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New Orleans Itineraries
- Two Days in "The Paris of the South"
- Five Days in New Orleans
No matter what your fancy, you could spend months exploring the Crescent City – or return again and again to see it all. The following itineraries are designed to high-light activities possible in New Orleans. Here are some ideas of what the “The Paris of the South” has to offer.
Day 1
Finding one’s way through New Orleans is as unique as the city itself. Instead of using north, east, west and south to denote direction, the locals typically navigate by landscape, with Lake Pontchartrain and its causeway in the north as “lakeside,” heading south to the Mississippi River is known as “riverside,” while “uptown” is synonymous with west and “downtown” as east.
No direction is needed to locate what has been the heart of New Orleans for more than 300 years; undoubtedly, it’s the French Quarter. With its ornate wrought iron balconies and narrow streets, the French Quarter is the picturesque starting point of any visit to New Orleans, If one day is all you have to spend in the Crescent City, exploring the French Quarter will give you a feel for the city’s complex history. But first, you’ll need lots of energy. Start off with a cup of chicory-flavored café au lait and an order of beignets, square, airy donuts covered in powdered sugar. Then sign-up for a morning walking tour of the “Vieux Carré” or French Quarter.
The Quarter’s epicenter is Jackson Square, which offers a home to St. Louis Cathedral as well as a statue of former president Andrew Jackson, the Square’s namesake. Quite possibly the most comfortable means of exploring the Vieux Carré is by carriage, and the mule-drawn variety is plentiful outside Jackson Square. Whimsical personalities peddling wares that run the gamut from a piece of art to having your fortune told patrol the Square. Both make for a unique memory of New Orleans.
But for those who want to see the French Quarter on foot, take a walking tour. An experienced guide knows the back alleys that inspired William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Ishmael Reed, and regales listeners with tales to the “City That Never Sleeps.” A tour may even visit a French Quarter courtyard, something not often seen by French Quarter revelers. Each spring, this enclave plays host to the French Quarter Festival in addition to the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival and its Stella Yelling Contest, which pay homage to Williams’ enduring classic A Streetcar Named Desire.
For a darker look at the past, book a cemetery tour highlighting the grim realities that led to the local tradition of above-ground burial. As well as strolling through New Orleans’ oldest “City of the Dead,” St Louis Cemetery No. I, many cemetery tours explore the practice of voodoo and discuss the beginnings of jazz in Louis Armstrong Park, also known as Congo Square. Whichever tour you take, bring a bottle of water and a camera.
All this walking works up an appetite. So go to one of the French Quarter’s many Cajun/Creole restaurants to try some gumbo or crawfish etouffee, both stews with a distinctive Southern Louisiana flair. The difference between the two is in the roux. For those looking for good cuisine as well as a unique view of the city, a lunch cruise on one of the famous riverboats will satiate both hungers as guests travel part of the same path as the New Orleans, the first steamboat to successfully traverse the Mississippi. After lunch, stroll over to Canal Street to catch the St. Charles Avenue streetcar, the oldest working streetcar line in the country. Sit back and enjoy the beautiful, groaning, wooden-benched streetcar as it lumbers along its 13 mile round trip through the Central Business District, the Warehouse/Arts District and the Garden District.
At sundown, return to the French Quarter on the streetcar and spend the evening checking out the nightlife along the Crescent City’s most famous byway, Bourbon Street, named after French royals. After enjoying an elegant dinner at an Italian or French restaurant, many of which boast a Louisiana twist to their cuisine, you can stroll the bustling, balcony-covered sidewalks and drop into a club where the music is hot. You’re sure to hear traditional or modern jazz, rock and roll, blues or gospel streaming out of the open doors.
Day 2
To start your second day, you should sit down to another breakfast that will supply the energy for the action-packed day ahead. Pain perdu – lost bread, the New Orleans version of French toast.
The second day of the New Orleans trip is a great time to visit a few of its many excellent museums. Neighboring Presbytere and Cabildo, situated in Jackson Square and on either side of St. Louis Cathedral, offer a diverse museum experience. The Cabildo hosted the sighing of the Louisiana Purchase back in 1803 and today houses the legacy of New Orleans’ history and contains one of Napoleon’s death masks. The Presbytere contains the Louisiana State Museum, which boasts a Mardi Gras exhibit and explains the origins and traditions of New Orleans’ most famous annual celebration of life. If you have a keen interest in a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Mardi Gras, you should check out Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World situated in Algiers on the other side of the Mississippi River. A ferry located at the Canal Street Wharf takes passengers from New Orleans to Algiers Point several times a day. Once in Algiers, a complimentary bus shuttles passengers to Mardi Gras World with a return trip following a tour of the museum. The ferry ride is free to pedestrians and $1 for automobiles.
The Gallier House Museum is a renovated Creole townhouse that shows what life was like in the 1850s with more than 6,000 period antiques. Military history buffs will be interested in the World War II Museum, which honors the American, British and Canadian men and women who fought to end World War II in Europe and the Pacific. Those interested in art will love the New Orleans Museum of Art, with collections of American, French, African, Latin American and Japanese art, and the new Ogden Museum of Southern Art, which highlights the works of Southern artists. If children are in tow, the Louisiana Children's Museum – where the rule is please touch – is the ideal retreat for them.
At lunch, try a po-boy sandwich with an almost infinite choice of ingredients including oysters or roast beef debris – all those tasty bits salvaged from the cutting board – placed on a slab of fresh and crusty French bread. Another strident New Orleans sandwich is the muffuletta - tasty Italian cold cuts and olive salad piled high on an Italian roll the size of a dinner plate.
After lunch, visit the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, a $40 million sanctuary for more than 7,500 watery creatures. Then take the boat upriver to New Orleans’ prime family attraction, the Audubon Zoo. There you’ll find more than 1,800 other animals, including the unique Louisiana white alligator, in a tropical landscape of waterfalls and lush vegetation.
On your return from the Zoo, you can sit down to a beautiful redfish or some barbecue shrimp New Orleans style. Once the evening falls, try your luck at Harrah’s Casino. Whatever happens, you’re sure to go home a winner.
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