New Orleans.. Ideas?

Old Dec 29th, 2009, 09:03 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
New Orleans.. Ideas?

A couple of my friends and I are going up to New Orleans for a Spring Break trip, It will be only a couple of days due to Spring Breaks not matching up... We already have a hotel on St. Charles Ave and will have a car so anything is accessible.

I already have the WW2 museum, Aquarium and zoo, and Bourbon St. planned. We'll have two full days in the city to explore. We're from Florida and I don't think a Swamp tour will really thrill us all too much. Is there any other recommendations? We're not the typical college crowd (not to mention only one of us will be 21, but we fit the broke college kid bill perfectly!) so any good museums or any other sights will be greatly appreciated.
xstarriedx is offline  
Old Dec 30th, 2009, 02:58 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,005
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have five things which will be a lot of fun for your crowd:

1) A jazz concert in Preservation Hall - it is a very peculiar and most authentic place.
www.preservationhall.com

2) The Voodoo Museum - you will have a lot of fun there. It is not exactly a museum, more an attic with an omnium-gatherum. Just don't take it serious!
www.voodoomuseum.com

3) For a casual lunch and dinner, ACME Oyster House is an excellent place. Eat smoked oysters, crayfish, gumbo and wash them down with a pitcher of local Abita beer!
www.acmeoyster.com

4) For a little more stylish, but still informal dinner in historical ambiance, Tujague's will be a good place for you. They serve a five-course dinner according to recipes dating back to 1856. Nice bar.
www.tujaguesrestaurant.com

5) For a day trip out of town, you may drive up the Mississippi to visit two or three plantations. My favourites (which are in easy reach from New Orleans) are these:
- One of the oldest plantations:
www.lauraplantation.com
- Perhaps the grandest and certainly the best-known plantation:
www.oakalleyplantation.com
Echnaton is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2010, 10:50 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Don't miss Cafe du Monde for beignets! Cheap and delicious. The Lucky Dog hot dog stands are also supposed to be very good, and Central Grocery serves up giant muffulettas.
MollyM is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2010, 04:37 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,617
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Since you are on a budget, if Tujaque's is out of reach, they also have a bar where they serve some food - we go for the brisket sandwiches. Really good. I don't know if you have to be 21 to enter the bar, but because they serve food, I don't think so.

Other good budget food places in the FQ: Johnny's Po-Boys and Napoleon House. Cafe Maspero does good mufaletas. Uptown, I think the place is called Camilla Grill - also very good.

On Bourbon street at night there are bands playing in lots of the bars - I've never been carded for entering, just for buying drinks. So not being 21 probably wont be a problem if you want to just go in and listen to the music.
november_moon is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2010, 06:35 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,091
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I think when I was your age, hitting Bourbon Street every night never seemed to get old.
bkluvsNola is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2010, 11:22 AM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for all the feedback!
Bourbon Street most definitely won't get old, but during the day it'd be nice to get some touristy sights in...
xstarriedx is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2010, 11:44 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,829
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Might want to check out guidebooks by Fodor's or Frommer's for good ideas. Just took a trip to NOLA recently, and this thread includes my initial attempts to refine an itinerary there as well as give a trip report on attractions. There's also a list of restaurants that I wanted to go to (no report back yet on food, but short answer -- didn't at all like Mother's or Cafe Beignet, was lukewarm on Deanie's FQ and NOLA and Antoine's, liked everyplace else very much despite missteps here or there on some things):

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...y-184065-2.cfm
bachslunch is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2010, 01:37 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We've been there many times, and I agree with several things mentioned here. Preservation Hall, Johnny's Po'Boys, Cafe Du Monde and Tujaque's Brisket Sandwiches. If the weather is nice, just hanging out at Jackson Square and people-watching, listening to 'free concerts' is fun, too. Many photo ops, if you wander the streets. Just keep walking, and you will find something interesting around every corner. Take a trolley to the Garden District, and visit a cemetery, etc.
Have fun, and keep an open mind!!
Chile is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2010, 02:20 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,829
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A word of caution about visiting cemeteries and doing boatloads of aimless walking around New Orleans.

Some cemeteries are okay to visit on one's own, but would not recommend that people explore St. Louis #1 or Lafayette #1 without an organized tour, and to avoid St. Louis #2 altogether (tour companies don't normally offer the last of these anyway as an option). Cypress Grove, Greenwood, Metarie, and St. Louis #3 are better choices to explore on one's own, especially in a group, but keep aware of your surroundings even here.

There are several areas where you won't likely run into problems if you walk, but the city has patches (even a block or two) that are unsafe interwoven with patches that are perfectly fine -- unlike in many cities, there isn't really a well defined large section of town to avoid, and dicey spots exist in areas considered good for tourists to walk, including the Garden District, Faubourg Marigny, Central Business District, Warehouse District, even the French Quarter. Be aware of your surroundings if you walk a lot, and if your instincts tell you to turn back, heed them.
bachslunch is offline  
Old Feb 1st, 2010, 03:24 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Absolutely what bachslunch said! We never did get into the cemetery in the Garden District b/c it was closed, so I did not know this. Always travel in groups!!!!
Chile is offline  
Old Mar 5th, 2010, 10:38 PM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks again for all the feedback! It's really helpful. Definitely using my instincts as we walk around... My friend and I are a little creeped out by cemeteries so I don't see that one happening... It should be a fun trip, I wish we had more than a couple of days for it.
xstarriedx is offline  
Old Mar 6th, 2010, 02:55 PM
  #12  
BKD
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 215
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Since you're staying on St. Charles Ave., you can take the streetcar to the quarter or Uptown. You should definitely take the streetcar all the way up and get off at Carrollton and eat at Camellia Grill. You'll go right by Tulane, too.

Most bars will let you in as long as you are 18. It's very loose here. Driver's license and/or college id's are needed. Some bars in the Quarter like Pat O'Brien's will not let you in unless you are 21. Buying drinks may be a little more difficult if you're not 21, but as long as one is 21, getting drinks is pretty easy. Note that I'm not advocating underage drinking, but if you want to have a drink it's not a big deal. I'm speaking as a parent of a 19 year old who tells me these things. Now what's important about this is that you can get into some of the great music clubs particularly on Frenchman St. even if you are not 21.

More parental advice--take the streetcar and taxis everywhere. Park your car at the hotel and don't use it again. You don't want to get lost and you don't want to drink and drive and you don't want to have your car towed for illegally parking. Parking is tough especially in the Quarter. The city is small so taxis don't cost much.

One more suggestion and then I'll leave you alone: there are walking tours of the French Quarter and I think they still do the Garden District that the National Park Services gives. I believe that they are free and will much more honest than the ones you pay for.

Have fun and be safe.
BKD is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
missypie
United States
21
Mar 18th, 2010 09:47 AM
keli22o
United States
4
Nov 16th, 2004 10:38 AM
nina
United States
4
Oct 4th, 2002 03:34 AM
wayne
United States
4
Sep 1st, 2002 12:05 PM
frank z
United States
5
Jul 18th, 2002 01:48 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -