Talking to a resident while waiting in line this weekend and was told the wise resident leaves during that time. If you like crowds fine but that is not the best time. A week after Fat Tuesday would be nice. The crowds are gone and you can actually move and see things. The trees and flowers are starting to bloom giving you a taste of warmth and green.

I haven't been to New Orleans in a long time, but I used to go every year and have been to several Mardi Gras. The parades are nice to see, and so you will want to get a parade schedule. I've never had bad food there, and when I went, there were no national chain restaurants, except for perhaps Popeye's Fried Chicken (which was good), but if they have those now, avoid them and you should be fine.

For a cheap lunch, get a Muffaletta sandwich (good for four meals) at Central Grocery. I stayed with friends whenever I visited, and so I'm not familiar with the motels.

I agree that March is a better time to visit - February is still cold, but March is mild.

"New Orleans' charm wore off for me a long time ago. "

Yeah, I have to say I never caught the charm, for it to need to wear off. I've been a half-dozen times, for business and for non-business trips. Now being retired, I can choose where I go and this is one place I don't need to go back to.

I would if possible avoid the Mardi Gras period. I know people who've been there then and ignoring the draw of the events, this is time of year when the very worst of New Orleans is front and center too.

We were there after Mardi Gras once... I actually enjoyed New Orleans very much, taking the trolley ride and walking around, found some great little restaurants to eat at, Copeland's Bistro was my favorite, the desserts are out of this world good. We stayed in a old hotel which was really neat, but old.. didn't bother me I love old things. The zoo there is absolutely the best zoo I've ever been too, It's just awesome and I'm normally not that crazy about zoo's. But after Mardi Gras every street you walk down pretty much highly smells (reeks actually) of vomit and pee.....

I've only been once, but found plenty to enjoy. I'm a very lightweight drinker and not a party-er, but it was an interesting experience to walk in the evenings in the French Quarter (just looking in the doors of some establishments was enough to "shock" me, lol!). The music was great, spilling out from so many small clubs. There were lots of big family groups strolling around then, so it felt very safe. Don't know how it would be late at night.

During the day, the trolley was a fun way to see the architecture of the city. Lots of small artsy shops to see walking around downtown. And we took a bus trip to a plantation on a swamp. The thing I remember most fondly? fresh warm pralines from a little shop. Yum!

edited to add: this was in summer, not during Mardi Gras

Being from Louisiana I avoid New Orleans during Mardi Gras. But I do enjoy the smaller towns Mardi Gras. Like Breaux Bridge, Lafayette, Lake Charles etc. New Orleans has become so commercialized, plus there's a lot of dangerous elements! I do enjoy an occasional visit to NO and some of the great food and music at other times.

And if we did go, what are some great things to see & do and places to eat?

ROTFLMAO. You can't get in to anything that's good, so get that out of your mind. All you can do at Mardi Gras is enjoy the parades, spilled beer on your clothes, and nudity. A friend and I stopped to watch a girl on a balcony pull her shirt up. It took her a good 20 minutes to work up the nerve. In the mean time the crowd on the street was bumper to bumper. My friend and I never took a step and we ended up about 20 feet away from each other pushed around by the crowd.

In my experience, NO smells like vomit and urine all of the time, not just Special occasions. It's not a place I'll return to. Crime is also a big problem in the city.

I didn't want to be so specific but rhizo captures it perfectly.

For those who rave about the food, I've been to a number of the "special" and renowned restaurants, both in the French Quarter and elsewhere, and I never found any of them much to my liking.

Born and raised in the South but last time I visited I went as a tourist and for the first time took a Royal Carriage ride with relatives. Thoroughly enjoyed it and learned some history I didn't know. Don't just jump on the first carriage you see. I found it's worth chatting with the drivers to see which one you think will make the tour worthwhile.

If you're using a rental car, learn which areas are not safe to go to (can be found in most tour guides) and plan on doing lots of walking or taking the trolley. Parking is next to impossible.

Ditto what rhizo said.....especially the French Quarter.

Crowed and dangerous, watch for pick-pockets.

NO is a beautiful town to visit except at Mardi Gras and in the heat of the summer. Beautiful architecture, some of the best food in the world, great cemeteries and next visit we're going to the WWII museum. Get a trolley pass, skip the tours, eat at one of the french quarter restaurants and visit some of the cemeteries.

Laissez bon temps rouler!

If she really wants Mardi Gras, check out Mobile. It is much more family friendly and lots of great restaurants. You are also close to Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island.

Mardi Gras in NO used to be nice, a little risque, but nice. The over the top crowd have ruined it, just like they ruined Spring Break.

If I went to NO, I would go in April/ Early May, not Mardi Gras, unless you are in the elite group with the private parties.

"some of the best food in the world,"

Yeah, one of the cleanest and safest cities in the world too. Not.

Do you work for the Chamber of Commerce or the Tourist Bureau?

In the smaller towns I mentioned above, you will get a true Cajun experience and get the real deal food not the commercialized stuff. The food in NO has to be picked by those people that really know NO and they will not be sending you to any of the fancy pants French Quarter places. There are some awesome restaurants there, but they don't have famous names. That's where you will find the best of the best in Cajun and Creole food. I would much rather go to Breaux Bridge for the Crawfish festival! Now that is a good time! They have a fun Mardi Gras too.

http://breauxbridgela.net/

Yes, it REALLY is some of the best food in the world. All along the coast, not just in NO city limits. There is such a wide range of flavors and what they can do with fish and seafood is out of the world. It is such a meld of French, African, Mexican, Southern...............

The last time I went was in the early 1980s, and I did not think it had been spoiled at that time. However, I sometimes went for New Year's, and I found that crowd to be worse than the Mardi Gras crowd, depending on who was playing in the Sugar Bowl. I also went to Mardi Gras when there was a police strike, but the crowds were reasonably well-behaved. The National Guard had to be sent in to take the place of the police, and there weren't that many of them.

I've also been to Mardi Gras in Veracruz, Mexico, which was very nice - and the weather was much better. MG is also good at Mazatlán. They really can't compete with Rio or Tenerife, however. I've been to Rio (in June) but I don't think I would go there for Carnival. My Brazilian visa is good for eight more years, however.

As Sherry said, there is good food everywhere in southern Louisiana - even at the bus stations.

Raye Smith, my dh is going to NO next weekend to visit with a couple old friends in town for business and pleasure. He's planning a visit to the WWII museum. I've heard it's phenomenal.

Mystical Manns, don't pay attention to the naysayers. I'm one of them. I fell in love with New Orleans back in the early 70s. Met my husband there in a bakery and enjoyed many subsequent visits. I'm just at the point in life where the charm has worn off. That's not to say you won't love it.

Mystical Manns, a couple threads you might find interesting.

[new-orleans-recommendations[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/new-orleans-recommendations-dsvw-vd~5214073?n=78)

[visit-to-new-orleans[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/visit-to-new-orleans-dsvw-vd~3713767?n=16)

In that last link I posted links to a few good spots to hit.

Catticus, another great WWII museum is the Nimetz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas. Love to hear if your hubby enjoys the museum.

We meet up with some family several years ago. We got there just after Mardi gras. We stayed in an RV park outside of town. I'm glad we went so we can say we did but honestly, was not impressed. Like everyone else said filthy and the smell was really bad.

We did a ghost walk tour and made sure to get a beignet from cafe du Monde, a muffaletta and a hand grenade (alcoholic drink).

I wouldn't go back and can't say I'd recommend it.

I lived in Lake Charles, La and went to NOLA maybe a dozen times. Once for Mardi Gras. My daughter got married in NOLA. I agree with everything ravencajun posted.

I dunno, I think everyone should experience Mardi Gras once in their life. You can't get a real taste for it, you know, to grasp the enormity of it all. Throngs and throngs of people. But like others, I wanted to go back when it was warmer and fewer people. I did enjoy it far more than when there were throngs of people. Especially Cafe du Monde.

Did it once. That was more than enough to tell me I never needed to go back. Yes, smells of vomit and urine and drunkenness on the streets (and I like a couple of good stiff drinks myself, so I'm not a tea-totaler). Seemed that everyone tried to one-up each other with vulgarity and insanity. Yuck to the whole experience.

I have no experience with it, but I remember someone told me it isn't the same since Katrina.

>If you can find rooms at this late date, be prepared to pay a fortune.

Or to discover a very good reason why that particular place had a vacancy.

You: "Hello front desk, there is a severed foot under the bed"

Front desk: "Oh great! The previous guest asked us to look for that." :-)