Then you can walk up the stairs and eat them while looking at the Mississippi River. Or go across the street and enjoy them in the square in front of St. Louis Cathedral. Don't wear black- lots of powdered sugar.

There are some historic houses in the French quarter that you can take a tour of, you do have to pay but I really enjoyed the one that I made it to.

Try to take one of the walking tours, we went on one that took us through the Saint Louis Cemetery, which was fascinating. Here is a self-guided walking tour map of the French Quarter. Oh, ride the street cars!

Mother's for lunch, but get there early. I second Acme. If you are so inclined for a fancy lunch, then Commander's Palace for the experience.

Thank you, everyone! I'm looking forward to the trip. I'll be with a friend (who has meetings; she's from CA). We've definitely decided to take some walking tours (gardens, cemetery, and French Quarter history pique our interest) and attend a couple of musical events. Your advice concerning restaurants and sights is very helpful. I really appreciate it!

Weather should be perfect ... highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s. Azaleas are in bloom. Gorgeous time of year to visit southern Louisiana!

New Orleans' weather forecast

The ghost tours usually include the cemetaries. You do have to be a little careful sometimes to go to some of them without a guide and definitely go during the daytime only. Safety in numbers.

Hi,

We were there two years ago in midMarch, as part of our sweep through the Southeast to show kids the highlights (not really SE but I wanted to include it).

I had been to NO twice before and loved it. I have to say I was disappointed this time. First, to me, The French Quarter literally reeked of alcohol just walking down the street. Rather than quirky or charming or dishabille, it just felt seedy to me. I was looking forward to shopping, but it was wall to wall t-shirts and shotglasses and beer steins, IYKWIM. It also felt a little dicey at night in spots. I much preferred the Garden District for walking around and it had some cute shopping areas.

As far as tours, I have done swamp tours three times now. The one we went on this time was the highest rated on TA. It was about an hour away. I didn't care for it at all, and neither did my family. The water is not terribly pretty. A lot of rusty industrial vistas mixed in. They feed the alligators marshmallows to lure them, which just seems wrong. They also show you wild pigs (or boar? IDR) living in the swamp. They come very close to the boat and again they throw marshmallows at them. They are very ugly animals and I don't think they are unique to the area. Not much in the way of birds and only a little spanish moss here and there (maybe it's too early).

Much preferred the plantation tours. The homes and grounds are lovely (though when we were there not much was in bloom yet). We had some great guides. We also liked a bike tour we took through the ninth ward. They have a truly excellent WWII museum, but TBH the boys did that while we shopped.

If you say NO, people will say Cafe Du monde, so you pretty much have to go. Maybe my tastes have changed but all of us thought it was pretty much a greasy doughnut. But it doesn't matter because it only takes a few minutes and you kind of have to!

We enjoyed the restaurants, esp Langlois, and La Petite Grocery. The old standards, IMHO have not kept their menus up to date and are awfully heavy and rich. Be sure to try some alligator!

Our favorite part of our stay was actually the charming B and B we took over (it only had three rooms). Wonderful architecture and decor, But you are all set in that department.

It's always fun to share a new city with a friend; I'm sure you will have a great time!

If you want to experience a true Cajun fun time and good food you need to go to Mulates at night, they have great Cajun bands playing and everyone gets up and dances together even the kids. Great fun here's a linklink read the story of Mulates. I try to send everyone there and the ones that go tell me it's the best thing they did. I also recommend mother's for breakfast or lunch get there early. Get out of the French Quarter and out in the outlying areas for the best food and fun, French Quarter has changed a lot since Katrina, too commercialized.

Mulates

Tipitinas

Awesome music and fun!

A New Orleans tradition! The rock n bowl such a good time and great music.

Rock n bowl

Those are places you can be sure to have a great time and get real food. Take it from this Cajun!

Also if it's good weather take the trolley to the open air flea market! Great finds and fun best place to buy souvenirs. You can spend all day there the people are so friendly.

A wonderful resource for all things New Orleans is Chuck Taggart's Gumbo Pages, he has links to a lot of great places and information. He's a cool dude!

The Gumbo Pages

the world war 2 museum is worthwhile. i love the audabon zoo if it's really nice out! can't go wrong with many of the restaurants- camillia's grill on s carrolton is an awesome place to go into for breakfast- great omelets and if you want a burger, you cannot beat port of call on esplanade!!!

Mulates! Thank you, ravencajun! I knew that we went to a very fun restaurant with a lot of music and dancing, but couldn't remember the name! We also had lunch at Emeril's.

Stay away from Bourbon Street, although there are 2 places on the street that I love.

An oyster bar/seafood restaurant Le Bayou and what I consider a better alternative to Cafe du Monde, which I think is just okay, Cafe Beignet in the Musical Legends Park - their beignets are like clouds from heaven.

If you're there on the weekend, the flea market at the French Market is fun. I always come back with fun finds and there's one vendor that I adore, a husband and wife that sell beautiful sterling and semi-precious stone jewelry - I always come back with at least a few pieces.

If you see a pedicab - hail it and go for a ride! They'll take you on a short tour or just from place to place. They don't go everywhere but I never miss a ride, the rates are fair, imo.

The carriage rides in front of Jackson Square are also fun and the drivers are usually very entertaining and full of knowledge and fun facts.

Like Paris, I go to New Orleans to soak in the atmosphere and just to be a flaneur - wander and stroll with no particular destination in mind.

I'm not one to do the museum and cultural attraction death march but that's just me. I usually travel solo without any real plan and I love it.

DD and myself have been twice in the last year~it's only a 7 hour drive from Austin, and we both enjoy road trips. We have done several tours, although I don't remember the tour group names, some were better than others. We like to stay up late and went to Harrah's to do a little gambling, or watch *others* win money! lol We really enjoy the cajun food and our first experience was at the Bon Ton Cafe, where we ate twice in 4 days~I ordered the Etoufee both times, delish! We also tried oysters for the first time, and decided we can live w/o them, even though they were covered in a sauce. If course you have to try a beignet at the Cafe du Monde, just to say you've tried one. A bit greasy, but it's a NOLA 'thing'. If you happen to catch a parade, it's usually a celebration of a wedding OR a funeral~feel free to join in. ;)

Also take a tour of Mardi Gras World where many of the floats for the Mardi Gras Parades are built. It's near the WWII Museum. That was one of our favorite things to do last year. Also check when the French quarter Music Festival is being held. If you are lucky enough to be there when it's happening, there is a lot of free outdoor music and you can walk from block to block and hear bands. Central Grocery (store) is great. Kitchen Witch Bookstore in the Fr. Quarter is another good place for cookbooks. The husband of the proprietor makes and sells a spice blend that is quite good. Have fun!