What to do and see for first trip to New Orleans
 

My husband and I are planning a trip early April for New Orleans, unfortunately we'll only have about 2 1/2 days to stay in New Orleans. What are the best attractions to see. We don't want to do bars, we're in our early 60's, able to walk anywhere. Would the old plantations be a good thing to see. How about a small cruise on the river?

Would appreciate any help with the best sites, thank you.

We liked a walking tour of the Garden Distrct, Mardi Gras World, a self-guided historical walking tour of the French Quarter, with stops at museum, churches, etc.

If you have any interest in military or WWII history, the National WWII Museum is outstanding.

the least expensive way to get on the river is the free commuter ferry that crosses the river from n.o.
also free is the national park service tour of the french quarter. call them to make sure this info is current
419 Decatur Street, New Orleans
504-589-2636 ext. 1
Open daily 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Closed December 25 and Mardi Gras. Useful information about public transportation, regulations on pets, etc., is available here.

Regularly scheduled programs:

Every day at 9:30 a.m., rangers lead riverfront history walks to the Mississippi River, just over the levee from the visitor center, to share the story of how the city began. 25 free tickets per tour are given out beginning at 9:00 a.m. Walks last about an hour. First-come, first-served; each person wanting a ticket must pick up their own ticket.

Another vote for the WWII museum. It's fabulous.

Also - if the weather is nice, check out the Audubon Zoo. It's beautiful and enjoyable for all ages.

We did a cemetery tour (including St. Louis #1) last week and it was great. Very informative - even for this native! ;)

With only 2.5 days, I would skip the plantations unless you have a particular interest.

The ferry to Algiers is great - neat views from the river, you get a feeling for the power, etc. I definitely recommend it.

We like to take guided walking tours - have done a cemetery tour and the french quarter tour with the Historic New Orleans Walking Tour Co - thoroughly enjoyed both.

There are several historic houses in the FQ that you can tour - 1850 House, Gallier House, Bouregard-Keyes House, and the Herman-Grimma House.

April is a busy month. Here's a link to NOLA events. You might find something around the 18th or the middle of the month. There's a lot going on in April.




www.neworleansonline.com/calendar/year.html

Change your visit to the middle of May. Stay in the FQ and walk to all the great places to visit there. Visit the neat clubs and restaurants in Marigny and listen to great music. Don't take any tours. You will be busy visiting the FQ for 2 1/2 days. Take the streetcr to the GD and visit the neat shops on Magazine. Have lunch and take the Magazine bus back to the FQ.

We too are older and have visited N.O. twice. The Trolleys are really cheap and you can get off and on at any stop. Also, we did a Natchez Riverboat Tour (20.00+? and added lunch for 10.00) It was great and the best meal ever(They cooked it right on board) Fried Chicken and much more.We also took a Katrina tour 25.00 prox and we really enjoyed that. We have to be cautious of our spending and it was all so affordable. We stayed at LaQuinta(great location)( very nice and very reasonable) had to pay for parking, which is normal for N.O.. We were about 3 blocks from Canal and Bourbon street, so easy walking and close to trolley stops and everything else (I am on oxygen so can't walk a long long way but 3-4 blocks is great.
We were there 3 nights and saw about everything we wanted to. Our last afternoon we just rode all the different Trolleys.
Any questions let me know- [email protected]. I wouldn't normally get on this website but was looking for a trip from Florida to New Orleans. Hope this helps.

I just booked our flight for April 23 for 3 nights. Still undecided on hotel, garden district, french district??? How is the French Market Inn Hotel, or Country Suites???

Also, thought of bidding on Price Line for a 3star in the french quarter or garden district.

Are the swamp tours worth seeing, for some reason that sounds neat to me, maybe I've read too many books.

We prefer staying in the quarter . . Some of Our favrites that are in the Quarter:

Dauphine Orleans http://www.dauphineorleans.com/

Iberville Suites http://www.ibervillesuites.com/

Monteleone http://hotelmonteleone.com/

le Richelieu http://www.lerichelieuhotel.com/

They all look nice, which would be best for our very first trip, I'm sure we'll need help from the hotel staff for our visit. We would like somewhere rather quiet.

For a first trip, I would stay at the Monteleone . . has a real New Orleans ambience . . second would be the Dauphine

Thank you, I had picked Dauphine, better price but if you say Monteleone then it is.

Dauphine is very comfortable and in the heart of the quarter. Monteloleone is more upscale and on the edge of the quarter.

You won't go wrong with either one

Iberville Suites is right around the corner from Dauphne . . very comfortable. Le Richleau is on the oposite edge from the Montelone and a bit farther from the business of the Quarter

Check out the Provincial in the Quarter. We've been staying there for many years.

I think you will love New Orleans!

http://www.hotelprovincial.com/

We are staying at the Provincial for our upcoming trip. I can't wait.

My husband and I will be visiting New Orleans arriving around 4pm April 23 and departing at 5pm on April 26.

As you can see, our time will be very limited, we would like to take a river cruise and a swamp tour, is one tour better than another? We're interested in a tour with a good narrator and that shows good interesting sights. We are not interested in lunches or dinners on the river cruise. Should we make reservations ahead of time or can we make them the same morning of the tour.

We travelled to New Orleans in June staying at the JW Marriott. Don't miss the swamp tour, beignets at Cafe du Monde, crawfish at La Bayou and a walk down Bourbon Street. You could get on streetcar and walk through the Garden District and the cemetary without a tour. Loved New Orleans!

sbfrench - You shouldn't have any problems with the river cruise, I'm assuming you're looking at the Natchez? If so, you might want to search the net for discounts - they used to offer 2-1, but that's been a while ago.
As for a swamp tour, talk to your hotel concierge as soon as you get settled and see what they suggest - probably same day won't be a problem, but no guarantees on that one!