6 days in New Orleans

jooksavage

2 weeks from now, we're finally getting our honeymoon 7 months after the big day. Myself and wifey are heading to New Orleans for 6 days and Vegas for 4.

In NO, we've already booked or planned a heap of things: NOJAZZ Festival, riverboat dinner, plantation tour, gastro-tour etc. and our hotel is on the edge of the French Quarter. Just wondering of there's anything (perhaps not immediately obvious) that we should do there? Any particularly good watering holes or eateries that anyone would care to recommend?

NS77

Eat here:

http://jacques-imos.com/

As far as I remember, they don't take reservations, leave your name and have a drink at the bar.. or next door in the Maple Leaf while you wait. Speaking of The Maple Leaf, catch the Rebirth Brass Band there every Tuesday night:

http://www.mapleleafbar.com/events/tue-april-12-2016/rebirth-brass-band

Try the Beignets here:

http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Muffuletta for lunch here:

http://www.yelp.ie/biz/central-grocery-new-orleans

Lunch - all you can eat Soul Food here:

http://lildizzyscafe.net/

Generally, a ride on the St. Charles streetcar out to the Garden District and a wander 'round the neighbourhood and The Lafayette Cemetry is a must!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charles_Streetcar_Line

http://goneworleans.about.com/od/cemeteries/a/Lafayette.htm

Also, the Frenchman Street area for live music, etc..

http://frenchmenstreetlive.com/


Great choice for a honeymoon.. you'll love it! There'll be no shortage of locals to give you the heads up on plenty of off the beaten track places... food, music and good times are part of the everyday culture in NOLA :-)

jooksavage

NS77 wrote: »

Eat here:

http://jacques-imos.com/

As far as I remember, they don't take reservations, leave your name and have a drink at the bar.. or next door in the Maple Leaf while you wait. Speaking of The Maple Leaf, catch the Rebirth Brass Band there every Tuesday night:

http://www.mapleleafbar.com/events/tue-april-12-2016/rebirth-brass-band

Try the Beignets here:

http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Muffuletta for lunch here:

http://www.yelp.ie/biz/central-grocery-new-orleans

Lunch - all you can eat Soul Food here:

http://lildizzyscafe.net/

Generally, a ride on the St. Charles streetcar out to the Garden District and a wander 'round the neighbourhood and The Lafayette Cemetry is a must!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charles_Streetcar_Line

http://goneworleans.about.com/od/cemeteries/a/Lafayette.htm

Also, the Frenchman Street area for live music, etc..

http://frenchmenstreetlive.com/


Great choice for a honeymoon.. you'll love it! There'll be no shortage of locals to give you the heads up on plenty of off the beaten track places... food, music and good times are part of the everyday culture in NOLA :-)

Thanks so much for the info! We can't wait!

stargazer 68

We have 4 days there in August - so will take all this good advice too!

jooksavage

Cool! I'll be sure to put up a quick synopsis of the trip here when we get back.

aaronm13

Decatur St which runs parallel to Bourbon St is fantastic for bar hopping. Start off with Beignets at Cafe du Monde and work your way up the street. Definitely try Johnny's Po Boys for breakfast or lunch.

The original Camelia Grill for breakfast is a must, then wander around the beautiful neighborhood.

Acme Oyster house is great too, this city has such amazing food options.

Do a cemetery tour and swamp tour. We didn't get to do one when we were there as there was bad thunderstorms and didn't want to take the chance. Hopefully going back next year for my birthday. Enjoy Nola it's a great city.

InTheTrees

Looks like NS77 has it covered.

I absolutely love New Orleans. Its my favourite US city.

Advice I can add? Well its not very nice...but NO is not the safest of US Cities. Stay in tourist areas, especially at night. Be careful walking out of the French quarter at night, stay in well lit areas.

InTheTrees

The French Market.

You cant miss it.

http://www.frenchmarket.org/

InTheTrees

You can pick up a guided horse drawn carriage tour around Jackson Square. I resisted but my gf forced me into it and it was really good. There's also various guided walking tours. We did a ghost tour at night which was fun, you pick up so much local trivia and history.

Dont forget to visit Mary Levaux's Voodoo shop:

http://voodooneworleans.com/

jooksavage

Thanks for the advice! I'll post back here how we get on!

solerina

Def do a swamp tour, we did and love it !! Plantations are also well worth a visit !!

dudara

If you visit Acme oyster house, order the broiled oysters, they're really amazing. I wouldn't bother ordering anything else there. In fact, if you like oysters, NOLA is heaven.

For cocktails, Latitude 29 (a tiki bar) is excellent, and Arnauds is the home of the classic French 75 cocktail. We also liked the Bombay Club, a nice secluded spot.

Make sure to get fresh beignets. Our hotel (the Marriott) cooked them fresh every morning and they were just delicious.

Compère Lapin restaurant in The Old No 77 Hotel is excellent, and they also have a really nice bar. Walk a little further to Cochon for a great lunch.

We did the steamboat trip, which we really enjoyed. A few hours on the river in the sunshine was really enjoyable and the tour guide was really informative and fun. We also did the plantation tour at Oak Alley. It wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped but it was nice to get out of the city and see some countryside. We had a rental car so we were able to drive there ourselves.

jooksavage

dudara wrote: »

If you visit Acme oyster house, order the broiled oysters, they're really amazing. I wouldn't bother ordering anything else there. In fact, if you like oysters, NOLA is heaven.

For cocktails, Latitude 29 (a tiki bar) is excellent, and Arnauds is the home of the classic French 75 cocktail. We also liked the Bombay Club, a nice secluded spot.

Make sure to get fresh beignets. Our hotel (the Marriott) cooked them fresh every morning and they were just delicious.

Compère Lapin restaurant in The Old No 77 Hotel is excellent, and they also have a really nice bar. Walk a little further to Cochon for a great lunch.

We did the steamboat trip, which we really enjoyed. A few hours on the river in the sunshine was really enjoyable and the tour guide was really informative and fun. We also did the plantation tour at Oak Alley. It wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped but it was nice to get out of the city and see some countryside. We had a rental car so we were able to drive there ourselves.

Thanks so much for the ingo! We're actually staying at a Marriot ourselves.

Defo gonna try the oysters. Can't wait for those beignets, everyone is recommending them.

InTheTrees

jooksavage wrote: »

Thanks so much for the ingo! We're actually staying at a Marriot ourselves.

Defo gonna try the oysters. Can't wait for those beignets, everyone is recommending them.

Go to the Cafe Du Monde for beignets. With a huge mug of coffee.

Caffeine and sugar shock all at once...

Pedro32561

Have been to New Orleans a good few times - great city! A few recommendations:

Mother's Restaurant - you have to try Poboys while you're there. Mother's is one of the best places for them.

Willie Mae's Scotch House - amazing fried chicken.

Court of Two Sisters - really good jazz brunch. It's buffet style so it's a good way to try lots of different foods.

Pat O'Brien's is probably a must visit at least once for a hurricane, and The Erin Rose is a good bar for a few drinks.

As others have said, be cautious at night, particularly off the main thoroughfare. You'll also possibly have people trying to scam you or get you into places on Bourbon Street. Just ignore them and keep going.

rossie1977

Yes don't stop for anyone who tries to engage you in conversation especially down by the river front, Jackson square