We are trying to decide on a getaway from the Bay area for a few nights in March. I have heard conflicting opinions of New Orleans. I would love to see something new, but am not interested in a Fishermans Wharf experience. I'm also a little concerned about safety. We have reservations at Melrose Mansion.. anyone know of it? Almost everyone I have spoken with says its a trip to take only once and for limited time. I love to eat well but what I have just read about the partying French Quarter sounds less than appealing. HELP!!

If you are so concerned about "safety" you should stay home. Melrose Mansion is wonderful, and New Orleans attracts over 1 million visitors a year. If you can get over your fear, you'll have a great (and safe) visit! And your friends aren't wanted here again, anyway!

My wife ding-donged my eardrums for years about visiting New Orleans. After our experiences there, she has never made a peep again about the Crescent City. Our room was overpriced and noisy, suffering from a big hike in prices just after N.O. hosted the Super Bowl. The city, to put it mildly, was filthy. Gutters dotted with vomit from midnight revelers. Horses that smelled to high heaven when their manure-bags went unemptied. Great puddles of horse urine at every place those poor nags waited for passengers. People lining up -- yes, in a chow line -- to eat at some "name" restaurants...for breakfast! Can you imagine! I got sick on questionalbe seafood, slathered in butter and too-rich sauces. But we did love those little fried donuts (begniets?) and great coffee while watching the river traffic go by. Loved riding the streetcars. But we were more than happy to drive over to Biloxi where we had a splendid ocean-view room at a fraction of the cost, fantastic shrimp (my spouse is a shrimp-a-holic), and interesting sights. On to Mobile and beautiful Bellingrath Gardens. Never saw such gorgeous azaleas and camellias. N.O. didn't live up to its reputation, in our experience. Sorry.

As a resident of the French Quarter, I have to have my say on this. I can not blame a visitor for not enjoying the part of the Quarter most tourists see. I avoid Bourbon Street like the plague and pretty much any street with neon signs and t-shirt shops. There is so much more to the Quarter and New Orleans. Walk through the lower Quarter - where people live - our neighborhood is a wonderful place with incredible architecture and history. Our cemetaries are unique. The beignets and cafe au lait are great. Eating a Lucky Dog in Jackson Square, listening to jazz on Rampart Street or in Marigny, riding the streetcar up St. Charles, seeing the Garden District, visiting the zoo or the aquarium, eating a muffaletta on the banks of the river, strolling Julia Street (gallery row in the warehouse district) and enjoying the shops on Royal Street are all great things to do here that don't involve getting so drunk that you have to throw up or urinate on my sidewalk. I hate it that sometimes I wake up to find vomit in front of my house or a pair of panties in my yard (yes, it has happened), but to me that just says more about the tourists than what our city has to offer. Please come see for yourself - and make an effort to look beyond the obvious tourist traps. If you let it, New Orleans can wrap itself around your soul.

Meg, I loved your last sentence! And I certainly agree with you. We have visited NO on three different occasions and thoroughly enjoyed it each time. One thing that we always enjoy is going to Preservation Hall. You (or at least I do) really get 'caught up' in the music.
And of course, a trip to NO is not complete without a visit to Cafe du Monde to see how much powdered sugar you can get on you - love those beignets!

We also enjoyed walking around in the Garden District looking at the beautiful old homes.

IMHO there's just so much to see and do without getting involved in the seamier side of NO.

As with so many other topics in these forums, the key is to keep in mind that individual tastes/desires/expectations very greatly. To definitively tell someone else how they will react to something is short sighted and senseless.
That said, I personally dislike NO a great deal. Visited once for a convention and won't go back. I'm skipping an all expenses paid trip there this May for this reason. It feels unsafe at night (yes, this is an issue in MOST large US cities if you're in the wrong place), I'm not a big drinker, I don't like the frat party atmosphere on Bourbon Street, the food doesn't impress me compared to the better establishments in SF/Chicago/NY, I really dislike humidity, and NO is one dirty city. Sorry to sound off so strongly, but I like parts of most every state in the US, having visited all but ND and MT, and NO just really rubbed me the wrong way.
My brother in law, however, says that if he ever had to leave SoCal, NO is where he'd go. Absolutely nuts about the place. Loves the food, music, pace, energy, etc.
My advice? If you've never been there, check it out. That's a big part of what makes travel enjoyable. Let us know what you think.

I grew up in Redwood City, no live in Tuolumne County. We go to SF often & love the city. That said, let me tell you about New Orleans...GO. You'll love it. We're going again (4th time in 4 years) in April - I absolutely crave this place! There is an element of danger - read some good travel books on NO & believe what they say.Common sense will guide you - you wouldn't walk around most SF neighborhoods at night without being wary, & NO's has some areas that should be avoided. READ about the cities diverse neighborhoods - the French Quarter, where most of the action is, Magazine Street, the Garden District, Lower GD, Uptown, etc. Plan on walking, taking the streetcar, boat ride on the river, carriage ride through the French Quarter in the evening, etc... Take a day & drive to Lafayette via Hwy 90 & back along Hwy 10. Take a swamp tour, see the plantations - allow 4-5 days to get a good feel. Incredible food & music - please go directly to your local B&N, grab an armful of NO travel books, find yourself a chair and READ. Fodor's & Frommer's are great, as are "Idiot's Guide" & the "Dummie's" books. This is NOT SF - it's a totally different experience. Much more exciting than Las Vegas, Washington, DC or LA.JUST DO IT!!

First, I know thousands of people who will be glad to take Bert's unused all-expenses paid trip! What a pity that he won't give New Orleans another try and maybe actually experience the parts of the city outside the Quarter. The Garden District, accessible via St Charles Streetcar, is fabulous, and our museums please even snobby art types from the east and west coasts! Shopping and food are great, too. Bourbon Street should be experienced once, but only about once in my opinion...I LIVE on Bourbon (a few blocks up away from the bars) and I can assure that it's a great, quiet, safe residential neighborhood AND my area of the street doesn't pose any threats to your nose's sensibilities!

ps - I can't imagine anyone thinking Biloxi was a highlight over New Orleans, but to each his own. I like Biloxi, too, but...

Do go. There's no way to know if you'll love it as much as my wife and I do, but if you don't go, you'll never know.

We never feel unsafe (we know where not to go) and like Meg says, much of the heavy partying can be avoided. The restaurants are wonderful if you avoid the heavily touristed places where people wait in line. Rely on Meg's recommendations instead.

And be sure to pick a weekend that isn't so crowded and booked up (you'll be able to tell from the hotel rates you're quoted). I can certainly understand how Al's experience was soured by having to pay such exhorbitant hotel rates. You should be able to get a good hotel in the Quarter for $100 a night (AAA rate) on an "off" weekend.

Oh, and I'm sure John can make some good recommendations too.

Here's another vote FOR N'awlins! I had to campaign for years to get my spouse to agree - he'd had some pre-conceived bias even tho he'd never been there. Now, we've been down three times. Yes, Bourbon Street is for drunken adolescents of all ages. So...a person just leaves that off their itinerary. The "foreign" flavor of the Quarter makes for a true getaway flavor. One of my pleasant mem'ries is of the street crews out in the early morning, hosing down the streets....maybe that isn't an always thing? I don't know. Like NYC, NO seems to draw folks who are "out there" so it's a people-watching place to be sure. The street entertainment at Jackson Sq. is free and fun-- from mimes and performing dogs to really good music. Yes, there are some elements that will remind you of FWharf ticky-tacky...but the traveller with a curious eye, an appetite and plenty of foot stamina will discover a city with unique pleasures. Do let us know what you decide...(and what you think of NO if you go).

Arjay - my favorite time in the Quarter is early morning. The school children in their uniforms are being walked to school by their parents. The delivery trucks are out in full force. Neighbors are out walking there dogs. It just has a different feel before 8 a.m. The hosing off of the streets and sidewalks (usually with bleach)is a part of life here - to wash away the slime and grime that accumulates. We do try to keep it clean. Our city crews that clean up the Quarter after Mardi Gras, New Year's, Sugar Bowl, Bayou Classic, Southern Decadence, etc. - all the big week-ends that leave it incredibly dirty - do a great job. It's good to hear so many positive things about N.O. I know that there will be people who absolutely hate it - I kind of feel that way about Las Vegas and people rave about how great it is, so I'm not saying every one will like it - but there are parts of it that people never see and base their bad experiences on the yucky parts.

Hi Barb!
My husband & I went to Biloxi last spring for the opening of the new casino Beau Rivage (which we loved).We had to fly in & out of New Orleans. On our way back;we spent the day killing time before our flight seeing the French Quarter! It was Hot! Humid! & Dirty!
The people on the street were either drunk or high on something! We ate at a quaint little place called (I think)The Three Sisters;Did our site seeing & was ready to leave by the end of the day! New Orleans for us is a place you visit only once just to say you did!
I can't imagine being there DRUNK, at NIGHT with a bunch of strangers!
To sum it all up..If YOU Are A "Drinker" you'll "LOVE" it! If you are Not! "STAY HOME"! I'll take Las Vegas anytime! with or without the drunks;-)Lotsa Luck!

I think you can sum it up this way: if you think a gated community is a good thing, then you probably won't like New Orleans. It's a real city, with real problems, real charm, and real people. Since the original letter writer (Barb) is from the Bay Area, I can almost guarantee that she will love the place. Yes, it can be hot in the summer. I know people who think S.F. is always too cold. It depends on the individual. And the French Quarter is no "dirtier" than downtown San Francisco along Market Street.

How can you NOT like New Orleans? Even if the French Quarter isn't your thing, there are many other neighborhoods worth seeing. My wife loves the Uptown area with its grand homes and beautiful trees. I prefer the funky neighborhood near Esplanade and the french market. We go from California to New Orleans at least once a year. I can see why San Francisco and New Orleans always ranked as #1 and #2 in Conde Nast's poll of favorite places, in fact! Be sure to check out the great restaurants in New Orleans, too. Contrary to what someone else said, they are FAR better than their peers in many other cities. Bon appetit and have a great visit. (I'm jealous. I can't go again until May for jazz fest!)

I'm obviously not the right person to respond to these posts because I've never been anyplace I haven't enjoyed. Small town, big city...I love them all. My experience is that travel is like anything else: You get out exactly as much as you put in. If you want to have fun, you'll have a ball!! If you want to be hot, cold, bored, revolted and/or nauseated, you will. It's up to you. Having said that, I'll add that my husband and I have been going to - and enjoying - New Orleans for decades, and we've loved every trip.

This is an interesting string because of the divergence of opinions.
Bob's comment about gated communities (if you like them, you won't like NO) may be a pretty accurate predictor.
But to say that since someone is from SF they'll like NO is really stretching it. That's like saying that everyone from Seattle likes coffee and wears flannel and that they'll love Vermont.
And I, for one, do think SF is almost always too cold....I live in Arizona because I enjoy the heat.
Just because someone lives in the Bay area, why does that automatically mean that the dirtier areas of downtown SF don't bother them? Therefore, dirty areas everywhere shouldn't bother them?
And part of Susan's response is curious too. According to her, if I visit East St. Louis or Gary, Indiana or Camden, NJ and I feel unsafe, or if I find them unappealing, it's because I didn't have an open mind. If Duluth, Minnesota in January is too cold for me, it's because I WANTED it to be that way, and if I had an open mind it wouldn't be a big deal. EVERY truck stop diner and by-the-hour motel would be mine to enjoy if only I didn't have such a closed mind. Guess I'm just small minded.

Barb, my husband & I went to NO 1 1/2 years ago on a last minute timeshare exchange. We had been there about 15 years ago for a couple of days. This time we stayed in a small condo on Royal, just off Esplande. We walked everywhere, from Esplande to Canal--even at night (no later 10 p.m)and had NO problems. We are not party people, so avoided going out at night and if you don't want to see the seemier side-don't wander at night. We were there the same time as some other timeshare people were that I had met on the BBS/Chat. We had a ball. We had some wonderful *cheap* food--The Gumbo Shop for lunch, Ajax Oyster House, Mike Andersons (full restaruant & the one in Riverwalk) The Praline Connection. We won't stand in line-or pay $25 for rabbit, just to say we ate *there*. We walked the streets during the day, and rode the St. Charles Street car a couple of times. Took a few tours and looked in the shops. For us, a week was too long, but I'm glad I went back. To me--it's one of those places I think everyone should see at least once...just for the experience...and never wonder "gee, I wish I had been there just once". BTW, we are in our mid-60's and weren't mugged.

I personally love New Orleans and am somewhat dumbfounded that some naysayers are letting a little dirt (confined to small areas, at least in my travels there) and a few frat rats (again, confined to Bourbon where all that spilled booze contributes to the funky smell) dictate how they feel about the trip. My complaints would be different: Too many tourists taking horse-drawn buggies (poop contributes to the smell) and uneven sidewalks! But I think from reading the board that everyone agrees that you should visit New Orleans once, just to see for yourself.

ps - I think the San Francisco-New Orleans connection makes lots of sense. My friends from SF all love NO. They say they feel at home there. I live in Portland, OR, and actually called the local newspaper/police department yesterday to find out if our per capita crime rate really is higher than N.O. IT IS!

Yes, N.O. is dirty, stinks and has vomit, etc. right on Bourbon St., but the city is absolutely WONDERFUL! You know this when you go into it, and the history and deep-seated beauty always comes through. Stand on Bourbon St., look towards downtown and marvel at the difference in architecture. We're from Ohio and have fallen in love with the city. It's just worth being on Bourbon Street to watch the people. You don't bother them, they won't bother you. Go and have a wonderful time, but if you're still concerned, wait till after Mardi Gras.