Hi,

My husband has a 4-day conference in New Orleans in Oct., and I could share the hotel room without added expense to us, although I would have to pay my own airfare (about $500 from here).

I've never been to N.O. but my image of it is that it's mostly about food, drink, Dixieland Jazz and nightlife. Here's my problem: my husband will be tied up all day and at least 2 of the 3 nights we'd be there; I don't drink; I shouldn't gorge on food because it's already my "drug of choice," and I'm not a night-owl, esp. on my own. Also, while I love most other kinds of jazz, dixie bores me stupid.

Please tell me what else there is to do, that I could do on my own, that might take up 3 days. I like museums, art, history, shopping to a very limited extent (no Gaps, please -- prefer bookstores or antiques), gardens and beaches. I'm willing to rent a car if there are sights worth coping with traffic in an unfamiliar place.

Would The Big Easy be lost on me and I should save the money for his next conference, or should everyone go to NO once in their lives?

It's definitely worth going! Activities I have enjoyed there have been:

Riding the trolley, touring the Garden District, and visiting Audubon Park.

Exploring the French Market and then going to the National Park Service Visitors' Center. Took a NPS cemetery tour and a tour of a fort(?)/battle site down the river a bit.

Exploring antique shops and galleries on a walking tour of the French Quarter.

A couple of hours away, I have enjoyed plantation tours including Nottaway), and I really want to go on a swamp tour, but haven't yet had a chance.

Just wandering around the city, especially early in the morning, is such a nice thing to do. You have to do at least a couple of food things there. The seafood is great, so you can make the dinners healthy. You must have coffee and beignets at the Cafe du Monde at least once.

GO! New Orleans is wonderful, especially in October. There's so much to see and do that DOESN'T involve drinking or eating! I love the bookstores, the Garden District, the French Quarter streets, marketplace, etc. Wonderful town.

Neals is a famous auction house in New Orleans check out and see if they have any auctions..You are in a great place for antiques. I say go while you can.

i don't think i'd go. i love NO but i think it is much better with someone. sounds like you'd be alone 90%.
that said, we did an all day city tour that included a bit of the city, swamp tour and plantation tour. it was very good. we also took the boat down the river which was a couple of hours long.

Not sure if you enjoy gambling but there are casinos on the riverboat there as well. This is a fun way to spend a few hours IMO. Ken

Ken, FYI, the riverboat casinos are no longer in the FQ area. Only Harrah's land-based casino. The boats are all in the burbs.

Are you thinking of not going because of the airfare? There have been a lot of airfare deals to NO lately. Check Travelocity, Expedia, Oritz, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Continental. Perhaps is the airfare is lower, the trip may seem more appealing.

I'm very grateful for what people have posted so far -- appreciate the good will and helpful spirit. Happy 4th mah fella Am'r'cans!

I'm hesitant to go because of the money and the amount of time I'd be on my own without having a good idea how I'd spend that time. Frankly, dinner in the hotel isn't my idea of fun but I'd do it if the city had a lot to offer during the day. And it isn't just the airfare, although that's the big ticket -- there are also the meals, car rental, etc. Our networth is taking a daily hit of late, and we were having to pull things out of a hat to do some of our trips as it was. Let's just put it this way -- we have about $1500-2000 per year for travel, including holiday visits to relatives (between us we have 10 relatives in 7 cities), etc. If I go to N.O., it might mean that would be our only vacation or leisure trip until July of next year. That's okay with me if the city's worth it, but I'd hate to trade a long weekend at the beach for 3 days with nothing to do in a strange city.

I will, of course, be looking for "deals," but that adds the possible dimension of not flying with my husband (whose way gets booked by the conference people on a "regular" airline w/non-discount price).

I'd still vote in favor of going. It's one of my favorite places in the US, someplace most of us should visit at least once.

You won't want a car in NO unless you're driving out of town to tour the area. Walking and taking the trolleys would be fine.

There are cheap restaurants there if you're worried about prices. (My brother says that a bad restaurant can't survive there because of the high standards overall.) I've eaten alone in restaurants there and enjoyed myself. Maybe the waiters gave me a little exta attention.

I don't think of NO as an expensive city if you have simple tastes. It's like a European city in that the appeal is just walking around, exploring and relaxing. You can spend as much or as little as you want. My husband and I used to visit there a lot before we were earning much money. We stayed with friends, and avoided hotel expenses, but it seems that you already have that covered.

I'd go - most definitely. New Orleans is an incredible city. There is so muc to do beyond eating and bar hopping. You will not be bored. There are many museums and tours.

The Historic New Orleans Walking Tour Company was my favorite - they do a Garden District Tour and a Cemetary and Voodoo Tour amoung others. The guides are very knowledgable and will answer any questions you have.

Spinato Tours and Tours by Isabelle are great for seeing the plantations and countryside. They offer 1/2 and full day tours and pick you up at your hotel. These tour companies use vans rather than buses which makes it nice because the tour groups are smaller.

There are also some great parks in New Orleans - City Park is right on Lake Ponchatrain. You can take a bus or a cab over there from your hotel.

Audobon Park is just upriver from the Garnden District - you can take the St Charles streetcar.

Another tour option - Laid Back Tours offers bike tours through the city. We did not have time for this while we were there, but I looked like a lot of fun.

Royal Street in the French Quarter has many great shops - antiques and books to satisfy anyone.

Go to New Orleans, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised - there is a lot more to the city than your image.

Sorry to disagree with the others Lila, but I wouldn't trade a long weekend at the beach for 4-days in NO (if such a weekend is something that appeals to you).

I went to NO for the first time on business for a week in February and it was everything you expected it to be, and I really didn't enjoy it very much. My husband joined me ($155 non-refundable airfare) so our expenses were very low too. I have to attend the same conference next February and already I am dreading it. I don't understand the big attraction to NO, just not my cup of tea. I'm not a big drinker, and while I share your love of food, all the local specialties were too exotic for my tastes (crawfish? alligator sausage? turtle soup? ewwww). I wouldn't feel terribly comfortable wandering around the city alone at night either. A long weekend at the beach sounds much more like me too.

If you had a ton of money to waste on vacations, I guess I'd be more inclined to say "try it", but it sounds like your vacation dollars could be better spent elsewhere, especially since your husband will be tied up so much of the time.

Good luck!

Definitely save for another trip. N.O. is not worth it. I was there in Oct. of 1999 and was very disappointed. The city is filthy dirty and is unsafe. At our hotel, they informed me and my boyfriend that we were on a very nice street, but don't go one street over at night. It is also very HOT there - even in October.

As someone stated before, it's not really a place to wander around by yourself. But, that's my opinion - apparently other people feel otherwise.

GO! GO! GO! It's a wonderful city to explore. While it may not be some folks' cup of tea, it is always one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. Interesting to me that San Francisco and New Orleans, the #1 and #2 places in many travel polls, are described as "filthy and dirty" by some. Apparently, too many folks like Disney-like fakeness!

Hey Lila, I had the same opportunity last summer. My wife was in workshops all day and had parties to attend at night so I was solo for much of my visit. I enjoyed it very much! NEVER pass up a trip to New Orleans, especially a cheap one! LOL. It was warm in August but not as bad as some made it sound. I would guess October is lovely weatherwise.

Don't go. You want hubby to be pissed at you? If you're there, he'll be the only guy from his company that doesn't get a hummer from one of the thousands of hookers in NOLA.

You'll never hear the end of that!

Thousands, huh? On many trips to NOLA I've never seen even one! Vegas, on the other hand...

Go, Lila. I've visited New Orleans several times on business and prolonged my trip by several days to enjoy the city. I was alone each time and never encountered any problems.

You'll really enjoy daytime trips to the Garden District, the zoo and the aquarium. You might want to browse along the antique stores on Royal Street. Definitely take a plantation tour to Oak Alley.

If you don't feel like eating dinner on your own, go back to your hotel, relax and order room service.

Don't bother. The French Quarter smells like vomit and urine.

Before going to New Orleans, I heard lots of stories about it being a dirty and deangerous city.

Although the French Quarter can be a bit smelly - what do you expect in a hot, humid climate in a neighborhood that is very dense? And the Quarter is a fully functioning neighborhood, not something constructed expressly for the tourists.

As for New Orleans being dangerous - it is a city, not a resort, so you have to be careful and avoid things like dark alleys, but use a little common sense and you shouldn't have any problems. During the day you should be fine anywhere you want to go. At night, take cabs, stick to well-populated areas, walk with other people, and so on. There are cops on foot all over the French Quarter at night, and they are happy to escort people places. All you have to do is ask.

New Orleans is not Disneyland, but it's not South Central Los Angeles either.