I just booked a long weekend in NO. We booked the Alexa hotel. My questions are:
1. do we need a car in the city, how's the mass transit?
2. what's the best transportation option (there are 4 of us) from airport to Hotel, about how much is a taxi?
3. Any suggestions of things to do with teens (13 yr old boy who loves sports, 16 yr old girl who loves theater, music & art).
4. Any restaurant suggestions, nothing too fancy, that may have some kid-friendly food (13 yr old is a pickey one). The rest of us will eat almost anything and enjoy good food (no big time chains please).
5. How's the weather end of march? Does is rain much?

Thanks much!

You don't have to have a car, but it might make sightseeing a lot easier. The only problem you might have is finding a place to park unless you book a hotel with parking available. Mass transit is, in my opinion, not very good. There are lots of seedy characters on the buses, there is not metro system, and the only decent alternative is a taxi. On the other hand, if you want to settle into a central location and just walk, you might not need any transportation at all except to and from the airport. I think a taxi from airport to hotel will be on the order of $30, but others will know better.

I notice that the Alexa Hotel is on Royal Street -- not a bad location, but I have never stayed there and don't know a thing about it. From there, the teens don't have much choice of activity, especially if you don't have a car. When you go, there might be some kind of professional sports game on the schedule. Since you didn't say when you are going, it's impossible to say what other kind of sports might be going on.

For the girl, you might find the Cabildo, the N.O. art museum, and the local Dixieland music pretty entertaining. There could be a local concert also going on. If she likes the typical music most teens like, you can find that in many places around the French Quarter.

As for food, there are too many restaurants to name. From what you have described, you should probably stick to some of the more basic places that won't throw a lot of spicy Cajun food at you. One place I like that has a nice varied menu, with typical American food as well as Cajun food, is Gabriella restaurant on Esplanade Ave. It's a good restaurant for a family, and the prices are moderate. The cooking is, in my opinion, some of the best you will find in New Orleans. Otherwise, you can do a search on Fodors for New Orleans restaurants and find a lot of choices.

Weather at the end of March can be rainy or nice. It won't be cold, and it won't be hot. Beyond that, it's hard to predict. March weather is very changeable. If you are coming from New York as I would gather from your screen name, you'll find the weather warmer and more humid. Bring a compact folding umbrella. Unless you happen to arrive when one of the big low pressure areas is coming through, you should have some pretty nice weather. Good luck.

You definitely don't need a car and I wouldn't recommend one. Anywhere that you can't walk, you can take a trolley. Cabs are also cheap. From the airport you can take a taxi or a shuttle. Cabs are $28 for the first 2 people. Not sure of the price for your kids. The shuttle is a set price. We paid $20 for 2 people a couple of years ago. We reserved a shuttle ride on line before our arrival and didn't wait at all. The driver was very friendly and informative. I would take the kids on the free ferry across the river and go to the Mardi Gras Museum. I also think a swamp tour might be good. You might want to rent a car for a day and take a swamp tour and maybe a plantation tour. The French Market is a good spot for teens and adults to buy souvenirs and hang out. Restaurants are everywhere. Read a menu and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Hang around Jackson Square. Get a muffaletta at Central Grocery on Decatur St. and have a picnic along the river. I know that you'll have a wonderful time.

Don't rent a car!
Look for tours that will pick you up at your hotel.
You can take the trolley or walk.
The aquarium can be fun for all. Take a riverboat cruise. Look for restaurants as you walk and then return to them
Do a search here for many great ideas--enter New Orleans

You might want to do a search. New Orleans with kids has come up before and lots of good ideas were given.

Sorry, I just noticed that Fairhope made the same suggestion!

Skip the rental car. The few times you might need one you can take a cab. Most things you will do are either in the French Quarter or very near it. The aquarium is a good one, so is the zoo (cab for this, or take the streetcar to Audubon Park, walk through the park to the zoo, then cab back to hotel). Everyone that I know who has taken their kids to Preservation Hall for music has loved it. You can take a guided tour of the Superdome. Riverboat rides and swamp tours are available. Cafe du Mond is fun (if you walk around to the back of the building you can watch the prep of the beniets (sp) through a large window). A good, not expensive place for breakfast is Petunia's. A place my kids loved for lunch was Maspero's.
This is just scratching the surface - there's alot to do.

I just checked --there are tours that will pick you up.
Go to Neworleansonline.com