New Orleans

[tiggspring]

Oooh, how fun! You picked a great place to kick off your new adventures

OK, as history buffs, you will definitely want to make your way out to the Garden District. Canal Street is the huge road at the edge of the French Quarter, and it's where you'll go to see the parades. It's also where you can hop on the green streetcar for the short trip to the Garden District. Anne Rice's house was at 1239 First Street. It's absolutely breathtaking! And then within a couple of blocks you can visit the Garden District Bookstore inside The Rink, which is where she used to do all of her book release parties (arriving by horsedrawn hearse). Just down from there is Lafayette Cemetery, with Commander's Palace restaurant directly across. If you'll be here on Saturday or Sunday, try to get reservations for Jazz Brunch. SO good, and the restaurant is both historic (opened in 1893) and a training ground for innumerable celebrity chefs (Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, and others).

The main thing not to miss in the French Quarter is Jackson Square--previously the public hanging ground, now a sort of centralized free speech zone. During the day you'll find artists and mimes, at night tarot readers. St. Louis Cathedral (oldest continually operating Catholic basilica in the US) is there, flanked by a few excellent historic museums). Across the street is Cafe du Monde, serving up beignets (French donuts coated in powdered sugar) 24/7 since 1862, except Christmas Day and occasional hurricanes). We're pretty sure if they ever fully cleaned the floors, they'd find Jimmy Hoffa lol.

And be sure to take a tour. My favorite is Haunted History (https://hauntedhistorytours.com/). In my opinion, they're the best researched and most legit. They present the spooky stories, but also the actual facts behind each case.



The Provincial is a great choice. Like @leebee, I haven't stayed there, but I have stayed at their other property, the French Market Inn, and it was wonderful. And I absolutely love the Provincial's Ice Bar. Such a nice break from the crowds! Leebee had some other great suggestions as well.

I'm excited for you! Just wandering the streets, you'll run into so many things to see and places to eat, and it's really hard to get a bad meal in this city. Be sure to stop by Bourbon Street and take photos, but don't linger too long. It's tourist central, and not where anybody who lives here actually goes unless they work there. Except for Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. It's at the far end of Bourbon in the more residential area, at the corner of St. Philip. It was built in the 1720s, and then from 1772 until 1791, the pirates Jean and Pierre Lafitte used it as a front for their smuggling operations. It's now a bar open nearly 24 hours a day, and they've only added as much electricity as absolutely essential. The whole place is lit by candlelight, and there's a piano bar in the back. Really fun spot to spend some time!

Thank you! This all sounds wonderful. We are blessed my husband now works mostly remote so making sure we are there on a Sat or specific day of the week is not a problem. If he needs to he can pull out his computer and work from the hotel. Which I doubt he will need to. We have decided to drive. It is 16 hrs and when I drive he can work which means nothing is off limits. Budget will be the only factor but we have time to save up. Pirates how fun! When we lived in RI we lived in a sea captains house for awhile. It was a humble basement apartment but it over looked a tiny marina. loved living there. One of the things really appreciated at WDW is the hotels. My daughter danced the past 4 yr. at a nationals in orlando and we spent all of our free time at the WDW hotels, especially boardwalk but our favorite is French quarter. My husband and I also got engaged while staying at the French quarter so going to the real one is going to be a treat! NOLO seems like such a walkable city with lots great places you can pop in. I have a feeling no many how many days we plan for we will want a few more.

 

[Southernmiss]

We did stay at the Provencial in August. Very lovely hotel. Rooms are small, but comfortable. Our room overlooked the driveway to the gated parking (by valet only) and was a little noisy with check ins and check outs. But nice. We got hurricane drinks from the Ice Bar and sat in one of their quiet courtyards.

It is next door to the historic Ursuline Convent- worth a tour, especially if you like history.

Easy 2 block walk to the French Market and French quarter and Riverwalk and all of the historic area. We walked to Canal and then turned and walked back down the Riverwalk.

Also, there's a great French pastry cafe-Crossiant d'Or Patisserie-a block from the convent. Lots of locals there on a Saturday morning.

We had just one night, next time we stay over (we live 2 hours away) we will do a haunted carriage ride. We walked past one and just over hearing the stories was interesting.

 

[LSUmiss]

Thank you! This all sounds wonderful. We are blessed my husband now works mostly remote so making sure we are there on a Sat or specific day of the week is not a problem. If he needs to he can pull out his computer and work from the hotel. Which I doubt he will need to. We have decided to drive. It is 16 hrs and when I drive he can work which means nothing is off limits. Budget will be the only factor but we have time to save up. Pirates how fun! When we lived in RI we lived in a sea captains house for awhile. It was a humble basement apartment but it over looked a tiny marina. loved living there. One of the things really appreciated at WDW is the hotels. My daughter danced the past 4 yr. at a nationals in orlando and we spent all of our free time at the WDW hotels, especially boardwalk but our favorite is French quarter. My husband and I also got engaged while staying at the French quarter so going to the real one is going to be a treat! NOLO seems like such a walkable city with lots great places you can pop in. I have a feeling no many how many days we plan for we will want a few more.

When do y’all arrive? Having a car is good too b/c there are fun places to see outside the fr quarter that are more easily accessible with a car.

 

[JLTraveling]

Thank you! This all sounds wonderful. We are blessed my husband now works mostly remote so making sure we are there on a Sat or specific day of the week is not a problem. If he needs to he can pull out his computer and work from the hotel. Which I doubt he will need to. We have decided to drive. It is 16 hrs and when I drive he can work which means nothing is off limits. Budget will be the only factor but we have time to save up. Pirates how fun! When we lived in RI we lived in a sea captains house for awhile. It was a humble basement apartment but it over looked a tiny marina. loved living there. One of the things really appreciated at WDW is the hotels. My daughter danced the past 4 yr. at a nationals in orlando and we spent all of our free time at the WDW hotels, especially boardwalk but our favorite is French quarter. My husband and I also got engaged while staying at the French quarter so going to the real one is going to be a treat! NOLO seems like such a walkable city with lots great places you can pop in. I have a feeling no many how many days we plan for we will want a few more.

Oh wow, the sea captains house sounds amazing! We're currently living in a restored Victorian that I'm pretty sure has a poltergeist lol. Always fun living in historic buildings. Fun story: when I first moved here, my parents came to visit, and my mom's favorite activity was sitting out on my balcony watching people come and go from the house across the street. It was an old property that had been divided into a bunch of apartments, but still looked like a single family home from the outside. Being from small town FL, she had never seen such a thing.

This is an incredibly walkable city, nice and flat with really short blocks. Just watch your step, the live oak trees have the right of way, so don't trip over the roots breaking through the sidewalk. And you're right, it will never be enough days. The more you can add, the better. Be sure to block out one whole day to just wander. No agenda, no plans, just walk in a random direction until you get sick of it and then turn a corner and walk a different way. The best adventures happen that way And as long as you're still in the French Quarter, you'll never be more than two doors down from food or drinks whenever you want a break.

Pro tip: If you're into learning about voodoo, spend some time on Dumaine Street, it's sort of voodoo row. If you're into antiques, Royal Street is your best bet. And if you like old stuff that looks like they just dug it out of the ground and didn't clean it up much, Barracks Street.