Hi all,

I'll be spending a week in and around New Orleans at the end of July. We'll be spending a long weekend in New Orleans but I wondered what would be the fun things to do for 3-4 days in the general area. We'll have a rental care and are keen to explore,

thanks for the tips!

Gordon

In addition to the replies you will receive here, maybe you can spend some time while you wait - RESEARCHING this very subject. There are several threads on NOLA here on Fodor's.

Upper left side of the website.
Type New Orleans.
Hit return button.
It works.

You state your are interested IN and AROUND NOLA. Check out these 2 sites http://www.exploresttammany.com and http://www.woodridgebb.com/interest.html. Each has some interesting things to do around New Orleans.

Of course, there's always the Cajun country in southern Louisiana. With a few days to spare, I'd want to head down there and visit several of the small towns. Eat anywhere you like; the food will all be good. Stay in any average motel and enjoy saving a little money. Some research will tell you about some of the many historical aspects of the area that you might want to explore. Good luck.

We were just there towards the end of May and used a rental car to explore the area.

We did the Honey Island Swamp tour and really enjoyed ourselves. We saw a bunch of alligators, but we also learned a lot about the ecosystem. It's in Slidell (north on I-10?), an easy 30 minute drive from the Quarter. I believe it was $23/person if you drove up on your own.

We also drove out to a couple of the plantation along River Road. We did Laura and Oak Alley. Oak Alley was beautiful, but the scripted feel of the tour turned me off. Laura, on the other hand, was fabulous. We didn't get to tour the home due to the fire they had last fall, but the tour itself was incredible. You really got a feel for life on a creole plantation. I highly recommend taking this tour.

Whatever you end up doing, enjoy yourself!

We did Avery Island - bird sanctuary and Tobasco Sauce come from there. Interesting tour of Tobasco Sauce factory. We also did swamp boat tour - a little scary but fun!