A Week in New Orleans, More Than Bourbon Street
Ah, NOLA. The Big Easy. A place of many names and culture entirely it’s own, New Orleans is really one for the books! Now A had been to New Orleans once in college (in his own words that trip was a blur of bourbon both in street and spirits) and I had never been. So we decided we wanted to take a few days off work and get to know this city and its culture. We were determined to experience everything New Orleans had to offer, from the music and food to the rich history, and even the tourist traps (because can you really say you’ve been to New Orleans if you didn’t at least walk down Bourbon Street once?) So without further ado, here’s my official recommendations for visiting New Orleans for the first time!
French Quarter
Now I know that I titled this post as “more than Bourbon Street” but as a first time visitor to New Orleans I still had to see the French Quarter and all the craziness it has to offer. We planned our trip to be just after Mardi Gras, mostly because we wanted a chance to get to know the city outside of the madness and overwhelming crowds. We happily spent a day falling into every tourist trap we could find, hurricanes in hand. We explored Bourbon Street, shopped for artifacts at Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, ate beignets at the famous Café Du Monde, and got our spook on at the LaLaurie Mansion and the Museum of Death. You can easily spend your entire trip here in the French Quarter (and many people certainly do!) but that would only be a small drop of what NOLA has to offer.
Garden District
The Garden District is just west of the French quarter, and we took the Saint Charles streetcar over after brunch ready to spend the day exploring. The Garden District is probably most well known as the home of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, but there are many other things to do in this area. We strolled along looking at all the gorgeous historic mansions, including the Buckner Mansion, most recently known as the boarding school in American Horror Story: Coven. We popped in and out of the shops along Magazine Street, and finished off the day with a visit to Creole Creamery for some boozy ice cream!
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
New Orleans is known for it’s above ground cemeteries, and they are a popular (albeit a tad macabre) tourist attraction. We opted to visit Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, as it is the oldest of the seven city-operated cemeteries, dating back to 1832. I found a great self guided tour from Free Tours By Foot, and we even ran into another couple following the same guide. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is home to many notable ‘residents’ but ironically the most famous are fictitious, the Mayfair witches from Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour. The cemetery has also been a filming location for several movies, including Dracula 2000 and Double Jeopardy.
Frenchmen Street
If you’re headed to New Orleans in search of amazing music, look no further than Frenchmen Street. This is the local’s answer to Bourbon Street, full of hip bars and music clubs but happily without the crazy frat party atmosphere. Located in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, where our Airbnb was, we were quite lucky to be able to take a short walk over. We started our night at the Art Garage, an open air art market that stays open well into the evening. We then headed to the highly recommended Dat Dog for dinner, and stuffed ourselves with beer and gourmet sausages while watching a brass band performing on the street right below the balcony. We then headed over to the Spotted Cat Music Club, where we enjoyed some of the best music of the entire trip. There are plenty of music clubs along the main portion of Frenchmen Street, so there was no shortage of places to drink and music to hear as we made our way back home.
Kristina Morales Music
Hyperflyy
Plantation Tour
Since A is a huge history buff, he was quite excited when I proposed a plantation tour to soak up a bit of Louisiana’s past during our visit. I found a great tour combination with Cajun Encounters, offering transportation from the French Quarter to both the Laura Plantation and the Oak Alley Plantation. The tour is a full seven hours, so we kept a full day open and hopped on the bus. Our first stop was the Laura Plantation, previously known as the Duparc Sugar Plantation, and learned about the 200 years of Creole history there. After that we passed by the plantation that was the filming location for the movie The Skeleton Key, and made our way over to Oak Alley Plantation. Oak Alley is one of the most well known historical sites in Louisiana, and due to its famous tunnel of 28 oak trees and classic antebellum style it has been featured in many movies and tv series, including Interview with a Vampire. We got a couple of mint juleps and toured the grounds here, and finished off the day with a slice of homemade sweet potato pie.
Oak Alley Plantation
Laura Plantation
Honey Island Swamp Tour
One of my favorite things to do when traveling to a new place is to find some sort of outdoorsy thing to do, especially if everything else is more city based. New Orleans was no exception, and I was quite happy to find that Cajun Encounters offers boat tours of the Honey Island Swamp! Because this was the same company that we did the plantation tours with, we were able to do a combo booking and save a bit of cash. I always try to use local companies when I book tours and not only is Cajun Encounters local, but they are also members of the Louisiana Nature Conservancy, meaning that they work to protect the swamps and don’t disturb any of the wildlife that can be seen on the tours. We saw several alligators, snakes, egrets and other animals on our trip. The only thing we didn’t see were wild boars, although they are another animal that is seen frequently in the area. We also had an amazing boat captain, with the most ridiculous and sharp sense of humor that really made the tour fun and informative.
All the Food
Last but definitely not least, New Orleans is a treasure trove of delicious foods. I would even go as far as to say you could take an entire trip here just to eat food and you would come back totally justified and happy as a clam. There are so many restaurants to try that one visit will never be enough, but I do have several highlights from our visit.
Café Du Monde - This is the place that most everyone knows, and although very touristy it’s a great place to pop in and get some of the famous beignets and frozen chicory coffee. Here’s a pro tip for anyone eating beignets, don’t wear black because the powdered sugar is going to get absolutely everywhere!
Café Beignet - Another hot spot for beignets, although we came here for lunch. We got to hang out and enjoy some live music, while scarfing down some fantastic jambalaya and a muffuletta sandwich that was to die for.
Johnny’s Po-Boys - You have to try a po-boy while in New Orleans, and Johnny’s is the place to do it. They’re a quick and casual joint, with some of the best po-boys in the city. The traditional po-boy would be filled with shrimp, but as a shrimp hater I can recommend the chicken po-boy as well!
Coop’s Place - Coop’s Place is a great little dive bar in the French Quarter, and (at least for us) most notable for some truly delicious alligator meatballs! A is definitely an adventurous eater and I’m always determined to eat anything that is considered a local delicacy, so alligator was on our list. It (I swear) actually tastes a lot like chicken, and it was surprisingly tender compared to what I was expecting!
Creole Creamery - A perfect snack spot when you’re walking around in the heat, Creole Creamery has a huge selection! I had heard about this place before we arrived in New Orleans because they have boozy ice cream flavors on rotation!
The Ruby Slipper Café - We definitely re-returned to this brunch spot several days! There are a few locations in the city, and we were very lucky that one was right down the street from our Airbnb. They get very crowded and don’t take reservations, so make sure to get there early, put your name on the list, and get a Ruby Mimosa or Boozy Iced Coffee to sip on while you wait.
Dat Dog - This was probably my favorite place that we ate at, and to this day I still think about the duck sausage with blackberry sauce and goat cheese! They’ve got tons of gourmet sausages and toppings and you can choose to build a combo yourself or pick one of the house specials on rotation. This is without a doubt the first place I’ll be going to whenever we return to New Orleans!
Acme Oyster House - A absolutely loves seafood, and oysters are no exception! Acme Oyster House has a huge selection, including chargrilled oysters which was the highlight for me. They’ve hosted Adam Richman of Man Vs. Food for their 15 Dozen Club, a challenge where you need to eat at least 15 dozen oysters in one hour. The current Leader of the House rings in with a whomping 44 dozen oysters in one hour!
Café Du Monde
The Ruby Slipper
