Tell Me About New Orleans

[paintnolish]

DH is going to a convention there in July, and I get to tag along! We are staying at the Marriot and won't have a car. I've heard the city is pretty walkable, especially from the hotel we'll be staying at. So, what's not to miss or eat? I saw a culinary taste tour and cemetary/neighborhood tour that look like fun. Thanks for your help! I am looking forward to five kid-free days!

 

[turkeymama]

I live in North Louisiana and I'll be honest. I haven't visited NO in a few years. The one thing I never, ever miss, though, is Cafe Dumonde in the French Quarter. You will find the best beignets ever there. So yummy!

 

[MaleficentRules]

A friend and I visited NO way back in 2000, so I'll have to try to dig up some memories for you....

Our first night there, we had a lovely dinner at this restaurant...I believe the name of it was "The Secret Garden". I have no idea if it's still there, but you can check it out.

We also went for a ride on the Natchez steamboat - the price included a buffet dinner and an awesome band.

Our fav bar was The Matador. We receive that as a recommendation from our waiter at the Secret Garden restaurant. Only caveat he told us: be sure to take a cab there and a cab home, as it was in kind of a dicey area. The bar itself, however, was great. It was a jazz "open mike" night and the band was jamming!

I would also recommend one of the "Historical Walking Tours" that take you around the French Quarter. Our tour was given by a wonderful woman, I still remember her name - Ms. Anna Ross - and what a character she was; real Southern Belle and very classy lady! Very informative tour of the fascinating history of NO. This tour was good because it took us to St. Louis #1 cemetary (another caveat: DO NOT go to these cemetaries alone and DO NOT go at night).

There were also the usual fun, touristy tours we did such as the Vampire Tour and the Ghost Tour, etc. All fun, all worth checking out.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[minkydog]

I love New Orleans! My sister and I took a girls-only trip down there last summer and had a ball. We visited New Orleans School of Cooking, down on St. Louis st(I think!) They not only show you how to make gumbo, red beans & rice, jambalaya, and pralines but you get to EAT THEM,too! Yum! We parked our car and walked the whole time we were there.

The one tour we did was Dr. Walker's Honey Island Swamp Tour. DSis didn't really want to do it, but I insisted. We had them come pick us up at the hotel. Our driver was local, from Irish Bayou. He was very knowledgeable about New Orleans in general and he showed us around . On the way out to Honey Island Bayou(about 40 min) we went right through East New Orleans, which took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina. It's obvious that the homes and businesses have been abandoned and our guide was happy to talk about it. The swamp tour itself was really good and we saw a lot of creatures. On the way back to NOLA one of the other couples wanted to know where they could buy shrimp. Well, he pulled off into Irish Bayou, showed us his home(one of only about 16 out of 140 left standing) and took us to a little shrimping shed where the shrimp boat was backed up to the landing off-loading their critters! What an adventure! Then our guide told the couple step by step exactly how to cook them. Made me wish we could spend a little more time with him. He was really entertaining.

 

[ruthgator]

DH and I lived there for 3 years till Hurricane Katrina kicked us out. One place totally worth the cab ride is Jacques Imos Cafe. Get the Alligator Cheesecake. Trust me.

You can look up the Zagat Ratings online for other recommendations, without having to 'join' Zagats. It will be sweltery hot when you are there. If you are there around July 4th, there is a big music festival going on and you may want to book resies early...

Have fun!

 

[Planogirl]

New Orleans has some of the best food in the world. That is the best part of visiting IMO.

We stayed at the Marriott many years ago. It has a great location and good views too. Be sure to check out some of the hotels when you wander. Some are beautiful and have nice courtyards.

If you go on a ghost or voodoo tour, this group is interesting: http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com/ They offer a lot of variety. The national park service used to take people out on cemetery tours and those were free I believe. I don't know if they still do them.

Check out some websites about the city. Here's the official one: http://www.neworleansonline.com/ (sound).

Have a great time!

 

[monkeyboy]

D-Day museum

nuff said

 

[cassiez76]

i'm from NOLA and can hopefully give you some tips.

the marriot is in walking distance to the quarter. just be sure to stay on well lit streets.

go to the cemetaries, but DO NOT go by yourself. DO NOT go at night. we have a crime problem and that's a favorite place to be robbed.

walk around the french quarter. there are free magazines with walking tours, so you don't have to shell out money for a tour guide.

since it'll be middle of the summer, it's going to be HOT and sticky and most likely in the high 90's with a heat index around 100 or so. HOT.

the aquarium is really cool. there's also an IMAX there. you can do a combo deal with the aquarium/zoo/insectarium. there is a river boat you can take from the zoo to the aquarium. http://www.auduboninstitute.org/

take a ride on the street car. it will take you from canal st, up st. charles avenue to the garden district. i haven't been in awhile, but i think it's about $1.50 or so.

food...just about any place you eat is going to be good. stay away from the tourist trap that is called mothers. you can find cheaper and better po-boys elsewhere. make sure you eat a po-boy. hopefully it will be louisiana seafood.

there's a place on magazine street (magazine st. has lots of antiques and is a pretty fun to just walk and sight see on) called surrey's juice bar. they have the best BBQ shrimp and grits anywhere. open 8 til 3. cash only. they also make their own bagels and lox. it was on diners, drive-ins and dives.

cafe du monde for beignets is a can't miss.

central grocery for a muffaletta. just a few blocks down from cafe du monde is the flea market. you can get some cheap souviners there.

the old US mint is just on the other side of the flea market and it's pretty interesting. the AC is pretty good too

we have the NOLA museum of art. it's closed sunday and monday's. there's also a sculpture garden behind it.

if you go here... http://nomcvb.com/ you can order a free tourist book or 2 or 30 LOL and there are coupons in the back.

have a hurricane, cyclone and bloody mary at pat o'briens and a hand granade at tropical isle.

hope this helps a little...

oh...and the marriot is a WALK to the convention center. wear comfy shoes. and bring a jacket. i use to work in there and you would not believe how icy cold they keep it in there in the summer. think arctic tundra. the convention center hall A thru hall J is 1.25 miles. that's just lenght, not width. and tell the ladies at registration with the purple scarves cassie misses them and hates her new job!

 

[Karibeth19]

i'm from NOLA and can hopefully give you some tips.

the marriot is in walking distance to the quarter. just be sure to stay on well lit streets.

go to the cemetaries, but DO NOT go by yourself. DO NOT go at night. we have a crime problem and that's a favorite place to be robbed.

walk around the french quarter. there are free magazines with walking tours, so you don't have to shell out money for a tour guide.

since it'll be middle of the summer, it's going to be HOT and sticky and most likely in the high 90's with a heat index around 100 or so. HOT.

the aquarium is really cool. there's also an IMAX there. you can do a combo deal with the aquarium/zoo/insectarium. there is a river boat you can take from the zoo to the aquarium. http://www.auduboninstitute.org/

take a ride on the street car. it will take you from canal st, up st. charles avenue to the garden district. i haven't been in awhile, but i think it's about $1.50 or so.

food...just about any place you eat is going to be good. stay away from the tourist trap that is called mothers. you can find cheaper and better po-boys elsewhere. make sure you eat a po-boy. hopefully it will be louisiana seafood.

there's a place on magazine street (magazine st. has lots of antiques and is a pretty fun to just walk and sight see on) called surrey's juice bar. they have the best BBQ shrimp and grits anywhere. open 8 til 3. cash only. they also make their own bagels and lox. it was on diners, drive-ins and dives.

cafe du monde for beignets is a can't miss.

central grocery for a muffaletta. just a few blocks down from cafe du monde is the flea market. you can get some cheap souviners there.

the old US mint is just on the other side of the flea market and it's pretty interesting. the AC is pretty good too

we have the NOLA museum of art. it's closed sunday and monday's. there's also a sculpture garden behind it.

if you go here... http://nomcvb.com/ you can order a free tourist book or 2 or 30 LOL and there are coupons in the back.

have a hurricane, cyclone and bloody mary at pat o'briens and a hand granade at tropical isle.

hope this helps a little...

oh...and the marriot is a WALK to the convention center. wear comfy shoes. and bring a jacket. i use to work in there and you would not believe how icy cold they keep it in there in the summer. think arctic tundra. the convention center hall A thru hall J is 1.25 miles. that's just lenght, not width. and tell the ladies at registration with the purple scarves cassie misses them and hates her new job!

We've been to NOLA three times in the past year, and I agree with all of this!

But, if you do have Hurricanes at Pat O'Briens, don't have too many...I speak from experience!

 

[amberc]

We were there just a few weeks ago and tried Mr. B's restaurant for the first time...very good food! Would recommend it to anyone. And of course cafe du monde.

 

[Aristocath]

We went to New Orleans over Spring Break. I would also recommend the Aquarium. Our favorite was the National World War II Museum... it used to be the D-Day Museum but they added on to it. It was phenomenal and we spent a whole day there. We saw the movie and ate lunch at the John Tesh restaurant.

 

[cassiez76]

We went to New Orleans over Spring Break. I would also recommend the Aquarium. Our favorite was the National World War II Museum... it used to be the D-Day Museum but they added on to it. It was phenomenal and we spent a whole day there. We saw the movie and ate lunch at the John Tesh restaurant.

that's one place i wanna go...i've never been and i live here! and LOL...john BESH, not tesh! i had an image of john besh sitting at a piano!

 

[laurafergie]

I love New Orleans!!

If you are into books the Librairie Book Store on Chartres Street is great! Lots of old books - many regional. I really like old cookbooks and try to find a bookstore where ever I go.

And since we're on Chartres - try Chartres House Cafe - We ate there and people were super nice and the food was good too. Since it is not on the beaten path, like Bourbon Street, it was a nice break.

Also, if you like oysters, Acme Oyster House on Iberville is a must. Eating oysters and drinking beer at the bar is a blast.

 

[paintnolish]

You'd think that after all of the posts and years I've been here, I'd know how to multi-quote...
cassie and Aristocath- John Tesh! I wondered why he had a restaurant.
amber- Of course, DuMonde! That's the one place I have heard of. Plus, I am all for fried food on vacation!
Cassie- I don't think I'll wander into any cemetaries alone or at night! Iknow it will be hot, but I've survived many sumemr WDW trips, so I'll survive! Thanks for the food tips. I love trying new foods, so I am looking forward to real grits (not instant ones from a package). Thnaks for the recommendation on the street car ride and museum.
minky- The cooking school sounds right up my alley! The other tour sounds interesting, but it also sounds like that guy could have kidnapped you! How many people were on the tour? I will be doing most day activities alone, since dh will be in conferences.
plano- Glad you liked the MArriot. Was the tour co. you mentioned a historical tour? I don't want any cheesy haunted stuff, like people in costumes popping out!
ruth- Alligator cheesecake...I'm intrigued!
malificent- The Matador sounds liek the perfect place for dh and I after his conferences! Also, I did see the Natchez steamboat and want to go on it.

Aside from going into cemetaries alone at night, is everything else okay for me to do alone during the day? I mean, I'm not from a tiny town- I grew up in Chicago and know how to behave and be cautious.

 

[mamacatnv]

Its been several years but my fav's were:
Camelia Grill in the Garden District
Elizabeths in the ByWater - take a cab, the best fried chicken and potatoe salad on the planet
Pirates Alley bar - small and intimate
Dungeon Bar - loud and interesting but the hallway and door to the bathroom are worth a look see
Tour - a cemetary is a must and we also did a Vampires, myths and legends tour at night doodoodoodoodoodooo
Loved Cafe DuMonde and then had crawfish which I thought was a must at one of the French Market restaurants.
Pat O'Briens was fun, loved the guy that played the copper symbols with his fingers, may he RIP.......that was a favorite evening

 

[JessicaR]

Acme Oyster House would be on my list for sure.
http://www.acmeoyster.com/

For a great dinner I would eat at Irene's.
The best quaint little Italian restaurant ever!
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?h...'s&hnear=New+Orleans&cid=11338636769269156700

Central Grocery is also on my list a muffaletta. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=122


Of course in there somewhere I would have to also eat some beignets - Cafe Du Monde.
http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignet.html

I love walking Royal Street - they have some amazing little shops. Have a drink at The Carousel Bar inside the Hotel Monteleone. http://hotelmonteleone.com/

 

[NotUrsula]

One thing to be aware of in NOLA in summer is that, just as in Orlando, storms can blow up very fast. In fact, we like to say that it rains at 3 pm every day. (That is usually about the time when the humidity reaches 100%. It rains, the air "empties out", and then the humidity starts climbing slowly back up.)

The thing is, the Quarter, the Warehouse District and the CBD are old streets, and the drains are just not up to the amount of water that hits the concrete when the clouds open up. It is very common for the water to be 10 inches deep in places within minutes, though it will all normally drain away within an hour or so. If you happen to be out walking in it when it happens, your shoes will be ruined if they can't take the water, so that's my piece of advice -- carry an umbrella, and wear immersible shoes for your walking excursions.

Your DH should also pay attention to this if his meeting is large enough to require him to walk outside between venues. I often attend conventions in my home city in summertime these days, and I've seen a LOT of men in the exhibit halls with their suits soaked up to the knee and their shoes squelching when they walk. If you're wearing a suit and you're outside around 3 pm, best to be prepared to duck into a hotel lobby or flag down a cab in a hurry.