New Orleans

[LSUmiss]

I'm never sure if my sis is overly cautious because she is handicapped or if there really IS a reason to be concerned about crime. For the record, they lived IN various parts of New Orleans for 8 years while in college/undergrad (Loyola and Tulane). They decided to move out to Gretna when they bought their house.

I think that’s a lot of ppl in this area. I think it depends on your comfort level. We are in the overly cautious camp & there are some ppl who are more comfortable with being more free-spirited. Imo, there is probably a reason they chose to live in Gretna especially if they used to live in other parts of the city. Gretna is one of the safest suburbs in the area. That’s much different than the area that the pp lives. I love this city & like I said am at least 6th gen that I know maybe more. So we won’t leave it. BUT, I also know it has a lot of of problems & crime is one of them. Since your sister does live in the area & knows about the happenings on the news & such, I personally would go with her advice based on her comfort level.

 

[LSUmiss]

Congrats on your bowl game win!

Thanks! I was surprised it was such a big win!

 

[LiDa]

I'm taking 2 mid-teens and a 22 yr old to New Orleans in a few days. The teens are good travelers and used to hanging out with adults. They don't need activities aimed at entertaining kids but I do want to find a few things that are more appealing to the older-teen/young 20 crowd. Can anyone recommend a specific ghost tour and a specific airboat swamp tour? There are so many and I don't want to just pick if someone might have personal experience. Any other suggestions? We'll be in the French Quarter are and ideally I don't want to drive around if possible.
Any bar suggestions that I can take my 22 yr old to and won't be an issue to have the teens with us?

Honestly...I'll be thrilled with any tips/suggestions. This is a new destination and since it's last minute I don't have a lot of time to research and make plans.

Thanks!

Next to WDW, I love NOLA best.

• I agree that Haunted History gives a nice tour.
• Definitely avoid driving in NOLA, if you can. My friend & I always take a car up to Frenchmen Street at least one evening to check out the music venues. Of course you must do Bourbon Street once during day & once at night & then ... check out Frenchmen Street!
• I must disagree with the person who posted Cafe Beignet -- I really prefer Cafe du Monde entirely. And it's open 24 hrs, so there's that. lol The music by Cafe Beignet at night is heavenly, though.
• My friend & I love having lunch at Cafe Pontalba, which is right on Jackson Square. Great for people-watching, esp when it rains.
• We also love Pat O'Brien's, that rare place that attracts both tourists & locals. Sit in the courtyard by the flaming fountain & the teens can order non-alcoholic versions of their silliest, frilliest drinks.
• Earth Odyssey has some lovely jewelry & intuitive readers, highly recommended.
• The Gumbo Shop is quite good & fairly priced.
• I could go on & on about my favorite places in the FQ, but I usually recommend people get a street map from their hotel & just stroll & eat & stroll & eat. Drink your fill of Community Coffee & soak up the music coming out of every other doorway.
• Unfortunately, I can't be more specific. Even shops that survived Katrina & Rita were done in by COVID & I haven't been back since.

I hope you all have a lovely trip

 

[JLTraveling]

I guess that’s exactly it. I wouldn’t live in the 7th ward either. I’m just thinking someone who lives in Gretna might think similarly. I am like a 6th generation New Orleanian & am very familiar with many different areas of the city & including the more suburban areas. I am just thinking if they live in gretna for a reason (like many do), their comfort level with those areas may be different than yours.

Eta: I do think day time is fine though @leebee

To be fair, she said they hadn't BEEN to Frenchmen before. So how can they have an informed opinion of what it's actually like? And sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone. Leebee asked my opinion and I gave it, as someone who is there a lot with people of all ages and physical health.

And back to the 7th ward. I wouldn't live here either, 5 years ago. I knew better than to cross Rampart. But did you know the lower 7th has recently gentrified? I live in a gorgeous single family home that was redone down to the studs right before we moved in. My next door neighbor is an immunologist at Tulane. It's a genuinely nice neighborhood now.

That's why up to date information from someone who is actually on the ground at the moment is so important. Things change fast, and what you used to know isn't necessarily the reality today.

 

[Aladora]

I'm taking 2 mid-teens and a 22 yr old to New Orleans in a few days. The teens are good travelers and used to hanging out with adults. They don't need activities aimed at entertaining kids but I do want to find a few things that are more appealing to the older-teen/young 20 crowd. Can anyone recommend a specific ghost tour and a specific airboat swamp tour? There are so many and I don't want to just pick if someone might have personal experience. Any other suggestions? We'll be in the French Quarter are and ideally I don't want to drive around if possible.
Any bar suggestions that I can take my 22 yr old to and won't be an issue to have the teens with us?

Honestly...I'll be thrilled with any tips/suggestions. This is a new destination and since it's last minute I don't have a lot of time to research and make plans.

Thanks!

We were in NOLA for a few days before our mid-December cruise so I can answer at least one of these questions!

We did a swamp tour with Cajun Pride and we had a great time! It was freezing cold but we still enjoyed it a ton!

We also did a walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1 and we booked through Cemetery Tours New Orleans It is not a super long tour but we enjoyed it.

We tried beignets at both Cafe du Monde and Cafe Beignet, we all enjoyed the ones at Cafe Beignet more.

 

[wvjules]

We were in NOLA for a few days before our mid-December cruise so I can answer at least one of these questions!

We did a swamp tour with Cajun Pride and we had a great time! It was freezing cold but we still enjoyed it a ton!

We also did a walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1 and we booked through Cemetery Tours New Orleans It is not a super long tour but we enjoyed it.

We tried beignets at both Cafe du Monde and Cafe Beignet, we all enjoyed the ones at Cafe Beignet more.

We were just there 12/26-30 and I enjoyed Cafe du Monde more and DBF liked Cafe Beignet more. He lies that they are doughier.

 

[JLTraveling]

We were just there 12/26-30 and I enjoyed Cafe du Monde more and DBF liked Cafe Beignet more. He lies that they are doughier.

Well, you clearly have better taste Cafe du Monde is the original, serving up beignets made exactly the same way 24/7 since 1862. Cafe Beignet is the upstart interloper, that no self-respecting local would ever go to (OK, kidding on that part--mostly). But yeah, there's something to be said for the original.

 

[Aladora]

Well, you clearly have better taste Cafe du Monde is the original, serving up beignets made exactly the same way 24/7 since 1862. Cafe Beignet is the upstart interloper, that no self-respecting local would ever go to (OK, kidding on that part--mostly). But yeah, there's something to be said for the original.

Funny, we had a bunch of locals recommend Cafe Beignet to us! We had already gone to Cafe du Monde so of course we had to try both!

 

[JLTraveling]

Funny, we had a bunch of locals recommend Cafe Beignet to us! We had already gone to Cafe du Monde so of course we had to try both!

My ex worked at Cafe Beignet. It's sort of a friendly rivalry thing, like picking a sports team lol. Glad you guys enjoyed both!