Quick trip to New Orleans

[luvmyfam444]

Tell me where an affordable nice place to stay is & things we must see/do. (kids in tow - and nondrinkers)

 

[NotUrsula]

Driving or flying? ... And when, roughly? Do you insist on a separate room for the kids?

How old are said kids?

Do you like music? ... food? (And if you answer Yes to food, do you mean tlocal-style stuff, or haute cuisine?)

 

[Praying Colonel]

DW and I went to New Orleans in 2015. We had my MIL in tow so we weren't getting wild & crazy by any means. We arrived on a Friday afternoon and left Tuesday morning, so basically 3 1/2 days.

We stayed at a Hampton Inn on the corner of Carondolet and Gravier, which we thought was a pretty good location because it was right on the St. Charles street car line, a block from the Canal Street street car line and a couple of blocks from the French Quarter. With a military discount it was very reasonable, and it was a nice hotel.

Some things we did:
--Beignets and coffee at Café Du Monde on Jackson Square;
--Walk the park area along the river;
--Shop at Jackson Market;
--Visit St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo;
--Shopping on Royal Street;
--Pat O'Briens (a good time was had sipping hurricanes and singing along with the dueling pianos, but maybe not for your trip);
--Took a street car to the Garden District and did a self-guided walking tour we got from a guide book we bought;

Many things I wish we'd done but didn't have time or the timing didn't work out;
--Preservation Hall Jazz show (we just missed getting into the next show and didn't want to wait around, so we went to Pat O'Brien's instead);
--World War 2 Museum;
--One of the cemetery tours offered around the city;
--Touring Audubon Park and the zoo.

It's hard to go wrong with picking someplace to eat--some's just better than others, but it's all pretty great. Some places we ate:
--Felix's Oyster House
--Acme Oyster House
--Deanie's Seafood (seeing a trend here? )
--Royal House
--Sunday jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters. We wanted to eat at Commander's Palace in the Garden District but we couldn't get a reservation and someone suggested Court of Two Sisters, and it was wonderful in both atmosphere and food quality.

There were many other places we wanted to eat, but time limited us. Next trip!

 

[tcufrog]

I second The Court of Two Sisters brunch. It's worth the splurge.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I took my two of my kids a couple years ago (ages 13 and 11 at the time) and we are going back next week with DH! So this time it will be me, DH, DD15 and DS13. They have begged to go back ever since last time. Our oldest still can't go due to work/school obligations, so he misses out again

Last time, we were just there for a couple days, and stayed at the Omni Riverwalk, directly north of the last trolley stop that goes along the river. I've listed some of the things we did that the OP didn't mention, because we did a lot of the same things like Jackson Square, Beignets, walking along the river, etc

1. Ghost tour - so much fun!
2. Rode the trolley through the Garden District
3. Visited MS Rau Antique store - if you go, be sure to ask to see the secret room!
4. Walked around the Riverwalk as it poured buckets of rain one of the days
5. Visited Central Grocery
6. Had po'boy sandwiches for lunch at Johnney's Po' Boys shop

This time, we have a little more planned, and I can't wait to get there! 5 more days! DS and I are flying in on Tuesday AM, and DH and DD are driving down from a camp they will be at prior to Tuesday (DH coaches at the camp, and DD will be a student athletic trainer with the training staff for the athletes!). We will be staying in the business district this time, not far from Canal Street.

1. Guided walking tour of the Garden District and Cemetery
2. Dinner Reservations at K-Pauls
3. Dinner Reservations at Felix's
4. DD wants to do another Ghost tour, this time with DH
5. We will be driving out to Gulfport to spend the day on Ship Island
6. DS and I are going to the WWII museum while we wait for DD and DH to get there, then we will find a cool place for lunch/dinner. DS has his heart set on eating alligator again, so I'm sure we will find something!
7. DH wants to go to a fortune teller or psychic and have the kids read. They have never been to a psychic before and are fascinated at the prospect of having it done!

 

[portocall]

New Orleans with kids...
Swamp tour
Riverboat
Insectarium. We love that place.
City Park. It has an amusement park and putt putt. Also has a Cafe du Monde there now. You can take the street car.


Food... There are lots of places that are delicious. It's hard not to find somewhere good.

 

[Gary M]

I'm not sure what affordable price of a hotel is to you, but you might check out Hotel St. Marie in the French Quarter. It's on Toulouse St. about one block from Bourbon St.. I have visited and stayed in NOLA at least 35 times over the past 50 years. Hotel prices in NOLA are much higher on weekends and when one of the large conventions are in town. The time of year can also make a difference in cost.

https://www.hotels.com/ho134041/hotel-st-marie-new-orleans-united-states-of-america/

 

[Turksmom]

DW and I went to New Orleans in 2015. We had my MIL in tow so we weren't getting wild & crazy by any means. We arrived on a Friday afternoon and left Tuesday morning, so basically 3 1/2 days.

We stayed at a Hampton Inn on the corner of Carondolet and Gravier, which we thought was a pretty good location because it was right on the St. Charles street car line, a block from the Canal Street street car line and a couple of blocks from the French Quarter. With a military discount it was very reasonable, and it was a nice hotel.

Some things we did:
--Beignets and coffee at Café Du Monde on Jackson Square;
--Walk the park area along the river;
--Shop at Jackson Market;
--Visit St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo;
--Shopping on Royal Street;
--Pat O'Briens (a good time was had sipping hurricanes and singing along with the dueling pianos, but maybe not for your trip);
--Took a street car to the Garden District and did a self-guided walking tour we got from a guide book we bought;

Many things I wish we'd done but didn't have time or the timing didn't work out;
--Preservation Hall Jazz show (we just missed getting into the next show and didn't want to wait around, so we went to Pat O'Brien's instead);
--World War 2 Museum;
--One of the cemetery tours offered around the city;
--Touring Audubon Park and the zoo.

It's hard to go wrong with picking someplace to eat--some's just better than others, but it's all pretty great. Some places we ate:
--Felix's Oyster House
--Acme Oyster House
--Deanie's Seafood (seeing a trend here? )
--Royal House
--Sunday jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters. We wanted to eat at Commander's Palace in the Garden District but we couldn't get a reservation and someone suggested Court of Two Sisters, and it was wonderful in both atmosphere and food quality.

There were many other places we wanted to eat, but time limited us. Next trip!

I'm not the OP, but thanks for this! My husband has a conference next week, so we're all tagging along and will be there Sunday to Wednesday. Staying at The Hampton and you've mentioned a lot of the things I was looking into.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We have done New Orleans twice before cruises. Hands down, our favorite thing was an alligator tour out of Slidell. All 4 of us loved it.

We have also done the Sunday brunch at Court of Two Sisters. Liked it, didn’t “love it.” Cafe Du Monde was good. We also did the architectural tour of the Garden District that included a cemetery tour. Enjoyed that one quite a bit.

 

[khertz]

Cafe du Monde, Audubon Zoo & Aquarium of the Americas (you can get a combo ticket for a discount), WWII Museum, St. Louis Cathedral

 

[JLTraveling]

I lived here pre-Katrina and I've been back for about a year. In the intervening years, I visited a LOT. Everyone has given great suggestions for activities, but I wanted to weigh in on hotels. Forget the chains and forget the CBD. Stay in a historic hotel in the French Quarter. How often do you get to stay in a (likely haunted) place built in the 1800s that once belonged to a voodoo queen or housed Andrew Jackson or served as a Civil War hospital or something equally cool? I really like the French Quarter Guest Houses (https://www.frenchquarterguesthouses.com/) and the Valentino New Orleans hotels except the Lafayette (https://www.valentinohotels.com/), but you really can't go wrong with any of the small places in the Quarter. And they're a lot less pricey than you would expect.

 

[kimmar067]

Tell me where an affordable nice place to stay is & things we must see/do. (kids in tow - and nondrinkers)

...please don't take this wrong....why are you going to New Orleans?

 

[NotUrsula]

...please don't take this wrong....why are you going to New Orleans?

Please don't take this wrong, but you're clueless. New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and is a vibrant community rich in history and with a unique culture. The people who call it home actually do have children, believe it or not. There is plenty to do there besides getting hammered in bars. It is a wonderful place to spend time with family, especially during the Christmas holiday season and during Carnival.

 

[kimmar067]

Please don't take this wrong, but you're clueless....

Please don't take this wrong...DON'T JUDGE ME.

Personally, N. O. had always been on my bucket list. That is, until 3 people I know [none of them know each other] who have RECENTLY visited it (all within the past 8 months) vowed never to go there again. All had horrible experiences, and, from their personal stories, made me rethink going there. Of course, I'm basing this vicariously, since I've never actually visited New Orleans, but they are folks whose opinion I value. One common thing they all brought up when sharing their experiences was a feeling that it wasn't very safe [especially for females]. I also got a sense that it was not necessarily a 'family-friendly' kinda place to go on vacation....JMHO.

I am one who loves family vacays that have some sense of a historical factor to it. I don't doubt that N.O. is heavily infused with wonderful history and legends of ghosts and spirits (that's what intrigued me in the first place). I can think of other places that could offer all that - Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine to name a few....

 

[kimmar067]

A side note: two of those people I mentioned did happen to go on an alligator/airboat-type tour and they both loved that experience.

 

[snappy]

Re: the WWII museum, see the movie, and allow plenty of time to see everything.