Hi--

Any suggestions on good hotels for visiting families -- hotels, B&Bs (the more unique/interesting the better)? How about restaurants that capture the feel of N.O. and would appeal to kids? Also, are there any kid-friendly, interactive museums? Thanks a lot!

Most B&Bs don't accept kids so I can't help you there. I can recommend the Louisiana Children's Museum highly, as well as the Aquarium of the Americas/IMAX, Audubon Zoo, Jackson Square (free entertainment), a ride on the Natchez (boring for adults but kids like it), and maybe if the kids are old enough, the National World War 2 Museum. Once the streetcar returns to St. Charles, that would be great, too!

Cafe du Monde, of course, for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

With kids you want a big hotel that has a pool.

Rarely will you find a B&B that allows kids.

There is a Westin in NO and that is a very family friendly hotel chain, but not particularly unique. It is well located though. Mardi Gras world is fun for kids, Children's Museum good for younger kids. THe website familytravelforum.com has quite a few articles on taking kids to NO.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a Westin in New Orleans for years. If you're thinking the hotel at Canal Place, it's a Wyndham.

Thanks for the input -- good to know about the St Charles Streetcar not being operational yet. Which reminds me...how about City Park -- Storyland, Carousel -- is all of that up and running?

When will you be in NO? What ages are your children?

The little kids will love City Park amusment rides - that section just reopened with lots of new rides and updated old rides. The carousel was looking fabulous, but I don't think it's completely finished yet. At present, the amusement park is only open on weekends. http://neworleanscitypark.com/carousel_gardens.html

When our children were small, we stayed several times at the Hilton in NO. It's at the edge of the French Quarter so we didn't have to worry about noise, and it's next to the aquarium (and an IMAX theater). It's on the river and is HUGE...not a place I'd recommend to adults without children, but for families it's really quite nice. I haven't been there in years, but the tower area used to be the best.

I stayed at the Hilton not long after Katrina and it was good. Not a hotel I would normally choose in NOLA (it is just my husband and myseld), but it was a fine hotel. And I agree with Susan - it is probably a really good choice with kids.

Thanks for all of your great input -- I really appreciate it. One more question: swamp tours? I've come across 4 of them -- Honey Island, Jean Lafitte, Gray Line's Bayou Tour, and Westwego Swamp Adventures. Does anyone know about these? Which ones are good, good for kids, easy to get to, etc? Thank you!

I have heard really good things about Honey Island.

We took a private swamp tour with Capt Nick's in Lafite, which was terrific.