New Orleans Destination Guide

  Places to See in New Orleans

  Events & Nightlife in New Orleans

  Eating out in New Orleans

  Shopping in New Orleans

  5 Perfect Days in New Orleans
 
  Public Transport in New Orleans

Home | Hotels | Flights | Car Hire | Attraction & Sightseeing Tickets

Click Here to Check Availability for Hotels in New Orleans

Best of New Orleans in 5 Days

Day 1: The French Quarter
Start by getting to know the city's most famous neighborhood. Sure, it's a cliché, but the café au lait and beignets at Café du Monde are a good place to begin, followed by a stroll around Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral. Cross the seawall and take in the views of the Mississippi River from Woldenberg Riverfront Park. Wander along North Peters Street to the shops and market stalls in the French Market, followed by a stroll around the mostly residential Lower Quarter. After lunch, explore the antique stores and art galleries on Royal and Chartres streets, winding it all up with a cocktail in a shady courtyard; try Napoleon House, an atmospheric bar and café that makes a mean Pimm's Cup, or the French Quarter mainstay Pat O'Brien's. Save Bourbon Street for later in the evening; like anything that's lived hard and been around as long, it's much more attractive in low light.

Day 2: Uptown & the Garden District
The St. Charles Avenue streetcar rumbles past some of the South's most prized real estate; take a seat in one of the antique wooden seats, raise a window and admire the scenery on the way to leafy Audubon Park. Follow the paved footpath to the Audubon Zoo, keeping an eye out for the zoo's white tigers, a pair of albino brothers named Rex and Zulu. Board an inbound Magazine Street bus near the zoo entrance and take it to just past Napoleon Avenue, where a number of restaurants, some with sidewalk tables, are clustered. Continue on Magazine to Washington Avenue and head left through the Garden District. Prytania Street, just past Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 (Anne Rice fans, take note), is a good axis from which you can explore the neighborhood's elegant side streets. Catch a Downtown-bound streetcar on St. Charles, or wrap up the afternoon shopping and dining on Magazine.

Day 3: Remembering Katrina
It may strike some as macabre, but touring the neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina and its subsequent floods has become a ritual for many visitors, not unlike the hordes that have made Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan a pilgrimage site. You can opt for a guided bus tour, which takes you to Lakeview and the infamous 17th Street Canal levee breach; some companies also travel to the Ninth Ward and Chalmette. After a somber tour of Katrina's devastation, a good antidote is to look for signs of renewal and rebirth. City Park, which sustained extensive wind and flood damage, has reopened its stately botanical gardens; nearby stands the venerable New Orleans Museum of Art and the adjacent Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Wrap the day up with dinner and live music downtown at one of the clubs on Frenchmen Street, in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, where the city's diehard party spirit soldiers on.

Day 4: Art, History & Culture
Dedicate one day to a deeper exploration of the city's cultural attractions. Art lovers shouldn't miss the Warehouse District, where a pair of fine museums -- the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Contemporary Arts Center -- anchors a vibrant strip of contemporary art galleries, most of which feature local artists. History buffs will want to check out the National D-Day Museum, also in the Warehouse District, and the Historical Collection of New Orleans in the French Quarter, which hosts changing exhibits in a beautifully restored town home. New Orleans music aficionados can browse the bins at the Louisiana Music Factory, which has a wide selection of CDs, and occasional in-store performances, by Louisiana musicians.

Day 5: Heading Out of Town
Consider a day trip out of town to one of the region's elegant plantation homes, a trip to Cajun Country, or a guided swamp tour. Some tour companies offer a combination, with lunch included. Many of the antebellum mansions between New Orleans and Baton Rouge have been painstakingly restored and filled with period furniture; nature lovers will want to set aside time to explore the grounds and lush flower gardens. Swamp tours may sound hokey, but they're actually a good way to see south Louisiana's cypress-studded wetlands (and get up close and personal with the alligators and other critters who live there). Continue the nautical theme in the evening with a ride to Algiers Point aboard the Canal Street ferry for sunset views of the New Orleans skyline.

Tips
Call ahead for hours and days of operation. Several months after Katrina, many businesses still had not returned to their full pre-storm schedules. The city has a lot to offer, but some patience and understanding is called for while it rebuilds.

If you're venturing out in your own vehicle, be aware that street conditions, which weren't great to begin with, are still in disrepair in some places. Traffic signals can be erratic, and debris and roofing nails left behind by contractors can be hazardous to tires.

Summers in New Orleans arrive early and stick around longer than most people would like. If visiting in the hot months, stay hydrated, limit your midday outdoor activities and be prepared for sudden, sometimes violent downpours.

 

Click on an area for more Information and Hotels

Arts District, Central Business District, French Quarter, Garden District, Gretna, Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans Airport, Six Flags Area

Destination Guides | Terms & Conditions | About Us | Contact Us