With so much to do in New Orleans it was hard to choose what to see and do. Here’s the list of favourites we experienced plus what we wished we had seen.
Our Favourite things to do in New Orleans
Eat Beignets
Now that we are no longer in New Orleans, the food we talk about the most is the beignets. My son didn’t think he would like them when he saw what they looked like, but one bite had us all wanting more. Cafe Du Monde is the place to eat them, they are open 24 hours. Also, the less publicised Cafe Beignet on Bourbon St do some good ones too.
Ride the trams
Riding the trams are a way of life in New Orleans to commute around the mid-city area. Our little two loved getting on and off the tram, listening out for the bell as it came to a halt. Take a look at where the trams can take you in our post Getting Around New Orleans.
Listen to Jazz music
There are many talented buskers throughout mid-city that ensure your walk through it is a musical one. Our favourite music to hear was the Jazz band busking on Bourbon St, the saxophonist on Canal St and the live band we listened to on hubby’s birthday near Frenchman St. Here’s our glimpse of the music scene in New Orleans.
Wander through the French Quarter
There are wonderfully designed buildings in the French Quarter to admire as you walk through this area. It is located on the waterfront and has the city Cathedral in it as well as the famous Jackson Square. Jackson Square along with many other sites in the city were once slave trading centres, but you won’t find any mention of that in the city.
Bourbon St & Frenchman St are in the French Quarter. This area was home to the original French settlers hence all the street names are based on the French royal family of the time. It was also home to many of the French speaking Creole (free black people) that had arrived from other Spanish colonies.
The French Market is well worth visiting. There are all sorts of souvenirs and food to pick up including the New Orleans praline as well as Mardi Gras type props such as second line umbrellas and shoes.
Visit the Garden District
In the Garden District we saw beautiful homes that were once part of a city called Lafayette. Now it’s a very upmarket area with art stores and interesting shops to look through.
Take a Swamp Tour
Book a visit to the Bayou to view the birds and the greenery. It’s eerie in some places but always beautiful.
Don’t go expecting to see alligators. There are more alligators in summer but that doesn’t guarantee you will see them. There is now a hunting limit on them because they were exploited in the 1800’s. The tour operator will feed them marshmallows to lure them close to the boat plus they have a baby alligator on board to hold.
Check out our Wildlife in New Orleans post to see more.
Spend an afternoon at the NOLA Museum of Art
This museum has beautiful grounds surrounding it. Inside is a collection of local and foreign art that our older two enjoyed. This included a junk section that was fascinating.
We came across an Oceania segment that featured a couple of items from Polynesia and one Tiki from New Zealand. There is also a sculpture trail worth exploring that our little ones enjoyed running around in.
Things we wished we had seen
A cemetery and a Voodoo temple. It was on our to-do but we didn’t make it to any cemeteries or authentic voodoo places. Next time we are in New Orleans it will be our top priority.
The Jazz museum and Congo square would have also been nice to visit in appreciation of where Jazz started.
One place I wanted to visit was a plantation where they talk about how slaves were treated but we decided it may not be appropriate for the little ones.
