kids in new orleans
 

I will be staying in New Oleans over Easter. Is there anything you can recommend for a 9yr and 11yr girls to go and see or do?

Zoo

Aquarium

Swamp boat tour

Ride St Charles Street Car

Get beignets at Cafe du Monde - and hang out around Jackson Sq and take in the craziness

Take the ferry across the river to Algiers Point - and go to Mardi Gras World

I'll second all of pepper113's suggestions. The zoo is one of the best in the US - take the St. Charles streetcar or the special zoo boat to get there from the FQ area.

Your girls might also like to walk around the garden district to admire the lovely homes - you might combine this with a lunch or brunch at Commander's Palace while your in the neighborhood.

If you are thinking about staying in the French Quarter, you might consider somewhere on Royal St. or closer to the river to avoid the scene on Bourbon St.

To add to the prior...there are 3 guys called "Showtime" that do tumbling, comedy,etc. by the river adjacent to Jackson Sq. My daughter was attentive for the entire show. Not bad for a donations only show. There are also some good street performers typically on Bourbon & Royal. I'd just keep the kids off Bourbon after dark, as they may see more than you would like.

My son, 6, loved the aquarium, Cafe du Monde, swamp boat tour, buying Mardi Gras beads. (Beware, shops often have beads with Nemo and cute stuff next to the ones with pot leaves and boobs and such). He also surprisingly liked the voodoo museum (they brought out a snake for him to see), and also the U.S. Mint Museum that has a Jazz Museum upstairs. Here they have all the old instruments that kids would make out of barrels, cans, etc. He liked that a lot.

Some great suggestions already, and I would just add:

Cabildo on Jackson Squre - Louisiana State Museum. This has native Indian artifacts, Napoleon's death mask, etc. It gives LA history up through Reconstruction.

French Market/flea market - that area down from the Cafe du Monde is very lively, outdoor bands, and cafes, inexpensive souvenirs.

Croissant D'Or - Ursuline St. between Royal and Chartres. This is a former bakery from the late 1890', wonderful architecture, great pastries, nice for a rest stop.

Riverwalk - foot of Canal Street next to ferry and the Hilton opens on to it. It's mostly retail shops, but there's a fudge factory, and a branch of Cafe du Monde where you can get beignets and sit out on the deck and watch all the ships and river traffic.