New Orleans – Four Things To Do for First Time Visitors
So, you’ve landed in New Orleans, dropped your bags at the hotel, and this amazing city with limitless entertainment is waiting at your fingertips. But, wait. You are suddenly spoiled for choice. You can’t decide what to do or where to start. Don’t worry, your handy tour-guide/superhero is here to help.
The answer to this question depends largely on whether you have been to New Orleans before. To make things simpler, I will break this down into multiple posts. In this first post, I will give my breakdown of must-dos for the first time New Orleans weekend visitor.
1. Take a Tour
Shameless self-promotion? Somewhat, yes. But honestly, I would rather that you take a history tour from a competitor than not take one at all. New Orleans is too complex, too unique, and too interesting for someone to visit and without learning the back-story. You need to know why the French Quarter has it’s unique architecture, what Creole and Cajun mean, and why they built a city in the middle of a flood-plain. Please, please, take a tour.
2. Nightlife? Forget Bourbon Street – go to Frenchmen Street
Everyone should (briefly) experience Bourbon Street at one point in their lives. But you can get that done in about 15 minutes. Here is how: walk a few blocks, get heckled by the strip club promoters, and grab a sugary neon colored drink in a plastic souvenir cup. Congrats, you’re now done with Bourbon Street.
For the real experience, go to Frenchmen Street. Frenchmen Street is just a couple blocks outside the French Quarter, and it is chock-full of live music venues, with great local music, good people, and lively atmosphere. If you want to hear a banging brass band, this is your new favorite place. Often sold as the “local’s Bourbon Street,” the secret got out a long time ago, but the magic is still there. And my strategy for finding the best bar for the night is simple: walk around, listen to the music coming out the front door, pick your favorite sound, and giterdun.
3. Garden District
The French Quarter neighborhood is the heart and soul of New Orleans, but the Garden District is absolutely majestic. The French Quarter is the oldest section of the city, and as New Orleans expanded over time, the wealthiest of the wealthy moved out to the Garden District and built their mansions. The Garden District’s history isn’t nearly as dense as the French Quarter, but it’s definitely a rival in terms of sheer beauty. The highlights are the Lafayette Cemetery #1, the McGehee House, the Anne Rice House, and the Buckner Mansion. And also consider taking advantage of Commander’s Palace weekday lunch special with 25-cent martinis.
4. Eat!
Louisiana has America’s only truly home-grown comprehensive unique cuisine. Different regions in America may have a signature dish, but nowhere in the USA has the unique culinary depth and breadth of New Orleans. Everything from Pralines to Gumbo to Andouille to Souffle Potatoes to Oyster Rockefeller. My best advice I can give to anyone is to open your mind, be willing to try anything, and choose the weirdest looking thing on the menu because it is typically the best. My favorite restaurants in town are Commander’s Palace, Cochon, Elizabeth’s (brunch), and the Verti Marte (poboys).
New Orleans could entertain a person for a lifetime, but these four must-dos will get you through a weekend. For longer stays or for repeat visits, check back soon for my follow up post on the more in-depth travel experiences in New Orleans.
