Top Things to Do in New Orleans

Bourbon Street

Crude and crass, New Orleans's most famous entertainment strip isn't to everyone's taste, but you have to see it at least once—preferably under the nighttime neon lights. Tawdry strip clubs and souvenir shops scream for attention, but look closer and you'll find local jazz musicians showing off their chops, elegant restaurants, and faded bars where luminaries like Mark Twain and Tennessee Williams imbibed.

Jackson Square

Flanked by St. Louis Cathedral, the antebellum Pontalba apartment buildings, and the Mississippi River, postcard-pretty Jackson Square has been the hub of New Orleans life since the city's colonial start. Artists, musicians, and fortune-tellers congregate on the plaza surrounding the square, but the manicured park itself is a peaceful oasis in the midst of the French Quarter bustle.

Garden District

A field day for architecture buffs and gardeners, the leafy Garden District is a remarkably intact collection of 19th-century Greek Revival mansions and raised cottages, many built by wealthy merchants during New Orleans's cotton heyday. Cap a visit here with lunch at Commander's Palace and a browse of the shops and cafés on busy Magazine Street.

St. Charles Avenue Streetcar

Three streetcar lines converge on Canal Street, but this one packs the most bang for the buck-and-a-quarter. Following a route in use since a steam train first plied the avenue in 1835, streetcars clatter through the CBD, then roll along the oak-shaded median through some of the city's most exclusive addresses. Stops include Audubon Park, the Garden District, and the Riverbend shopping district.

The Parks

New Orleans is home to two impressive urban parks, each with its own character and attractions. Audubon Park, across from the campuses of Tulane and Loyola universities, sports waterfowl-filled lagoons, a world-class zoo, and great views of the Mississippi River. Across town, City Park is home to the New Orleans Museum of Art and an adjacent sculpture garden, along with the New Orleans Botanical Gardens and a mini-amusement park for kids. Both parks can be reached by streetcar.

French Market

French trappers, seafood vendors, and more than a few rowdy sailors traipsed through these open-air stalls once upon a time. Today the place more resembles a bazaar, and alongside vegetable stalls and charcuteries selling alligator-on-a-stick, crawfish, and Cajun sausages you'll find stands packed with jewelry, bags, cheap sunglasses, and antiques. The quality of the merchandise varies (it's a great place to pick up Mardi Gras beads and hot sauces), but the scene is a lot of fun—especially on weekends.

Plantation Country

Tucked among the chemical plants and oil refineries that generate Louisiana's new money, remnants of the Old South aristocracy line the banks of the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Many stately old plantation homes have been carefully restored, filled with period furnishings and opened to the public. However brutal the history, there's no denying the beauty of the mansions and their accompanying gardens. Check out Oak Alley for its famous tree-lined entrance; massive Nottoway plantation house, near White Castle; and the relatively modest Oakley House outside St. Francisville, one of the prettiest towns in the region.