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Honeymooning in New Orleans

My future husband and I will be honeymooning in New Orleans in mid-June 2001. I'd like to start planning now, but I don't know where to begin! We want to stay in the French Quarter and I'm very into learning about the paranormal and the cemeteries. He's an artist, although we'd like to avoid the galleries and get more of an architectural look at the city. We'd like to really experience the culture, as well as do the very touristy things. Can anyone recommend accommodations? We want something romantic, but we don't want to go over about $150 per night. Also, what are some of the can't-miss attractions, restaurants, tours, etc.? We would have seven nights in the city. Thank you!

You won't have any trouble with accommodations under $150 in June 2001 since the summer is the "off" season due to the heat. There are many great hotels in the city (Omni and Royal Sonesta would be my favorites) and some of the top B&Bs in the French Quarter area can be browsed at www.marigny.net. (The Marigny is the neighborhood area next to the Quarter.)

Since you are interested in the paranormal and cemetaries and your intended is interested in architecture, look into some of the walking tours of the Quarter, cemetaries and the Garden District. On your own, you can ride the streetcar uptown, get off at Washington Avenue and walk a few blocks towards the river (if you are facing the direction the street car is running, you will turn left). On your right just after crossing Prytania, you will find Lafayette No. 1 cemetary. This is the only cemetary in town in which I've ever ventured into on my own. The rest of the cemetaries should be done on a tour. Riding the streetcar all the way up St. Charles offers views of incredible mansions. Since you are coming in June, stick with the morning walking tours. Even in June, I think the afternoon tours would be too hot. There are also tours to some of the antebellum plantations just outside of New Orleans. Or - if you have the inclination, rent a car and do that on your own. As far as food, the options are limitless. If you let me know your preference (old-line upscale places or local dives - and/or budget), I'd be glad to make some recommendations. Best wishes.

Thank you for the replies! We'd probably like to splurge on a romantic dinner at least one night, but we'd probably either eat mainly in dives or in middle of the road type places. We really want to try a lot of the local cuisine. Can anyone recommend the best swamp tour and the best walking tours? There are so many to pick from!

Karen, I hope you and your intended are use to humidity because you will be experiencing a lot of that in NOLA in June. I am sorry I can't remember the companies that I used for the tours. However please don't tour the cemetairies on your own, a lot of the tourists are getting mugged while exploring. As for the food your stomachs are in for a treat. So many restaurants to chose from but these are my favs. I would recommend Arnauds for brunch, much better than Brennans. For a fancy dinner I would chose Commander's Palace (Garden district),or Galatoires (French quater). I love K. Pauls for a more casual ambiance. For cheaper meals there is Central Grocery for great Po Boys or muffelates (spelling?) or the Camellia Grille (up town) which is a diner with cloth napkins and there is always a line out the door. As for hotels I'm not sure about all the prices but when my family goes there for Thanksgiving we are staying at the Windsor court Hotel, although I wouldn't mind trying the new W Hotel. Good luck!

Don't waste your time on the W. It's just okay. The new Ritz Carlton, however, is fab!

Karen, I just went to New Orleans this past July. Let me warn you, it will be hot, but you'll have a great time. We did the Louisiania Swamp Tour, and had a fabulous tour guide. Be sure you do that, it's a lot of fun. We also did a plantation tour with the Grey Lines company (visited Oak Alley). Again, the tour guide really made the trip. You will gain a lot of appreciation for the area just by learning about its beautiful history. We stayed at the Le Pavillon hotel located in the Central Business District, on Poydras Street. Even though we weren't in the French Quarter, we were fairly close by. The city is fairly compact, and can be done on foot. I think, normally this is a very expensive hotel. But since it was the off-season, we got a great rate. Talk about romantic! This hotel is spectacular, and has great character; not just another generic chain. One of the nicest places I've ever stayed at, and I think it would be especially nice for a honeymoon. I'm sure you and new hubby would enjoy the hot tub and/or pool on the roof of the hotel. You're in for a real treat as far as food goes. The food is very rich and fattening down there, but so delicious! I would give Bayona's (on Dauphine street, next to Bourbon St.)a try for a special, romantic dinner. They have an outdoor courtyard, which might be nice on a summer evening. And don't forget to go to Cafe du Monde (also in French Quarter) for a tall iced coffee to cool you off. It will be one of the best you've ever had! If you'd like to hear some good jazz, or even if you think you don't like jazz--Visit Preservation Hall (off of Bourbon St.). It was the highlight of our entire trip! The band plays from 9-12 every night. And don't worry if you can't see when you first arrive. Be patient. After every set, people leave, and then you can move up and get a good view. Hope you enjoy yourselves!

Central Grocery on Decatur is the place to go for muffalettas. One $8 sandwich feeds two hungry people. Mona Lisa on Royal Street has good Italian and pizza. Reasonable prices. Bring your own bottle of wine. Cafe du Monde is a must for cafe au lait and beignets. Croissant d'Or in the 600 block of Ursulines has great pastries. Red Bike on Tchoupitoulas in the Warehouse District is a good place for lunch. Reasonable prices. Redfish Grill in the 100 block of Bourbon just off Canal is a Brennan's property. This place is more casual than their other places and has lower prices. K-Pauls in the 400 block of Chartres is really good. I'd suggest going at lunch rather than dinner - same food, lower prices. Mother's on the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Poydras in the CBD for po-boys or breakfast. Joey K's at 3000 Magazine uptown for red beans and rice. For your romantic splurge night, I'd suggest Bayona. There are lots of great places to splurge but most of them are noisy and not romantic at all. Bayona's very intimate. Bella Luna overlooking the river would be another option. For a decent priced brunch with good food, try Feelings Cafe at 2600 Chartres or Cafe Marigny in the 1900 block of Royal. Palace Cafe on Canal (another Brennan place) offers brunch, but I'm not sure of the prices. Of course, brunches are offered a lot of places, but some can get pricey. Commander's is good - but last time we went, I think it was $75 a person or something in that range. I'd skip breakfast at Brennan's and definitely don't go to the Court of Two Sisters. You've gotten some great recommendations on hotels, but most of them are not in the Quarter and, even with low summer rates, I don't know if they'd be in your price category. Are you looking for a B&B place or a hotel? John's recommendations of Omni or Royal Sonesta (which are both in the Quarter) would be good places to start checking on rates. For drinks, stop by Napoleon House on Chartres and St. Louis for a Pimm's Cup and Lafitte's Blacksmith shop on the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip for a beer. If you want upscale, trendy bars, try Loa at the International House or Whiskey Blue at the W on Poydras. Let me know if you need anymore info.

This is great! I'm cutting and pasting all of this into a Word document so I don't forget anything! :) We don't really care if it's a B&B or a hotel. We just want someplace affordable and very clean, preferably with a lot of character. We also would prefer a place where we won't have to worry about there being a million kids, although I guess there's really no predicting that! We're used to a bit of humidity...Western PA can get pretty steamy in the summer, believe it or not, but we've already planned on carrying some big water bottles with us!

Karen, I'm originally from Erie, and I found Richmond VA to be unbelievably humid in the summer. I know people from Richmond who lived there their entire life, who found New Orleans to be unbelievably humid!