New Orleans and environs - day trips, best itineraries
Oct 14th, 2011, 04:46 PM
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New Orleans and environs - day trips, best itineraries
We're planning a four night visit to New Orleans - in addition to jazz and food in the evenings - we would appreciate ideas of day time itineraries. I'm particularly interested in visiting Cajun country, listening to cajun music, and also perhaps visiting plantations, river cruises. We both love history, so interesting historical sites, museums in New Orleans proper would also be of interest. Suggestions? how would you divide your time?
Oct 14th, 2011, 09:30 PM
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With only 4 nights, I'd probably spend the whole time in New Orleans itself - there is plenty to keep you busy for 3 days.
For day trips though, if you are interested in plantations, you can either take a tour or rent a car and do it on your own. Houma House is my favorite of the plantations that I have seen.
For day trips though, if you are interested in plantations, you can either take a tour or rent a car and do it on your own. Houma House is my favorite of the plantations that I have seen.
Oct 15th, 2011, 02:41 AM
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Go a lot live nearby & was born there outside a streetcar
stop on St Charles close to Adubon Zoo Tulane University.
www.honeyislandswamp.com/tour_info.html
www.cajunencounters.com/swamp_tour.html
neworleansonline.com good general sites for you
Plan what you like based on budget for me
Riverboat aquarium zoo tours streetcar some cajun
A plantation tour and lots of good food.
Kpauls.com for some blackened redfish...
Just relax enjoy stay flexible have fun...
Car can be an expensive liabilty in town I do not
rent if coming in by car do hotels with free parking.
Happy Planning!
stop on St Charles close to Adubon Zoo Tulane University.
www.honeyislandswamp.com/tour_info.html
www.cajunencounters.com/swamp_tour.html
neworleansonline.com good general sites for you
Plan what you like based on budget for me
Riverboat aquarium zoo tours streetcar some cajun
A plantation tour and lots of good food.
Kpauls.com for some blackened redfish...
Just relax enjoy stay flexible have fun...
Car can be an expensive liabilty in town I do not
rent if coming in by car do hotels with free parking.
Happy Planning!
Oct 15th, 2011, 02:45 AM
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Pete Fountain appears a contented man as he sits in his homey office adjacent to his club in New Orleans’ Hilton Hotel. “Welcome to the inner sanctum,” greets ...
jazztimes.com/articles/20111-pete-fountain-the-duke-of
Best spot for Jazz tradition at Hilton Riverside on Canal
jazztimes.com/articles/20111-pete-fountain-the-duke-of
Best spot for Jazz tradition at Hilton Riverside on Canal
Oct 15th, 2011, 04:16 AM
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I would take a day out and do the River Road Plantation Homes. Nottoway and Oak Alley were our favorites. Houmas House, Laura House and San Francisco are all interesting as well and have lots of history. You might consider even spending the night at one of them. We stayed one night in Nottoway and thought it was great.
Oct 15th, 2011, 06:05 AM
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Over 20 years ago so do double check:
We took a city tour that went to the Cathedral, Garden District, Cemetery, past shot-gun houses and more. The guide was a native and had ab almost NYC hint in her accent-it was fascinating.
We also took a plantation tour that included San Francisco and it was very interesting. Not a zoo person but really enjoyed it. We also took a riverboat to Jackson's home-again very interesting.
But the best was the food. We ate lunch at the most expensive places but had incredible meals everywhere and went to the "Names". The riverwalk area was just being built. There was a Hilton in that area whose brunch we are still talking about: 3 stands that looked like little rowboats were filled with shrimp, crawfish and crabs. Champagne poured without end. Amazing. We joined everyone else not on expense accounts gasping at the prices of eggs at Brennans-the only thing we could afford was Banana's Foster!
You definitely are tight on time to do many side trips.
Oh, we also loved that you could be walking down the street when suddenly a block or two is blocked to traffic and a piano is rolled out in the middle of the street. The pianist's hat had 1/2 of a hundred dollar bill to encourage large tips!
We took a city tour that went to the Cathedral, Garden District, Cemetery, past shot-gun houses and more. The guide was a native and had ab almost NYC hint in her accent-it was fascinating.
We also took a plantation tour that included San Francisco and it was very interesting. Not a zoo person but really enjoyed it. We also took a riverboat to Jackson's home-again very interesting.
But the best was the food. We ate lunch at the most expensive places but had incredible meals everywhere and went to the "Names". The riverwalk area was just being built. There was a Hilton in that area whose brunch we are still talking about: 3 stands that looked like little rowboats were filled with shrimp, crawfish and crabs. Champagne poured without end. Amazing. We joined everyone else not on expense accounts gasping at the prices of eggs at Brennans-the only thing we could afford was Banana's Foster!
You definitely are tight on time to do many side trips.
Oh, we also loved that you could be walking down the street when suddenly a block or two is blocked to traffic and a piano is rolled out in the middle of the street. The pianist's hat had 1/2 of a hundred dollar bill to encourage large tips!
Oct 15th, 2011, 10:06 AM
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We too are jazz lovers and particularly liked Snug Harbor and House of Blues, and, of course, Preservation Hall for Dixieland. Here's a list of jazz clubs in NOLA:
http://www.neworleansonline.com/newo...jazzclubs.html
I highly recommend Laura Plantation. We had visited San Francisco and Oak Alley years ago, and on our last visit Oak Alley was quite different (a large gift shop, restaurant and cottages to rent) but the beautiful house was the same.
Since you are history buffs you might like the WWII Museum. It's extremely well done and they keep adding new galleries. We were last there four years ago and they have added USO memorabilia.
The Cabildo is another museum with lots of Louisiana and NOLA history. It's next door to the St. Louis Cathedral (the first cathedrail in the US).
Cafe au Lait and beignets are a great way to start the day at Cafe du Monde:
http://www.cafedumonde.com/
And don't leave without having a delicious muffuletta at the Central Market where they originated.
http://www.neworleansonline.com/newo...jazzclubs.html
I highly recommend Laura Plantation. We had visited San Francisco and Oak Alley years ago, and on our last visit Oak Alley was quite different (a large gift shop, restaurant and cottages to rent) but the beautiful house was the same.
Since you are history buffs you might like the WWII Museum. It's extremely well done and they keep adding new galleries. We were last there four years ago and they have added USO memorabilia.
The Cabildo is another museum with lots of Louisiana and NOLA history. It's next door to the St. Louis Cathedral (the first cathedrail in the US).
Cafe au Lait and beignets are a great way to start the day at Cafe du Monde:
http://www.cafedumonde.com/
And don't leave without having a delicious muffuletta at the Central Market where they originated.
Oct 16th, 2011, 05:06 AM
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I agree that, with only four days, you won't run out of things to do in New Orleans.
If you do want a Cajun-oriented day trip, I'd start by checking a list of Louisiana festivals to see if there's something that looks good (e.g. a Cajun music festival) when you'll be there. If nothing grabs you, I'd suggest driving to Breaux Bridge, and having lunch or dinner at Cafe des Amis. You could also visit Poche's Market in Breaux Bridge, which has all sorts of good Cajun food that you could eat as a meal or take with you as a snack. Cafe des Amis has live Cajun music on Wednesday nights, and zydeco breakfast on Sundays (warning: the zydeco breakfasts are very crowded, but you can sit outside and enjoy the music without eating if you want). There are also Cajun bands playing nightly at Prejean's and Mulate's in Breaux Bridge. I've seen good bands at Mulate's, but definitely avoid eating at either place. There's also a place called Whiskey River Landing where there's live Cajun music and dancing on Sundays from 4 PM to 8 PM, in what seems to be a very authentic and scenic setting on the Atchafalaya Basin. I've never been there, but it seems like it would be good.
You could do a swamp tour of Lake Martin, and if you do, I'd strongly recommend trying to track down Norbert LeBlanc. He's a Cajun man who has been living on Lake Martin for his whole life. I think he was 83 years old when I did a tour with him about eight years ago, but he showed no signs of ever stopping. He'll take you on a beautiful trip in a small, quiet boat. There's also another Lake Martin tour guide who seemed like he'd be good, a younger guy who has a degree in zoology or something and does quiet, eco-friendly tours. I forget his name.
You could combine all this with a planatation tour or two on the way out or back.
If you do want a Cajun-oriented day trip, I'd start by checking a list of Louisiana festivals to see if there's something that looks good (e.g. a Cajun music festival) when you'll be there. If nothing grabs you, I'd suggest driving to Breaux Bridge, and having lunch or dinner at Cafe des Amis. You could also visit Poche's Market in Breaux Bridge, which has all sorts of good Cajun food that you could eat as a meal or take with you as a snack. Cafe des Amis has live Cajun music on Wednesday nights, and zydeco breakfast on Sundays (warning: the zydeco breakfasts are very crowded, but you can sit outside and enjoy the music without eating if you want). There are also Cajun bands playing nightly at Prejean's and Mulate's in Breaux Bridge. I've seen good bands at Mulate's, but definitely avoid eating at either place. There's also a place called Whiskey River Landing where there's live Cajun music and dancing on Sundays from 4 PM to 8 PM, in what seems to be a very authentic and scenic setting on the Atchafalaya Basin. I've never been there, but it seems like it would be good.
You could do a swamp tour of Lake Martin, and if you do, I'd strongly recommend trying to track down Norbert LeBlanc. He's a Cajun man who has been living on Lake Martin for his whole life. I think he was 83 years old when I did a tour with him about eight years ago, but he showed no signs of ever stopping. He'll take you on a beautiful trip in a small, quiet boat. There's also another Lake Martin tour guide who seemed like he'd be good, a younger guy who has a degree in zoology or something and does quiet, eco-friendly tours. I forget his name.
You could combine all this with a planatation tour or two on the way out or back.
Oct 17th, 2011, 07:01 AM
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A lot of good suggestions so far.
You might find my trip report from last year useful, as it explored NOLA thoroughly:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...y-184065-2.cfm
The report is found in the latter posts on this thread.
For food possibilities:
https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...experience.cfm
and note well that NOLA is one of the US's great food destinations.
For plantations, I don't recommend seeing them via tours unless you stick to Laura and Oak Alley exclusively. Tours to any other plantation normally don't occur unless a certain minimum is met, and in most cases that never happens. If you want to see any of the other plantations, definitely do so by car.
You might find my trip report from last year useful, as it explored NOLA thoroughly:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...y-184065-2.cfm
The report is found in the latter posts on this thread.
For food possibilities:
https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...experience.cfm
and note well that NOLA is one of the US's great food destinations.
For plantations, I don't recommend seeing them via tours unless you stick to Laura and Oak Alley exclusively. Tours to any other plantation normally don't occur unless a certain minimum is met, and in most cases that never happens. If you want to see any of the other plantations, definitely do so by car.
Oct 17th, 2011, 07:08 AM
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You'll find more than enough to do w/out ever leaving the city. In fact, I would encourage you to not waste the time on day trips w/only 4 days. I've been visiting Nola for more than 20 years & still find something new, every time I visit.
Oct 17th, 2011, 10:10 AM
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hawksbill - I was thinking of Breaux Bridge and Lake Martin too. It might be a littl far for a day trip, but definitely a great area to see.
We spent a few days there about 5 years ago and I am still thinking about the bread pudding at Cafe des Amis. Absolutely wonderful - no raisins and with a white chocolate sauce. I swoon just thinking about it
We toured Lake Martin with Butch Gutchereaux - definitely recommend his tour.
We also toured Shadows on the Teche plantation while there, which was neat - definitely a good contrast to the bigger places on the River Road.
We spent a few days there about 5 years ago and I am still thinking about the bread pudding at Cafe des Amis. Absolutely wonderful - no raisins and with a white chocolate sauce. I swoon just thinking about it
We toured Lake Martin with Butch Gutchereaux - definitely recommend his tour.
We also toured Shadows on the Teche plantation while there, which was neat - definitely a good contrast to the bigger places on the River Road.
Oct 17th, 2011, 01:11 PM
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Ah yes, Butch Gutchereaux. He's the younger tour guide I was referring to. Actually, I originally had called Butch, but he wasn't working on the day when I wanted to go, so he referred me to Norbert LeBlanc. I think either one would be excellent, and Lake Martin was really beautiful from Norbert's boat. I took some nice photos. I went back this past Spring and saw the lake from the hiking trail, rather than a boat, and it was a lot less scenic.
I did Breaux Bridge as a day trip from New Orleans, and in fact I then returned for another trip the next day, which included Lake Martin. Both times it was a bit long for a day trip, but feasible, and I didn't regret it. In fact we did a plantation tour on the way back one time.
It's true that New Orleans itself has more than four days' worth of activities for any tourist, but for someone interested in Cajun food, music, and culture, I think it would be reasonable to head out to Breaux Bridge for a day.
I did Breaux Bridge as a day trip from New Orleans, and in fact I then returned for another trip the next day, which included Lake Martin. Both times it was a bit long for a day trip, but feasible, and I didn't regret it. In fact we did a plantation tour on the way back one time.
It's true that New Orleans itself has more than four days' worth of activities for any tourist, but for someone interested in Cajun food, music, and culture, I think it would be reasonable to head out to Breaux Bridge for a day.
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