Things to Do in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is unlike any other city in America. The food is its own cuisine. The music was born here. The architecture looks like it belongs in France. And the attitude toward having a good time is baked into the culture at a molecular level.

You don’t visit New Orleans — you experience it.

The French Quarter

The oldest neighborhood in the city and the epicenter of everything tourists come for.

Bourbon Street — The legendary party strip. Live music pouring out of every doorway, daiquiris in go-cups, balconies overhead. It’s loud, messy, and unapologetically itself. Best experienced after dark.

Jackson Square — The heart of the Quarter. St. Louis Cathedral (the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the US), street performers, tarot card readers, and artists selling their work along the iron fence.

Café Du Monde — Beignets and chicory coffee, 24 hours a day, since 1862. The powdered sugar will get on everything you’re wearing. Go at 2 AM when the line is short and the vibe is perfect.

Royal Street — The elegant counterpart to Bourbon. Art galleries, antique shops, and street musicians. Walk Royal during the day, Bourbon at night.

Preservation Hall — A tiny, no-frills jazz venue that’s been running nightly shows since 1961. No drinks, no food — just traditional New Orleans jazz in an intimate room. $25 at the door, cash only. Lines form early.

Food

New Orleans food is not Southern food. It’s Creole and Cajun — a blend of French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean influences that exists nowhere else.

Commander’s Palace — The grande dame of New Orleans restaurants in the Garden District. Jacket suggested. The 25-cent martini lunch is legendary.

Dooky Chase’s — Leah Chase’s restaurant, the “Queen of Creole Cuisine.” The buffet lunch is the way to experience it.

Cochon — Donald Link’s tribute to Cajun cooking. The cochon (whole roasted pig) and rabbit and dumplings are exceptional.

Central Grocery — Home of the original muffaletta sandwich since 1906. One sandwich feeds two people.

Willie Mae’s Scotch House — Fried chicken that James Beard called “America’s best.” Tiny restaurant, long wait, absolutely worth it.

Po’boys — Get one at Parkway Bakery & Tavern (the roast beef is the standard) or Domilise’s (the shrimp po’boy).

Music & Nightlife

New Orleans invented jazz, and live music is everywhere — not just on Bourbon Street.

Frenchmen Street — Where locals go for music. Three blocks of jazz clubs, funk bands, and brass bands spilling out onto the sidewalk. The Spotted Cat, d.b.a., and The Maison are the anchors.

Tipitina’s — Uptown music institution. Named after the Professor Longhair song. National touring acts and local legends.

Jazz Fest (late April/early May) — One of the largest music festivals in the world. Two weekends of jazz, blues, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, funk, and food. If your trip coincides, you’re in for something special.

Beyond the Quarter

Garden District — Antebellum mansions, oak-lined streets, and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. The St. Charles streetcar runs through here — oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world ($1.25 per ride).

Swamp Tours — Cajun Country swamp tours leave from multiple operators 30-45 minutes outside the city. Airboats or pontoon boats through bayou swamps with alligators, egrets, and cypress trees.

National WWII Museum — One of the best museums in America, period. Founded by historian Stephen Ambrose. The immersive exhibits, oral histories, and the Beyond All Boundaries 4D film are extraordinary. Plan half a day.

Magazine Street — 6 miles of boutiques, restaurants, and galleries running through Uptown. Good for an afternoon of wandering.

Cemeteries — New Orleans buries its dead above ground in ornate tombs due to the high water table. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (guided tours required) is the most famous. Creepy, beautiful, and historically fascinating.

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