Hey there hi there!
Taking y’all South and talking about New Orleans this week!
I recently visited NOLA with my dad for Jazz Fest and got *plenty* of time to explore the ins and outs of the city. Inside this guide you’ll find - a curation of food, drinks and things to do, along with some tips and tricks. Alriight let’s get jazzy with it!
Some Tips
How Much Time Do You Need? Hot take… I really, truly think you only need a weekend to see New Orleans, unless you’re there for a specific event such as Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras. I have even hotter takes but you’ll have to buy me a drink first before you get those. With 48-72 hours, you can see the sights and eat & drink all of the signature foods & drinks!
Getting Around - New Orleans is a pretty big city, and things are rather spread out depending on what you aim to do. I highly recommend using the streetcars (RTA) during your visit - it’s $3 for a 24 hour pass and will likely get you very close to where you need to be in the main areas of the city. We used it every day during our visit!
Weather - Never underestimate the humidity!! When you’re eating fried food + sipping on sugary drinks, then walking around seeing the sights… that humidity can feel extra sticky and make you extra sleepy. Just saying!!
Where to Stay
Finding where to stay in NOLA can be tricky - the city is pretty spread out, and it depends on what you’re looking to do.
If your main goal is to drink and eat - staying in the French Quarter is a-okay
The Ace Hotel is a nice happy medium - walking distance to French Quarter, but a few streets from the main hub to allow for a little respite
If you’re exploring a few different areas or have excursions planned, you may want to look into the Garden District
We stayed at the Pontchartrain Hotel and I loved it. You can easily hop on the streetcar to get to where you wanna go, but you’re also slightly removed from the chaos and have yourself situated in more of a neighborhood
The Only Things You Need to Do in the French Quarter
Cafe du Monde beignets & coffee - use the take out window for a way shorter wait, you can eat in the park (Jackson Square) across the street
Bottom of the Cup - for something a little witchy, I love BOTC for tea leaf readings! Reserve in advance
Carousel Bar inside Hotel Monteleone - you guessed it! A bar that looks like a carousel. And moves like a carousel… but verrrry slowly. It can get pretty packed, but worth a visit for the pic at least ;)
Bourbon Street - take it or leave it, but especially if it’s your first time in NOLA - I dooo think you need to order a 64 oz Hurricane in a souvenir cup and drink it as you stroll down the street. I do not, however, think you need to spend a whole lot of time here otherwise!!
Make a stop at Lafitte’s on your stroll - they claim to be the oldest bar in the country, dating back to the 1700s!
All The Other Reccos!
Things to Do
Mardi Gras World - worth the tour, especially if you’re visiting during the offseason! I learned a lot and it was super cool to see the floats up close
Ogden Museum of Southern Art (an affiliate of the Smithsonian)
Tipitina’s - an iconic jazz venue in NOLA! Definitely try to coordinate a show during one of your nights here
Other clubs to check out - Siberia, The Spotted Cat, Preservation Hall, also check this list!
Explore Audobon neighborhood near the universities (Tulane and Loyola)
Special shout out to Mary’s Rack - the coolest vintage shop with the coolest owner (Mary!) Fun fact, Mary styled Vampire Weekend in vintage jazz fest shirts for their set this year. Ezra gave her an epic shout out, so naturally we had to pay her a visit the next day!
Drinks/Coffee
Hot Tin - the rooftop on the Pontchartrain is lovely for a sunset cocktail with a few, orrr it gets pretty scene-y later in the eve!
French Truck Coffee - legitimately good coffee and the cutest branding to boot
Chicory House - delicious coffee & loved my homemade biscuit w/ jam
As shared above - I also recommend Carousel Bar and grabbing a sugary slushy drink in a souvenir cup on Bourbon Street. At least once!
Eats
Molly’s Rise and Shine - delish breakfast, I’d call it elevated diner food! Try to coordinate your visit on a Saturday - the only day they sell homemade poptarts :)
Turkey & the Wolf - Molly’s sister restaurant serving bomb sandwiches
St. Roch Market - a pretty food hall with a wide variety of options, including an oyster bar with natural wine (harder to find in NOLA)
Mister Mao - Asian fusion and inventive cocktails
Porgy’s Seafood Market - get the muffaletta and their freshest catch of the day!
Saved my saltiness for the very end of this guide… if a noteworthy restaurant seems to be missing from this list, sorry but… I probably left it off for a reason! I was a little underwhelmed by the food overall unfortunately - so I really scaled down this list to only include what I 100% stand behind. Okay mini tiny rant over!
The city guides keep coming - I’ll be roadtripping to Austin next week so stay tuned for the latest and greatest recs there, with some tried and true LA content in between :) xoxo bye! Posting on TikTok again, algorithm be damned - see you there?