New Orleans with seven year olds
 

We are traveling with seven year old twins for 4 nights in june . was wondering how we can still manage to get a taste of the music scene .

Do bars restaurants with live music allow kids that age ?

We are looking at getting a feel for the culture and music and do not want to do kid things but kid friendly things .

thanks

The only thing I can think of - and this may be too advanced for 7 year olds - is Preservation Hall. It's classic NO music in a very old (small) space: they don't serve food or drink, and most people sit on the floor.

Another option might be the jazz brunch at Commander's Palace. We took our children there when they were young and they loved it.

Still another - they might really enjoy this - is the House of Blues Gospel Brunch. Children are allowed there.

No - bars will not allow 7 years old inside - and I cannot imagine why you would think it appropriate to take them - give the state of drunkenness of many of the patrons.

Stick to music only places with kids that age.

New Orleans is not a kid-friendly place in terms of tourism, especially if you want music and night-life.

Be aware that many bars esp on Bourbon Street feature nudity, and it may well be visible from the sidewalk. I agree with Mike T. Strongly agree.

thanks all , I am aware of the B street scene so am def keeping kids off that !! i do not want to take them to bars just to music places !

thanks Susan Sc for yr suggestions

I second Preservation Hall and intend to take my son there in a couple of weeks when we visit NO.

We'll be seeing the Audubon Zoo, Insectarium, Aquarium, and possibly do a swamp tour.

My son doesn't like spicy food, so I'll have to find other things he can eat. But we're not there for the food this time.

I think that the concerns about the state of drunkeness of patrons in a lot of bars in Bourbon Street is well-founded. However, there are plenty of places to hear good music in NOLA that aren't filled with drunken people. I'd avoid Bourbon Street entirely (or almost entirely) with young kids - if for no other reason than to avoid having to answer embarassing questions :)

I'd seek out restaurants that have live music, maybe some concerts in the parks, and that sort of thing. There are also street musicians and other performers that the kids would probably enjoy.

thanks november moon

If you are interested in introducing your kids to New Orleans music before you arive, Putumayo has a CD out called Putumayo Kids Presents New Orleans Playground.

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Putu.../790248025728/

I haven't heard this CD, but I have a few others from Putumayo that are great. I suspect this one is as well.

If you would like to expose them to some Cajun music in a family atmosphere and even have dinner take them to Mulate's Cajun Restaurant. Ya'll could even dance the "Two-Step."

Be sure and take them to the Children's Museum (on Magazine Street, in the Central Business District and not far from the French Quarter.) The Aquarium and Audubon Zoo are good for kids also. I haven't been to the D-Day Museum yet, but eveyone who has raves about it.

We took our (then) 3.5 year olds for a quick trip and had a great time. We did the zoo and the aquarium. The insectarium looks cool, but we didn't have time. You could try a swamp tour or go over to Mardi Gras World (a museum, I think... I think they have old floats there - never been, but supposed to be neat). We walked down to Jackson Square and along the river watching the boats. Had beignets at Cafe du Monde.
The Jazz brunch is a great idea. We did do dinner at Mulates - the food wasn't great, but the girls loved dancing to the music. (It wasn't crowded). Take a ride on the Streetcar.

I think New Orleans can be a lot of fun with kids if you stay off Bourbon!

You don't have to go in a bar or even a restaurant to hear music in NOLA.

When I was a little kid, I thought just walking around Jackson Square was really fun -- there are street performers all around, playing great music, dancing, etc. I also loved riding the streetcar up and down St. Charles.

Here are some links with lots of other family friendly suggestions, including the zoo and aquarium, etc.:

www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/family
www.neworleanskids.com/attractions-for-kids.html

PS -- The official NOLA tourism site even has a suggested 3-day itinerary for kid-friendly things to do. A lot of the suggestions from this thread are included, and plenty more to choose from:

http://www.neworleansonline.com/tool...itinerary.html

thanks all yr tips are wonderful !

i will definitely get the cd

A possible possibility is Snug Harbor, http://www.snugjazz.com/site/. It's a great jazz venue that we've been going to on our trips to New Orleans for years; they have two shows each night, you'll need to check their website for times and performers. Charmaine Neville (sister of the Neville Brothers) and various members of the Marsalis family often perform there. We took our 10yo son there some time ago, and he loved it. I checked out the policy beforehand, and as I recall, because it's actually a restaurant, he could go to the show, though you don't have to order food in the space where the music is (though looking at the website, I'd guess that the real reason is that the performances are in the "music room," not the bar). He was definitely the youngest person there, but there were other younger people there. And as I said, he loved it. And because Snug Harbor is not on Bourbon St. (it's on Frenchmen St.), we didn't need to worry about the stuff that goes on there.

On a totally different front, there are a number of historical houses in the French Quarter that our kids have found interesting. I don't remember all the names or locations, but one is right on Jackson Square.

The 1850 House is the one on Jackson Square that people can tour. Others in the FQ that you can tour are the Herman-Grimmer house, Gallier House, and I think the Bauregard-Keyes House.