I wanted to see if anyone could recommend a trip length for a first timer like myself. Is 1 week too long/short? Also, are there any must do tours(swamps, etc) or jazz clubs that I can t miss? I was thinking of going in January since that s the only time I have offThank you!!!
A week would be great! You can see everything plus more with a week. You can take some plantations tours too! People who only come in for a few days usually never get out of the quarter to see the rest of city. Garden District is a place some tourists don t know exsits and never see the untouristy areas like St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street. Also The zoo is great and go check out the cemetaries and check out Audubon park! It is Great walk! Make sure you do a AIRBOAT swamp tour in the Atchafalaya basin! You can see so much more! The alligators might be hibernating in January. So you might or might not see any. Depends how cold it is outside.http://www.basinlanding.com/Drink!Pat O s, Lafittes Blacksmith shop, Columns Hotel Bar( Not in Quarter But has awesome big porch on st. charles avenue), Absinthe House, , Bombay clubFavorite FQ BAR- Lafittes and Pat o s, Carousel BarRestaurants; Brennans, Jaquimos( Best Alligator Cheesecake and blackened red fish), Rio Mar, Commanders Palace(MY FAV), Muriels(Turtle Soup, Goat Cheese Crepes, and Pecan crusted drum),Coffee Pot (FAVORITE RED BEANS and breakfast),Upperline, Lilette, Irenes, Gumbo Shop,Napolean House( FAV. LUNCH SPOT),One on Hampson( BEST DUCK GUMBO), Brennans, Crepe Nanou, Tommys Restaurant, Brigtsens( Everything is AWESOME),Yo mama bar and grill( BEST HAMBURGERS)Palace Cafe( BEST PECAN CRUSTED FISH AND BLUE CRAB LEGS), Domileses(awesome poboys),Cochon( BEst cochon du lait)Favorite coffee- Cafe du mondeFavorite dessert- CommandersJackson Square, St Louis Cathedral, Cafe Du Monde, Rvierboat(don t eat there the food is terrible) Zoo, Aquarium, Historic New Orleans Collection, Royal St. Antiques, Magazine Street Shopping, Airboat Swamp tour, Mardi Gras World, Ride the Streetcar,Museum- Historic New Orleans Collection, Ogden, Dday, the cabildo, Pharmacy, Confederate Museum, US Mint...Music- Frenchman st!!(snug Harbour, DBA, Spotted Cat) Check out what is playing at tipitinas, HOB, Howlin Wolf. Tipitinas has cajun dancing every sunday night. Go to Preservation Hall.Haunted Places; Le Petit Theater, The Pontalba, Pirates Alley, The Lalaurie House, St. Louis Cathedral and Lafittes Blacksmith shop, The Pharmacy are a few.
3-5 days is ideal for most travelers. 1 week is probably too much, unless you have a very specific interest (like jazz or antiques) or you plan on exploring the surrounding area (like Cajun country or the Mississippi Delta). The French Quarter and Garden District are the main areas of interest in New Orleans - they are beautiful, but fairly small, and you don t need that much time to see them.I would recommend that you do a plantations tour - I went to the one that visited Oak Alley and Laura Plantation, and it was very interesting - you learn a lot about how the slaves lived as well as seeing the old mansions. The swamp tour I ve heard is not worth doing in the winter, since you will see far less animal and plant life. You also might consider the Cemetery/Voodoo tour or a French Quarter or Garden District walking tour.The jazz club Snug Harbor was recommended to me by multiple people, but I didn t have a chance to go there.
most of new orleans has some haunted history behind it. I would take a haunted tour, who knows you may see a ghost...
A week is enough to somewhat explore the city.Not knowing your interests, here is a fairly long list of things to do in New Orleans:Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival are world famous events, but New Orleans hosts many festivals and celebrations throughout the year: www.nola.com/festivalsThere are many tours offered and examples are:www.graylineneworleans.comwww.hauntedhistorytours.comThe Saint Charles Streetcar is the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world and is a tourist attraction in its own right. It is part of the public transit system, as are the Canal Street and Riverfront streetcar lines: www.norta.comThere is always music, but the bands change: Go to www.bestofneworleans.com and click on Music then Listings or to www.offbeat.com and click on Listings, then Music.Note that music clubs often advertise No Cover , meaning there is no charge for entering. However, clubs with No Cover often require that customers buy a beverage each for every set of music (which can be every 20 minutes) so KNOW THE PRICE before you sit down. Clubs do that because some people will sit in the club all evening drinking nothing (clubs only make money from the drinks they sell - not from the music). It is also a good idea to pay for each round of drinks (in clubs on Bourbon Street) as it is delivered so there can t be any confusion at the end of the evening.An incomplete guide to bars clubs:www.neworleanscheapdrinks.comAbout certain alcoholic beverages: Realize that some famous drinks are VERY potent compared with regular cocktails that have only 1 to 1 ? ounces of alcohol. For example, a Hurricane is basically 3 or 4 ounces of rum in something like red Kool-Aid, and a Hand Grenade has at least 4 ? ounces of Everclear + rum + vodka mixed with melon liquor. They don��t necessarily taste like an alcoholic beverage and it is easy to over-indulge.Wander around the French Quarter, enjoy the architecture, watch the street entertainers (do tip), and visit some of the historic buildings that have been turned into museums (go to www.frenchquarter.com and click on Historic Attractions).Assuming the weather is good, you can collect a sandwich lunch and eat in the riverfront park (watch the shipping) or in Jackson Square (a very nice park).The Riverwalk shopping center has an air-conditioned food court with dining overlooking the river (www.riverwalkmarketplace.com). The Canal Place shopping center is in the French Quarter and has a cinema and higher-end shopping (Saks 5th Avenue, Brooks Brothers, etc.). http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/N��Magazine Street is a miles-long shopping district: www.magazinestreet.comLouisiana is the only US state that offers tax-free shopping for international visitors, but not all merchants participate in the program: http://www.louisianataxfree.com/ Purchases of art may be tax-exempt: http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturaldistr��The lobby for the Westin Canal Place Hotel is on the 11th floor and overlooks the French Quarter. It is a great place for an afternoon drink/snack:(www.westin.com).Cafe du Monde is in the French Quarter and you shouldn t miss having cafe au lait beignets (www.cafedumonde.com). Another great coffee shop is the Croissant d Or (at 617 Ursulines Street), which is open from 7:00am to 2:00pm and has food in addition to pastry.The Palm Court restaurant is very nice, has moderate prices, and offers traditional live jazz starting at 8:00pm: 1204 Decatur Street, tel 504-525-0200 (reservations are important and they are not open every day). The Palm Court is closed from about mid-July 25th to sometime in August each year: http://www.palmcourtjazzcafe.com/Maximo s Italian Grill has great food and atmosphere: 1117 Decatur Street in the French Quarter, (504) 586-8883. www.maximosgrill.comAll of the famous restaurants (Antoine s, Arnaud s, Brennan s, Commander s Palace, etc.) have reopened. The Pelican Club (on Exchange Alley in the FQ) is not as well known but is the same type experience. Reservations are a good idea, and probably essential on weekends. Tujaques Restaurant (823 Decatur Street) is very traditional and has moderate prices: www.tujaguesrestaurant.comCafe Degas is a very French restaurant near City Park at 3127 Esplanade - which is not within walking distance of downtown (5 to 10 minutes by taxi). They are closed on Mondays Tuesdays (504-945-5635). www.cafedegas.comThe Napoleon House restaurant is at 500 Chartres Street in the FQ, and has a menu of great local dishes: www.napoleonhouse.comPreservation Hall has traditional live Jazz, and doesn��t serve alcohol so all ages are welcome: www.preservationhall.comNew Orleans has ballet, opera, a symphony orchestra, and theatre:www.nobadance.comwww.neworleansopera.orgwww.lpomusic.comwww.lepetittheatre.comThere is a free ferry across the Mississippi at the foot of Canal Street. It is a short trip but like a harbor cruise w/o a guide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/canal_stree��The Aquarium, Audubon Zoo, and the new Insectarium are world-class attractions (www.auduboninstitute.org) and you should see them if you can. The Zoo is several miles from downtown. You can drive to the Zoo (which has free parking) or take public transit from the French Quarter.The Louisiana State Museum is in the French Quarter: http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/ New Orleans is also home to a number of other museums, such as the National World War II Museum (http://www.nationalww2museum.org/) and the New Orleans Museum of Art (www.noma.org). Both can be reached by public transit: The WWII museum is in the central business district but a long walk from the French Quarter. NOMA is not within walking distance of downtown but has free parking. Go to www.neworleansmuseums.com for info on more museums.Harrah��s Casino is in the Central Business District: www.harrahs.com (age 21 required for entry)New Orleans City Park has a variety of attractions + free parking. (www.neworleanscitypark.com).Check www.frenchquarter.com and http://www.nola.com/visitor/ for ideas about other things to do.Hope you have a great time!