First time to NOLA Sept 12-18
 

My husband and I are going to NOLA Sept 12-18 for the first time, for our 30th wedding anniversary. We are renting a car at the airport and driving to The Myrtle Plantation and spending one night. Then driving to NOLA on Sunday staying at the Courtyard Marriott near the French Quarter. We will drop off the rental car and walk and use the streetcar to get around. We are planning the good portion of one day at the WWII Museum, taking in the Victory Belles Matinee Buffet. We also want to take a sunset Gondolier ride, cemetery tour, swamp tour and take the ferry to Algiers. I'm worried that this may be the off season and not all tours will not be operating during this time. Is it worth it to pay for the cemetery tours or are the free tours just as informative. Any info you can give me will be much appreciated.

I don't think September will be "off-season" at all. It's a perfect time to go to New Orleans. I've been many times through the years for work but when I go for pleasure I prefer the non-summer months. I think it's a better time to go. Several people have recommended the free tours, but be sure to tip. I'm signing up for a couple of new (to me) tours for this trip. I will be taking a cemetery tour for the first time, but just strolling through has been nice in the past. Be sure to head down to Magazine Street's shops (and restaurants) when you're in the Garden District. My favorite is Sucre - offering macarons, chocolate and gelato.

We went in early November and were able to see and do everything we wanted; so I am sure September won't be an issue.

We did a couple of these and they were all good except the "Ghost" one. Partly because it was our first night and we were tired, partly because the tour guide wasn't the best and partly cause my husband wasn't really into it.

Check this out - we saw a really nice performance, and it was free! Don't think they are all free, but we saw one put on by NPS.

http://www.nps.gov/jazz/planyourvisit/events.htm

http://musicatthemint.org/

This was also lovely:
http://www.noma.org/

And while you are there, take a walk [it's a bit lengthy] down Esplanade to Liussa's By The Track for their BBQ Shrimp PoBoy!
liuzzasnola.com You will pass St Louis Cemetery #3

Also -
http://www.friendsofthecabildo.org/

Finally - if you haven't seen it the TV services "Treme" is a great introduction to NOLA. You can get it at Amazon or other places that have TV shows on CD.

OM Gosh you will LOVE NOLA!!
Bourbon Street is really not my thing but everyone should stroll down it once.
Frenchmen Street is walking distance from the French Quarter and is amazing if you like traditional blues music which Nola is known for.
Go to THE THREE MUSES, DBA and THE SPOTTED CAT.
The Muses is food, drink and music and the others are just drinks and music. Check them out on TA or Yelp and see if they appeal to you since everyone lik s different things.
I took the Post Katrina Tour and it was very inter sting and stopped at a cemetery and did a nice tour of the city districts.
I have been to Nola three years in a row and absolutely could go every year.
Enjoy!!

I highly recommend French Quarter Phantom's tours. They do a great tour of St. Louis Cemetary ( short walk from the Quarter) and they also do the only walking tour of the very cool and historic Treme area, also just past Rampart St. From the Quarter.

That Treme tour is fantastic and totally one of a kind. A do not miss, IMO. And I have dome many tours on many many visits to NOLA over the years.

https://www.frenchquarterphantoms.com

https://www.frenchquarterphantoms.com/tour-treme

I am happy to see you are giving the WWII museum a good bot of time. It is wonderful and totally worth it.

What do you mean when you say " a gondolier ride"? I have never heard of any such thing in NOLA, and am very curious about what that is.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my post. I am so excited to go to NOLA and will look at all the recommendations.
EMD3, here is the link to the Gondola tour, http://nolagondola.com/tours.html.

Wow, now THAT sounds unique and very cool! I love City Park and am going to book this for my husband next yr when we go to NOLA ( along with 3 other trips throughout the year) for our 30th anniversary! Thank you so much for the info! Totally new to me, and we go to NOLA at least once a year.

If you want to see great performers who are tremendous musicians see if Irwin Mayfield and his guys will be at his Lounge on the Wednesday night during your stay. It is off the lobby of the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon. Make reservations, even in the off season, NOLA is filled with conventions and you never know how crazy it can get.

I have also seen Trombone Shorty, The Soul Rebels, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, who are all major musicians. So if any of them are performing that week, make it your business to go.

DebitNM, would you mind saying which "Ghost" tour you did that you didn't enjoy. We, too, are looking to do one on arrival day. Looking at VoodooBoneLady tours.

OP: What about Walking tour of the Garden District

We have also penciled in the Spotted Cat

We did 3 tours with this group:
http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-orleans-tours/#

I think the tour guide was the main issue, then the fact that we were tired and lastly that my husband, being the scientific personality and not into ghosts, asked if we could cut it short which we did.

We did the French Quarter tour and the Garden District/Cemetery tour.

"You will pass St Louis Cemetery #3"...on Esplanade, near City Park.

While I have some ancestors in St. Louis #1, most of my ancestors are in St. Louis #3. It's a beautiful old cemetery - with some fabulous tombs. Very easy to drive/walk around with no safety issues. I often go there by myself.

Enjoy the city. It has so much to offer. WAY too much for a single visit!

My wife, also, has relatives in both St. Louis I and III. I am sure you know now to gain entry for free into St. Louis I, you have get a pass at St. Louis III by telling them you have relatives there.

They now charge for entry at I because there has been vandalism and some crime. We were just there in April.

You call III and ask for Miss Sue, I think her name was.

IAMDonehere - didn't know that. Thanks.