If you’re looking for things to do in New Orleans, you’re in luck. It’s a city where there is never a shortage of things to do and see, places to go and people to meet. Something is always happening in New Orleans. This is what I enjoyed during my month-long stay, and you might too. You’ll notice it doesn’t include the typical drinking and dining recommendations – these are daytime activities.
Shop Magazine Street
Magazine Street runs roughly six miles through the Garden District. It is filled with glorious old houses, restaurants, shops, spas, bakeries, bars, cafes, galleries, antiques, and plenty of things you’ve never imagined. The vibe on Magazine Street is low-key and tends to lean more toward locals out for lunch and some light shopping. While you can be sure there are plenty of tourists too, it doesn’t attract nearly the same crowd you’ll find in the French Quarter, so you get a different aspect of the city.
Parks – Fun and Free!
You may not realize when looking for something to do in New Orleans the city has world-class parks. When you want to get outdoors in the sunshine and walk off your hangover or too much jambalaya, you should visit one of these.
AUDUBON PARK
This 350-acre park is Uptown, not too far from the Garden District. It is edged in by the Mississippi River and St. Charles Ave. It has a beautiful, paved walking trail surrounded by neighborhood houses to make you fantasize. The trees are lovely and the ponds are lush. It’s great for a photo opp too.
CITY PARK
This is the biggest and crown jewel of New Orleans parks. This 1,300-acre park is twice the size of Central Park in New York City and is filled with amenities. It’s easy to spend an entire day here and not see everything, but it sure is fun to try.
WOLDENBERG (RIVERFRONT) PARK IN THE FRENCH QUARTER
You’re most likely to visit this of all New Orleans Parks because it lines the French Quarter and hugs the Mississippi River. Woldenberg Park is the grassy area and walking path lining the Mississippi River downtown. it’s also where you can see that famed muddy river and the big paddleboats that line its shores.
New Orleans Museum of Art
You’ll find NOMA inside City Park. For a $15 donation, you can cool off among the Warhol, and enjoy a few pieces from Degas, Caillebotte, Picasso, some renaissance art, period pieces and others. There’s a lovely section of New Orleans art worth seeing.
I’ve never said this about any museum cafeteria, but this one had a great menu. The best I’ve ever seen in a museum – and I’ve been to many. It was also brightly lit, and all was delicious. If you’re hungry, it’s a rarity worth visiting.
Architecture Tours
There are several homes and buildings in the city that you can tour for a fee, donation, or free. All three of these are in the French Quarter.
The Beauregard-Keyes House
The Beauregard-Keyes House, restored by writer, Francis Parkinson Keyes, is a raised Creole Cottage style but large by French Quarter standards. It’s the second oldest structure in the French Quarter and maybe the region, aside from the convent across the street. It’s also unique for its vast garden in a place where houses are stacked on top of each other, and gardens are very small or nonexistant.
Find it at 1113 Chartres Street. Admission is $10.
Ursuline Convent
The Old Ursuline Convent is the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley. Constructed by French Colonial Engineers in the early 1750s. The convent is a National Historic Landmark, considered the finest surviving example of French Colonial public architecture in the country and the only French building in the French Quarter.
Find it at 1112 Chartres Street. Admission is $8.
St. Louis Cathedral
The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, aka St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square, is the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. The Cathedral is open from 9 to 4 daily, with mass at noon. Self-guided brochures at the entrance for $1 will give you a detailed history of the elaborate interior, or docents will give you free information if you ask. Donations to the church are always welcome.
Frenchmen Street
This little three-block section is off the well-beaten path of the French Quarter. It has several music venues playing jazz, blues, reggae, and even some rock and roll in a row. There are also always brass bands playing on the corners too. It feels more local and less touristy than some of the places on Bourbon Street.
River Boat Booze Cruise
New Orleans is known for its riverboats almost as much as its jazz, so why not combine them? A few companies offer cruises night and day and offer an authentic paddlewheeler experience cruising down the Mississippi River. I took a daytime jazz tour on the Natchez, where the cocktails and the brass band were included. We sailed down the river while the music played, and we learned about the history of the boats, the city and our own capacity for day drinking. It’s Nawlin’s, ya’ll.
Garden District
As a whole, the entire neighborhood of the Garden District is a National Historic Landmark – it’s that spectacular. It was developed between 1832 and 1900 and is one of the best-preserved collections of single-story Creole cottages and grandiose historic mansions in the Southern United States. The Garden District is known more for its architecture than its gardens now. Still, the entire place is a tropical wonderland of floral delight. Dozens of guides will tell you all about the famous homes, or just walk around and take in the sights, sounds and smells on your own. You can’t go wrong either way. If you’re not from the south, there are plenty of plants and flowers, like jasmine, crepe myrtle, and Camilla, that will fascinate you.
St. Charles Street Car Ride
The streetcar on St. Charles Avenue is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. Its dark green cars with vintage wooden benches (though they weren’t always vintage!) have been clattering down the streets for 150 years nonstop. That’s something worth stopping and taking a ride.
The streetcar fare is $1.25, officially making it the country’s least expensive paid tourist attraction. (I made that up, but it’s probably true).
New Orleans Above Ground Cemeteries
Southern cemeteries are unique in their beauty, exquisite statuary, and Victorian charm, but none more so than in New Orleans. They call their cemeteries cities of the dead. They’re housed on blocks like subdivisions, made like miniature mansions. They’re large ornate tombs complete with wrought iron fences, stained glass and marble stairs. Some, now centuries-old, have gone to the moss and live oak roots. They’ve disfigured these tiny homes into something differently beautiful.
The tombs act like cremation ovens in the Louisiana heat. After a year, the body disintegrates into ash. In this way, these tiny mansions can hold many bodies. Dozens of names are etched on their doors. Though the cemetery may only have hundreds of tombs, they contain thousands, maybe millions of souls. My favorite cemetery in New Orleans is Lafayette #1, but it’s closed. However, any of them are wonderful – just remember these are still active cemeteries and the graves are someone’s family.
Oh, and when you leave the cemetery, make sure you walk out backward, so no spirits attach themselves to you!
Mardi Gras Parade or Mardi Gras World
A dozen parades are well worth your time if you’re in New Orleans during Carnival. Get a schedule and go to as many as possible because they’re all entirely different. I’ve seen a miniature (tit) parade, a parade for dogs, a porn parade with inflatable penis’ and more. Some throw beads, others don’t, while some give away other types of trinkets. The floats, though, they’re spectacular. They’re made by skilled craftspeople and they can move, light up and are themed to any number of topics. They’re shaped like oversized animals, people, and things you’ve never imagined. It’s hard to explain; you just have to go.
But if you can’t, there’s always Mardi Gras World. The world, as it were, is housed in a massive warehouse on the outskirts of town. It’s easy to spot from the float props and colossal sign outside. Inside, there’s a gift shop where you buy your “ticket.” This is my favorite ticket of all time. I gave them $22, and they gave me a strand of purple Mardi Gras beads and a piece of King Cake. In the warehouse, you can learn all about the history of the Mardi Gras float and see how they’re made and examine dozens of former floats.
Ghost or Voodoo Experience
New Orleans is known for ghosts and voodoo, and there’s no better way to learn about them than to cast your lot with a local. I recommend Airbnb Experiences for this adventure because they’ll be more familiar with the local “familiars.” I took a voodoo tour with a local voodoo practitioner through Airbnb. The experience was much more informative, respectful and authentic than some other big company tours I’ve gone on.
Instead of telling scary stories, they’ll give you the history of real people and actual practices. The truth is often more frightening than fiction!
Swamp Tour Jean Lafitte
In New Orleans, it only takes about 30 minutes to get into a swamp. The Jean Lafitte National Park and reserve is the biggest. They do great work to preserve the various sections from environmental and human deterioration. Several tour companies offer to guide you through the bayou, teach you about the habitat and can get you up close and personal with an alligator. I booked with Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour, and they were knowledgeable and respectful of the environment.
Chalmette Battlefield and Cemetery Historic Site
The Battle of New Orleans happened in 1815 and you can tour the site for free and with guided tours. The Chalmette Battlefield is part of the Jean Lafitte National Park. It has a reconstructed American rampart and outdoor exhibits with signs for self-guided tours. There’s a visitor center and rangers offer talks and demonstrations daily.
When I visited, a ranger exhibited how to fire off an old shotgun they would have used in the Civil War. She packed it tight with gun power and shoved a stick down in the barrel. She dressed in old military clothes and looked like a soldier despite being a woman – which would have been unheard of at that time. I jumped when the shot rang out.
Plantation House
Further into the field, alongside the Mississippi River, is an 1830s plantation house where Civil War generals claimed space for their offices. Large windows upstairs look out on the Chalmette Battlefield and the cemetery next to it conveniently.
Chalmette National Cemetery has over 14,000 graves. Some were moved here after the War of 1812 and even the Vietnam War. Many headstones were only tiny square stumps 6 x 6 inches with a just number, no name. That always gives me pause. The idea of so many bodies for cause, just being bodies in the end.
New Orleans French Quarter
The colorful Spanish colonial architecture of the French Quarter grabs your attention on the two-story townhouses that mix with the shotgun houses and Creole cottages. Wrought-iron balconies hang from above while history peeks out through wavy floor-to-ceiling windowpanes. These buildings have been timeless and unchanged for hundreds of years. And there’s Bourbon Street, where you can do all the drinking and Royal Street, where you can do all the antique shopping and plenty of charming streets to get something to eat to keep your energy up.
French Market
Vendors in the open-air market have sold food and goods in the same stalls since 1791 and still do nearly every day. Some of the vendors are on temporary tables that rotate, while others are in permanent stalls – these are typically where they sell food and alcohol. The market is a mix of local goods and some tourist trinkets, but the prices are reasonable, and they’re more likely to barter and offer you a discount on multiples than you’ll get in one of the shops. Plus, there’s live music, open-air, drinks served at the bar and lots of history on tap.
Restaurants/Eat
I’m not a foodie, but you’ll love New Orleans if you are. In this city, dinner isn’t an individual affair. It’s a collective experience where you’re part of the party, dining in one big or several small rooms in a festive atmosphere. There are plenty of old-school classics like Antoine’s, Brennan’s, Galatore’s and The Commander’s Palace. There are 100 more gumbo and jambalaya dives that will knock your socks off. Eat. Eat a lot.
Plantations
Hundreds of New Orleans plantations used to line the Mississippi River throughout Louisiana. Now there are few, mostly preserved as historical landmarks and educational centers, lest we forget our grim past. There are several plantation houses within about an hour’s drive from the city, and a few offer tours of the homes and grounds.
Oak Alley is the most visually spectacular plantation in the area and has the most amenities; therefore, it’s the most popular of the New Orleans plantations.
The Laura Plantation is a Creole-style house painted maroon, green, and yellow, making it stand out dramatically from other houses around it. It’s just a few miles from Oak Alley and a few other plantations you can visit in New Orleans.
Read more To Do in New Orleans stories here.
