New Orleans, would love some tips from regulars!
 

Hello Fodorites,
My hubby and I are planning a trip to New Orleans, for about four days in November. I would LOVE to hear about some of the must see/must do attractions such as; favorite nearby plantations, cemeteries, bars on Bourbon St, great restaurants, hotel picks with a riverview, and anything else that is a New orleans must in your opinion.
I'm also wondering what to pack to wear in November in Nola?
How practical is driving/parking your own vehicle there?
Is that a toursity time of year or no?

Thanks fellow travelers!

Ok, after more thoroughly reading some previous New Orleans forums I am getting some great tips/answers to some of my questions.
Still mainly wondering about hotel and parking I guess??

Hotel parking can be very expensive. As I recall, the last time we were at the Royal Sonesta with a car, it was $30 or $35 a night.

You won't need a car in NOLA, especially if you're staying in the French Quarter, unless you plan to visit plantations other than Laura and Oak Alley.

Thanks, what are your favorite places to stay when you go? Has either of you ever tried Harrah's and would we want to stay in the warehouse district at all or is that too far from French Quarter to walk?

We have stayed at the Dauphine the last few times . . it's in the middle of the quarter but far enough from Bourbon St to be quite.

http://dauphineorleans-px.trvlclick.com/

We are very fond of the Monteleone, on Royal in the Quarter.

www.hotelmonteleone.com

The warehouse district is a bit more covenient to the convention center than the French Quarter.

Parking is usually about 30 - 35 dollars per day at the downtown hotels. It is likely that once parked you won't get the car out until you leave.

We love the Royal Sonesta, but I wouldn't get a room on Bourbon unless you want to be up til the wee hours listening to revelers. In our opinion, the best rooms are the inside corner ones overlooking the pool/patio. (not on the ground floor). It's an old institution with a nice bar and lots of NO flair.

We've been in Harrah's any number of times - but we only love casinos where we win, and I don't recall having done that there!

The warehouse district isn't really that far from the French Quarter, but isn't as well-lighted, and doesn't have the restaurants that the French Quarter does.

First trip? Stay in the French Quarter. No need to stay on Bourbon Street - it's a mess, but only one street of a very large Quarter. We're big fans of the Dauphine Orleans mentioned above. Perfect location, very central but on a quieter street.

Avoid bars on Bourbon Street - leave those to the amatuer drunks/tourists (except the German-themed place - starts with an "F" -it's quite cozy - and of course Lafite's Blacksmith's Shop on the far end).

Just be warned that smoking is still allowed in bars (not restaurants or restaurant bars) which guaranties that any bar, no matter the time of day, will be filled with smokers (they have no where else to go). There are so many bars - one of the great pleasures of the Quarter is just wandering and finding cool bars - if you can get past the smoke.

Driving in is a piece of cake, but as mentioned above, parking is not cheap.

Have fun.

<<<The warehouse district isn't really that far from the French Quarter, but isn't as well-lighted, and doesn't have the restaurants that the French Quarter does.>>>

Emeril's, Cochon, Rio Mar, all in the warehouse district, so I cannot disagree more with this statement. We stayed in the warehouse district in May and were glad we did because it's quieter than the French Quarter (when you want it to be). Close enough to walk.

Sorry, sf - I didn't mean there weren't any quality restaurants there, just not the quantity that're in the French Quarter.

This is our first trip so I appreciate your comments, Thank-you fellow travelers!

I always stay at Harrah's when I go to NO (free rooms). The hotel is very nice as is the casino. It is an easy walk from there to either the water or the French Quarter. That being said, if I had to pay for a room, I would probably choose a different hotel (the W French Quarter is very cool).

Eat dinner at Mother's. That's New Orleans food.

Not lunch -- the lines are ridiculous.

I had the signature Famous Ferdi po-boy at Mother's and disliked it greatly. Sorry to report, my sandwich was dry, flavorless, and dull. For what it's worth, the place is pretty much universally reviled over at Chowhound.

I had significantly better po-boys at Johnny's Po-Boys (French Quarter) and Liuzza's by the Track (up Esplanade towards the Art Museum), and would recommend both over Mother's.

Here are my food experiences during a NOLA visit earlier this year:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...experience.cfm

Mmmmm Johnny's Po-Boys :)

I'd stay in the FQ rather than in the CBD or Warehouse District for all the reasons mentioned. My favorite parts of the FQ are between Jackson Square and Esplanade rather than closer to Canal Street anyway.

Bourbon Street is fun for what it is - a big loud party scene. Some people hate it (obviously) and it would be a shame to only see that part of NO because there is so much more to the city, but Bourbon Street can be a lot of fun.

We also thought the food at Mother's was pretty mediocre, and liked Johnny's Po Boys a lot more (breakfast in both cases -- Johnny's biscuits are light and fluffy, Mother's are leaden). So even though Mothers is an "institution", I'd skip it.

We had dinner's at (in order of how much we liked them): Emeril's (outstanding food and service), Commander's Palace (very good food, much less stuffy than I expected it to be!), Mila and Bayona (both of which we enjoyed, but neither of which was as good as the other two).

Interesting . . .

I don't eat the po-boys. Po-boys are just hero sandwiches. I eat the jambalaya. Works for me.

I didn't eat a po-boy at either place either.

I'm not a regular, so I'll keep zipped up about the great places I discovered there.

As far as what to pack, the average high in November in New Orleans is in the low 70's, really ideal weather. However, the actual weather can be a bit see-saw depending on wind direction, cold fronts, etc... If it's early in the month, I'd pack for warm days and cool nights. If it's later in the month, I'd pack for both warm weather and cold weather and bring an umbrella as well.

Just getting back to this thread.

BigRuss, I can to an extent understand your thinking by saying:

"I don't eat the po-boys. Po-boys are just hero sandwiches. I eat the jambalaya. Works for me."

Agreed that jambalaya is indeed a good thing to eat in NOLA (got an especially good appetizer-sized taste of it at Coop's over on Decatur St.). Didn't try the jambalaya at Mother's, so I can't comment on how theirs is.

But I will make a plea in favor of NOLA's po-boys in general, though. There are two main differences between these and hero sandwiches elsewhere:

-NOLA po-boys use french baguette style bread, which I haven't encountered before. It's lighter and fluffier than the sub sandwich rolls I've tried in other cities, and provides a surprisingly light feel to this item.

-most hero/sub/grinder shops put a limited number of items between the bread. Besides veggies and condiments (usually lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot peppers, mayo, or mustard) one often finds the following "mains:" cold cuts, cheeses, sausage, meatballs, pastrami, a few types of "salad" (tuna, chicken, or "seafood," the last usually being processed crab), eggplant or chicken or veal Parmesan, hamburg, egg, or steak that approximates to varying degrees Philly-style cheesesteak meat. There's also the Italian beef sandwich in Chicago, which seems unique to that area in my experience. But the list of things one can get at a NOLA po-boy shop is usually larger. Johnny's alone offers the following types of po-boy which I'd never seen outside of NOLA for this kind of sandwich (this according to their website): alligator, BBQ beef, calamari, catfish, grilled or fried chicken breast, chicken tenders, country fried steak, crab cake, crawfish, french fry, hot dog with chili, hot roast beef (not the same as Chicago Italian beef), oyster, pork chop, shrimp, and soft-shell crab. And Mother's puts shredded cabbage as a veggie on their po-boys, which is also unusual in my experience.

In short, I'd say the NOLA po-boy is a decidedly local spin on a familiar sandwich and not "just a hero sandwich" as I've experienced in other parts of the US.