new orleans suggestions
 

It's our first visit to New Orleans and my wife and I are staying at the Sheration New Orleans for a teachers of singing convention. We have a lot of free time to take in the sights.

Would Appreciate any suggestions for daily itineraries. Will be there July 6th through July 13th.

Thanks

The first suggest should be to do a search in this forum using the terms New Orleans, NO, MSY, & NOLA. It will yeild lots of excellent threads on the subject...and keep searchthe different travel boards and web til you leave. One of the parts of travelling (for me) is to research the destination!

You'll absolutely LOVE New Orleans..esp. if you LOVE to eat. I go there for just that purpose!

If you like museums... Go to the D-Day Museum, it is really nice.

Take a riverbost dinner cruise -- very romantic! And the Garden District is lovely -- take a walking tour if it's not too hot. Or you could just ride the trolley up Canal St. You won't see as much, but the trolleys are a fun and cheap way to travel around NO.

One restaurant we enjoyed on our last visit was Maximo's -- on St. Charles, I think. Great Italian food. NOLA'S was highly overrated and definitely not worth the wait and expense.

New Orleans is a wonderful city -- have a great time!

My son's favorite thing, when he was there for his first visit a few weeks ago, was visiting Preservation Hall to listen to the jazz. Just blew him away! They also did the dinner cruise at night, and enjoyed that. They totally enjoyed the voodoo/cemetery tour where Marie whats-her-name is buried! And the food, they raved and raved about!

Pick up a copy of the New Orleans Good Time Guide (http://www.neworleansonline.com/guide/gtg/) for lots of coupons and suggestions. Try to get up early at least one morning and watch the city come alive - then head to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait.
Have fun and enjoy the city!

Just had to ask, which riverboat dinner cruise would you suggest? Thanks.

I have a friend that is a tour guide in N.O. Her choice is the Natchez boat cruise. She is rather picky about food & likes theirs. Since she does large groups (Elderhostel & conventions) & has done it for many years I tend to trust her advice.

When I talk to my son tonight, I will ask him which dinner cruise they used. They said that the food was good, not great, but that they did not expect great on a river cruise. They enjoyed the atmosphere, in general, thought it was a lot of fun!

thanks everyone. I'm getting some great ideas

At the risk of being the neighborhood curmudgeon, I must say that the food is pretty mediocre-to-bad on all of the riverboats. (I was a concierge for years and have been on all of them!) The river is very industrial, too. Take the cruise if you like but save your hungry tummy for a good "on land" restaurant.

The Friends of Cabildo have a nice walking tour in the French Quarter,

FYI -- Maximo's is on Decatur in the French Quarter near the French Market & I agree that it is great!

There are two free daily tours at the Park Authority (not sure of the proper name) which is located on Decatur Street, I think. They have a 9:30 am tour that is 90 minutes and takes you through the French Quarter and an 11:30 tour that is about 45 minutes that gives you a brief overview of the city and walks around Jackson Square area. We went on the 11:30 and thought it was really great to get a quick overview on history.

Also, we did a cooking class in the Riverwalk mall. It was really fun! We ate shrimp beignets, gumbo and peaches flambe! Very good bargain for $20 per person.

Take a ride in the mule drawn carriages. They are fun and the drivers give you an overview of the city. Very interesting and funny.

Don't forget to eat at Cafe Du Monde. We tried Cafe Beignets too but it was not as good.

Laissez le bon temps roulez! (not sure I spelled it right but you know what I mean!!!)

Tango, how long ago were you here? I thought the park service only did one tour per day but it's entirely possible that one's been added recently. Please let me know as this would be great news!

D Day Museum is great- aquarium is good too. Would recommend The Bon Ton Cafe for a nice dinner- real old New Orleans. It's just off Canal.
Jan

I enjoyed getting to the French Quarter early in the morning before it's too crowded or too hot. It's fun just to walk around on Royal Street and browse in the antique shops or discuss books with the owners of the Faulner House Books store on Pirates' Alley where William Faulkner once lived or take a tour of the Historical Voodoo Museum all located in the French Quarter and of course stop and have coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. And there's music everywhere - on the streets, in the cafes. Then in the afternoon you can go on a plantation tour or swamp tour - we went with Louisiana Swamp Tours for an airboat ride through the bayou which was very interesting. Or there's a horse and buggy tour of the Garden District which is a peaceful way to see the sights. Next time I want to take a cooking class which other Fodorites have suggested and some walking tours. Then of course there's Bourbon Street at night which you can't miss - the Funky Pirate is a fun place. Wear a boa and have a ball!

Remember you're talking mid-July AND New Orleans. It's possible to have a great time but don't overdo.

It may not be really, really hot, but it's almost certain to be very humid. Make sure you allow yourself plenty of cool breaks in air-conditioned places before heading to your next place of interest.

Don't forget Cat's Meow for karaoke. It is hysterical even if you're not a karaoke fan! You can get a preview with their webcam at www.nola.com/karaokecam/

We did the dinner riverboat cruise without thinking that a cruise at night doesn't allow you to be able to see very much. I would suggest a day cruise; skip the dinner cruise. Favorite places to eat are Petunia's for breakfast, Acme Oyster Bar for lunch/late afternoon and GW Finn's, Upperline or Bayona for dinner. All 3 are superb. A walking tour (self-guided) of the Garden District is a fun way to spend an afternoon. The Mardi Gras museum is a little hokey but worth it. The outdoor market is fun; just sitting on the riverbank people watching is amazing.
Have fun...our favorite place to go - we go every Christmas and aren't bored yet.