New Orleans with a 7 year old
 

I'm looking for recommendations for a nice kid-friendly hotel in the French Quarter. I've been looking at the Ritz Carlton and the Omni Royal Orleans so far. <BR><BR>Thanks.

Hi Phoebe,<BR>You will undoubtedly get a lot of posts saying that New Orleans in no place for children, and that is so untrue. Obviously you don't want to take a 7 year old for a midnight wald down Bourbon street, but othere then that there are so many attractions in New Orelans for kids. I was there last year with my 11 year old and she loved it. Just to name a few of the attractions that she loved were city park, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the zoo, the aquarium, the mardi gras museum, the childrens museum, a mississipi river cruise, and the shopping. We stayed at the Monteleone and it was great.<BR><BR>Have fun!<BR><BR>

I suggest the Hilton Riverside. It's right on the edge of the French Quarter so you don't get quite as much craziness as you would in the heart of the &quot;action.&quot; The rooms are nice -especially if you get a river view - and though the hotel is huge, the location should be good for you...right next to the aquarium. I agree with the previous post: New Orleans is a great place for children!

Thank you both for your suggestions— I'll look into both those hotels. And yes, all those attractions are definitely on my list! Thanks again.

When are you going to be in town? If you'er here after the new Loews New Orleans opens, check into it because they have a program called &quot;Loews Loves Kids&quot; and that might be a good option for you. Otherwise, I would look into places in the Quarter....... less walking for tired little feet........ but not on Bourbon Street. Try the Hotel Royal. It's kinda in the heart of everything and there is a grocery on the corner and a CC's across the street. I would avoid the B&amp;B's with little ones because they usually have antiques and might not be as kid-friendly.

Hello. We have taken our children to New Orleans several times. The first time we stayed in the French Quarter and although we enjoyed our stay we decided that on our next trip we would stay in a more kid friendly hotel. We chose the Embassy Suites which is just a block or so from the Children's Museum (on Julia St). We could walk to the trolley and travel on to the French Quarter but we were away from rowdy crowds. You have gotten some good suggestions and I would add a trip to Algiers on the ferry to see the Mardi Gras floats at Blain Kern's, take a river boat ride to the zoo and my kids loved the Ghost Tour at night. There are some great restaurants around the Embassy Suites (Warehouse District) and<BR>the hotel has a great breakfast and happy hour. Even though my kids are now teens we still don't stay right in the Quarter.

As a mom myself, I highly recommend the Children's Museum, the Aquarium, Mardi Gras World, and the New Orleans Cooking School. It's on Chartres near St Louis, I think. Anyway, it's a ton of fun and kids love getting to taste the food they make right in front of you, dessert and all. Grown ups love it too.

My first brush with fine food and fine living came from a visit to New Orleans when I was 6. This is a long time ago but all the places we went are still there. We went to the court of the two sisters which is now a tourist trap but for years seemed the most beautiful restaurant on earth to me. It is very lovely and different from most outdoor restaurants.<BR><BR> I had my first poached fish and it was served with grapes ....I still remember looking at it and loving it. This was a Galatoires and we still go there each visit. <BR><BR>Granted I was not your regular McDonald's loving kid, but the atmosphere of New Orleans really caught with me. <BR><BR>My parents didn't pander to me, they expected me to learn from our travels, just not be entertained. We followed a funeral parade with a band and african american people dancing to the cemetary where they partied between the headstones. We certainly didn't do this in my hometown. <BR><BR>Maybe the Rock N Bowl one early night? Zydeco music is fun. Perhaps the museum with the Mardis Gras costumes. <BR>LMF

We went with my then 6-year-old daughter a couple of years ago and we all loved New Orleans! Her favorite thing we did was to visit the New Orleans School of Glassworks where we watched a younger artist and an older artist blowing a rocket-shaped vase. We promised our child that we'll return to N.O. when she's old enough to take a glass workshop. The Glassworks is near the Children's Museum, on Magazine St in the Warehouse District. (Hope it's still there!)<BR><BR>We stayed outside of the French Quarter, at the gorgeous House on Bayou Road, so we rented a car which made it easy to get to her second favorite N.O. activity - visiting City Park, specifically Storyland and the small amusement rides next to Storyland. Mardi Gras World, the Aquarium, the Zoo and the riverboat ride from the Aquarium to the zoo were also child-pleasers.<BR><BR>Her favorite dinner was at Mr. B's Bistro and we also had fine meals at NOLA, Red Fish Grill, Sid-Mar's (fried fish) and pizza at Figaro's (uptown). Believe it or not, she didn't like the beignets at Cafe du Monde! But that was OK since I got to eat her share. Have a great time in a great city.

Wow, even more great suggestions! Thank you! I'm writing them all down as soon as I'm done typing this. I think I've decided on the Omni Royal Orleans, but that could still change, as the trip is a year in the future. I had originally been thinking about going in November, but after a little research, it looks like a good time to go would be right after Mardi Gras. It seems like a quieter time to go, and I would imagine the hotels would have some good deals. Can anyone back me up on that?<BR><BR>Thanks again for the suggestions!

Ditto Embassy Suites....we had an excellent stay with two young children. Be prepared for the pool though...it's small as are all the others I've seen in NO. Thankfully for us during our stay people didn't seem to be in the French Qtr. to swim!

Patty, the glassworks is still there.

Thanks GatorLady. My daughter's still talking about the visit there (and going back to learn how to blow glass)!