BayouGirl & Co...

My husband & I were planning to visit NYC for Christmas this year, but we had the wonderful idea to visit New Orleans instead. Neither of us have been to your wonderful city before, and the guidebooks are full of less-than-accurate pre-Katrina info, so we have many, many questions.

We're planning a 9 day/ 8 night trip and would like to stay in the quarter. I have a back condition and can't walk any long distances so a central location (to Bourbon St and Cafe du Monde) is VERY important. All signs seem to point to the Royal Sonesta being the best value, but we like the location of the Bourbon Orleans a lot. Is this a good hotel? Believe it or not, the Bourbon and the Royal Sonesta are priced the same, so we are really up in the air. We also liked the location of the Place d'Armes, but they were VERY rude when we called for info, and require a $100 non-refundable deposit. Are there any other centrally located properties we should look at?

Also, we're looking at taking a swamp tour, plantation tour, visiting the cemetaries, art museum, zoo, etc. Are there any other activities that we should look at? We have a lot of time there, so we'd love to try some things off the beaten path.

Then, finally, FOOD! We plan on going to some places we see listed again & again (Muffalettas from Central Market, jazz brunch @ Commander's, etc) but would love great reccomendations for some local haunts (or even really fantastic tourist traps!).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Oh, what fun! Thinking about a special Christmas in N.O. brought tears to my eyes. Not many Christmas decorations can compare to seeing St. Louis cathedral dressed in poinsettias, the tall lighted tree in Hotel Monteleone's lobby, or a ride down a decorated St. Charles Ave. on the street car--and that's just to name a couple of things. Barring another hurricane season like the last one, Christmas '06 should be one to remember in N.O.

Will you have a rental car? I will be doing some research for you and posting back here, plus there are others, like Dan, who know the city well, offer great advice, and I'm sure they will help you plan as well.

*All streetcar lines should be fully operational by Christmas.
*The Royal Sonesta is about 8 or 9 blocks from Cafe Du Monde.
*The Bourbon Orleans is about 3 or 4 blocks from Cafe Du Monde, but you can cut through Pirate's Alley and Jackson Square, which might make it a little shorter.

Are you sold on lodging the entire 8 nights in the FQ? When you let us know how you'll be getting around, we can give you many more ideas for things to do.

Here are some initial thoughts for activities to get you thinking about what you'd like to do while in N.O. for the holidays.

*Christmas "Celebation in the Oaks" at City Park.
*Bonfires along the Mississippi River on Christmas Eve.
*Christmas riverboat cruise.
*Carriage ride around the FQ.
*Dinner at Ralph's on the Park followed by a carriage ride through Celebration in the Oaks, or just the carriage ride.
*Christmas shopping in the FQ.

Also, keep an eye on the holiday calendar at nola.com
to see what events will be happening around town during your visit.

Also, are your travel dates set yet? If so, what are they?

Royal Sonesta!!! Get an inside corner room overlooking the pool. I think those are handicapped rooms, but there're the biggest and very nice.

Can't believe I forgot to mention the nightly concerts at the Cathedral and the caroling in Jackson Square most nights in December.

yotefan37-

Sorry to hear that the Place D' Armes person on the phone was rude. We stayed there for a long weekend last month (our first visit since Katrina) and found the entire staff to be friendly and responsive. Consider giving them another try and ask for a room that faces the courtyard---ask for the third floor if you can. Almost every room in this place is a bit different but most are spacious. Some of the problems in NOLA are attributed to the lack of staff (still no excuse for rudeness) but we were delighted with our first-ever stay at this small hotel and LOVED the location.

Unless their policy is different for Christmas, we were not required to give a non-refundable deposit. There was a penalty for cancellation after the reservation.

Thanks all for the wonderful information and quick replies!

BayouGal (sorry): We were thinking about getting a rental car for one day to explore some of the plantations, but for the rest of the time we were going to rely on the wonderful Orleans public transit & cabs. We probably want to stay at one property during our stay, but if you know of something that would be a wonderful experience, we're always open to that!! Our biggest challange seems to be finding a place convenient & comfortable enough for an 8 night stay, but with enough atmosphere that it doesn't feel like a Holiday Inn.

It looks like we'll be arriving in NO on 12/19 and leaving 12/27 (getting out just in time for the New Year's rush). We read about the Bonfires and were so excited - is it good to view them from the river or would you recommend one of the tours along the shore?

Thanks again!

Santa has to find his way to rural areas, too, so the bonfires are lit along the levees! ;-) You won't be able to see this from within N.O. Unless you have a rental car, you would have to take some type of tour.

We went with Cajun Pride Swamp Tours. They do alot of different tours but are different now than they were pre-Katrina. Go to their website & give them a call.

We also went with saveourcemeteries.org.

I would highly recommend both companies.

I have compiled a small list of a few things we love to do in New Orleans. But I hope that you will search online and order all the visitor information and brochures you can find. You'll get a feel for New Orleans and begin to see things you'd like to do, areas you like to visit, etc.

*Pick up a free Gambit magazine when you first arrive to find out what's going on and who's playing around town.
*Find a place with Cajun or Zydeco music and dancing, and preferrably offering free dancing lessons. (Even with back problems, you would enjoy listening and watching.) Try places like Mid-City Rock n Bowl and the Mapel Leaf Bar (and have dinner at Jacque-Imo's while in that area).
*Visit the Aquarium of the Americas and Imax Theatre at the foot of Canal Street. Then ride the John James Audubon Riverboat to/from the Audubon Zoo. http://tinyurl.com/syg7a
*Visit the French Market on N. Peters St. http://www.frenchmarket.org/
*Take a day trip and/or the dinner jazz cruise on the Natchez steamboat with its wonderful calliope. http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/
*Tour the Cabildo on Chartres (next to the Cathedral). http://tinyurl.com/zvgvu
*Shop and sightsee the great shops on Royal and throughout the FQ, http://www.royalstreetguild.com/
*More great shopping along Magazine Street, http://www.magazinestreet.com/
*People watch over drinks from the gallery of the Columns on St. Charles Avenue, http://www.thecolumns.com/
*Enjoy after-dinner drinks at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone, http://www.hotelmonteleone.com

This was recommended, although we've never done one: Magic Walking Tours, http://tinyurl.com/k5kuj

I will try to add more as I find time. Good luck with your planning!

New Orleans has many B&Bs and small inns that are wonderful. They may be worth checking out.

www.neworleansinns.com

www.bbnola.com

Thanks for the great ideas!

We've talked it over, and we're thinking of checking out of the Bourbon Orleans on 12/24, and checking into a B&B for our last three nights. We wanted to find someplace comfortable, relaxing and romantic to spend our Christmas. Also, we'll be renting a car on Christmas Eve (so we can drive through Celebration at the Oaks, bonfires, and take swamp and plantation tours). So, I need advice on 3 things:

1. Does anyone know of a great B & B to stay at (romantic, relaxing, atmospheric, and has parking)? I've checked the links Dan provided to me (thanks, Dan!), but would love some personal recommendations.

2. Can we rent a car in N.O., or do we have to go back to the airport?

3. If you could eat at ANY N.O. restaurant (price is no object) for Christmas dinner, which would you pick?

Thanks!

Hi there-
I would say Commander's Palace, Antoine's or Galatoire's for Christmas Day (if they are open on that day.)

I know there is an Enterprise car rental location on Baronne at the edge of the Central Business District, about 6 blocks off Poydras that would be an easy taxi ride from your F.Q. hotel.

And I second the earlier poster who suggested dinner at Ralph's On the Park and a carriage ride through Christmas in the Oaks. Great food and beautiful scenery.

Glad to hear you're planning to visit our city! Have a great time!
-Lisa

My wife and I just had our second child so we "celebrated" with a weekend in the city while the kids stayed with grandma. (My wife would not leave town, so it was a nice compromise to "get away" while in town!)

We stayed at the La Maison Marigny B&B (Bourbon Street near Esplanade Ave) for two nights and I highly recommend it. Nice rooms, good location and a comfortable "feel" to the property. The owners know their stuff, too, and I learned a lot about new restaurants and goings-on from them. I don't know what it will be like at Christmas (probably quiet) but I think you will like the B&B. Of course, there are no doubt many others that are nice as well. I just haven't been inside them!

I forgot to answer the other questions.

1) rent the car downtown at Hertz, Budget, Avis or Enterprise. No reason to go back to MSY unless you're saving lots of $$

2) It's hard to tell which restaurants will be open for Christmas, especially post-Katrina. Still, I'd try for August, Bayona, Peristyle or Arnaud's.

Congratulations, Dan! And what a great way to celebrate!

I was helping another Fodorite plan her trip to N.O. when I ran across these Christmas photos from the Hotel Monteleone. Thought they be of interest to you:
http://tinyurl.com/errhc

Wow, you guys have had such wonderful ideas, thanks!

I think we have a better idea of our plans now. It looks like we are going to be staying at the Bourbon Orleans (love the central location) from 12/19 - 12/24. They have quoted us $99 p/night for a king room, $129 p/night for a king balcony.

On 12/24, we'll be checking into the La Maison Marigny (Thanks, Dan!) and staying in the Owner's Suite for three nights at $169 p/night. That should make for a special (and romantic) Christmas!

So the question is this - I know we are planning our trip VERY early. Are we better off to wait for a couple of months to make reservations (and possibly get better rates), or do those rates seem good? We have heard that most properties offer Christmas specials w/ up to 50% off rack rates, but the quotes we got don't seem to reflect that.

Also, the cheapest airfare we found was American Airlines at $313 p/person, but has 1 stop. Southwest seems to have a nonstop between Phoenix and New Orleans, but they won't go on sale for a couple of months. Are we crazy to wait?

Thanks again!!

Book it, Danno! Those rates seem reasonable and the holidays have been increasingly busy thanks to aggressive promotions from the convention bureau. It's hard to tell in this post-Katrina world of course but I'd "finalize" things now!

Wow- what a coincidence! We are planning on going to New Orleans for Christmas as well. We are leaving on a cruise on the 25th, but we plan on spending 2 nights before in New Orleans. There are 7 of us- 3 adults and 3 children (ages 5, 3, and 7 months). My Mother recently died and we can't bear the thought of trying to do a regular Christmas without her and so we decided to go on vacation. We want to make sure that the kids have a somewhat traditional and special Christmas, though. Thanks for the link on the Monteleone, I will definitely look into that. Any other ideas for places to stay what to do given the ages of the kids? We'd love to go out for a wonderful and special Christmas Eve dinner- but will obviously have to keep the kids ages in mind. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any help!