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AARP’s City Guide to New Orleans

Here’s how to make the most of your time in the Big Easy

spinner image left balconies in the french quarter of new orleans louisiana right a saxophone player in a jazz band
New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz.​​
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When you hit the weather just right, it’s difficult to keep the smile off your face just walking down the street in New Orleans. Magnolia blossoms the size of dinner plates perfume the air. Ornamental bird-of-paradise plants poke exotic orange and purple crowns out from garden beds. Buskers, or street performers, play better music than you might pay good money to hear at home. And there’s a festival every few days. Literally.

​Also, no matter when you visit, New Orleanians are so genuinely affectionate they’ll call you baby, even if you’re old enough to be their grandparent. This is a city whose people are truly glad you’re here, and that feeling can be so special you may want to come back even before you leave. 

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When to go to New Orleans

​New Orleans relies heavily on tourism, so more reasonable hotel and restaurant prices typically happen when it’s hotter and more humid than a greenhouse gone bad. The city heaps on the attraction by hosting a lot of fun events during this sweltering time, which can last from May through October. If you can take the heat, do come, but be sure to book a hotel with a swimming pool and buy trip cancellation insurance in case of a hurricane. November through mid-April is more temperate. 

Before you go to New Orleans 

​Since New Orleans is one of the culinary capitals of the world, make restaurant reservations as far in advance as possible and confirm them the day of. If you’re not an adventurous eater, you may want to look at menus online before you leave to warm up to offerings that will include the spicy, the raw and the reptilian, though there is certainly something for everyone on most menus. 

​New Orleans is a very walkable city, so pack comfortable shoes and extra cotton T-shirts and undergarments (or those made of wicking material) because the humidity can kick perspiration into high gear. And don’t forget your sunglassessunscreen and a hat with a brim, no matter when you come. The crime rate in New Orleans is high, according to the Metropolitan Crime Commission, though it’s not specifically directed at tourists. Still, do your walking here during daylight hours, stick to well-populated areas, and leave your fancy jewelry, designer purses and other expensive items at home.

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Streetcars are an easy and affordable way to get around town.​​
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How to get to New Orleans 

​Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) was rebuilt in 2019 and offers upscale New Orleans cuisine right in the terminal as well as live music in the baggage claim area. The airport has nonstop flights from more than 50 destinations including Denver, San Francisco, Montreal and London. If you’re driving, parking in the French Quarter is expensive, but you can park on the street for free in some other parts of the city. Better yet, navigate the city using the buses and streetcars, which is easy and affordable ($1.25 one way, 40 cents for seniors; $3 for a one-day pass, 80 cents for seniors), or if you’re in a group, take taxis.

Where to stay in New Orleans 

​You can’t visit New Orleans without visiting the French Quarter, but you may not want to stay in it. Arguably the most touristy part of town, the French Quarter does have a high concentration of hotels and short-term rentals in a variety of price ranges. But it can also be filled with partyers. Just a short walk from the Quarter, in the Central Business District, is the Lafayette Hotel, a reasonably priced boutique hotel with golden elevators, matching chandeliers and bright, cheerful rooms with large walk-in showers.

​A little farther from the Quarter, the Courtyard New Orleans Warehouse Arts District offers clean, quiet rooms by Marriott that are reasonably priced. You can walk to art galleries, museums, restaurants and the Mississippi River. There’s also an outdoor pool and hot tub. 

​And in the Lower Garden District, the Creole Gardens Guesthouse and Inn is a 19th-century antebellum mansion with a lush courtyard and fun tropical-colored rooms. It offers free parking, and your pet is welcome with no charges or restrictions. Located about halfway between the French Quarter and the Garden District, it’s also an easy walk to the antique shops on Magazine Street. 

Where to eat in New Orleans

​From dive bars to the fanciest of fine dining establishments, it’s tough to find a place in New Orleans without good food and drink. Seafood is the star of the show here and all over the city you can find it deep fried, pan fried, broiled, blackened and stuffed with more of its kind. In addition to the region’s Cajun and Creole delights like gumbo, jambalaya, redfish court bouillon and grillades and grits, this is a foodie city where you’ll also find excellent vegan and vegetarian options as well as cuisine from the Caribbean, Vietnam, Thailand, Lebanon, Ethiopia, France and Italy. 

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​For authentic New Orleans cuisine where the locals eat, take the streetcar up Canal Street, away from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter, and try the moderately priced Mandinas in mid-city. The dining area is a big, loud, open room with a happy atmosphere. Order the crispy eggplant sticks sprinkled with Parmesan to start and then the fresh gulf fish almandine (or soft-shell crab when it’s in season).

​The Bywater is a cute, artsy residential neighborhood not far from the French Quarter with several really nice places to eat. Bywater American Bistro has a romantic atmosphere and dishes that include blackened octopus in a sweet potato coconut puree to start, and entrees like roasted gulf fish with celery root puree or the Wagyu beef lasagna with a fontina fonduta. 

​For a funky experience, try the tiny Suis Generis, a Bywater restaurant that primarily serves the neighborhood’s residents. The menu here has changed every week for the past decade. Seasonal items come from the restaurant’s farm in Mississippi.

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The Parkway Bakery & Tavern is one of the oldest po’boy shops in the city.
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​For some of the best po’boy sandwiches in town, head to the casual Parkway Bakery & Tavern in Bayou St. John, one of the oldest po’boy shops in the city. Parkway is set up like a luncheonette, but with a bar that serves craft cocktails and a big covered patio; the folks there say their food will “knock the tongue out yo mouth,” and it will. Try the deep-fried pickles with the Parkway Signature po’boy made with slow-roasted beef soaked in gravy or the deep-fried oyster po’boy. Your doctor will not approve. 

What to do in New Orleans

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Mardi Gras takes over the city with parades and parties from early January through late February or early March. ​​
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​​Festivals. In fall you might catch the New Orleans Film Festival ($15 general admission per film) or Hell Yes Fest, the Gulf South’s largest comedy festival. In winter, there’s Celebration in the Oaks, a twinkling display of more than a million lights throughout City Park that typically runs from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day ($35 per walking tour; $40 per car for a driving tour). Of course, Mardi Gras is a season unto itself, rife with parades and parties from early January through late February or early March. In spring there’s the epic New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (single-day ticket is $95), which showcases not only jazz, but also rock, folk, Cajun, reggae and other types of music played by locals and international legends alike; French Quarter Fest, a free smaller and beloved neighborhood music and food festival that lasts four days; and the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival, which brings renowned authors and playwrights to the city for five days of readings, panels, performances, food and hobnobbing with the literati.

​If you’re willing to brave the steamy New Orleans summertime, there’s Essence Festival, which began as a one-time celebration of Essence magazine and grew into an annual extravaganza celebrating Black and African American musicians, community and culture. One-day tickets start at $80. There’s also White Linen Night, when everyone dresses in white and gallery hops in the Arts District; and a month of prix fixe meals at dozens of New Orleans restaurants during Coolinary New Orleans. 

Museums. New Orleans isn’t just a place to party; the museums have a wide range of interesting collections to check out on a rainy day or when you’ve had enough sun. In the New Orleans Jazz Museum, you’ll learn about the history of jazz from its cradle. There are musical instruments, a recording studio, listening stations, films and a dance floor. And there’s usually live music. 

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art in the Warehouse Arts District houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Southern art encompassing paintings, prints, sculptures and immersive video artworks. Its permanent collection has a range of works from 19th-century Bayou School landscapes to vernacular art, including by painters Benny Andrews and Clementine Hunter (adults $13.50; $11 for age 65 and older). In 2021, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience opened, also in the Warehouse Arts District. Among other interesting things, the museum explores the many ways Jews adapted to life in the South (adults $15; $13 age 65 and over).

Kayak tours. Want to get out on the swamp and see some gorgeous migratory birds and baby alligators? Just about 20 minutes outside of the French Quarter, you can rent a kayak at NOLA Kayak Swamp Tours and do a self-guided swamp tour. You’ll grab your one- or two-seater kayak and enjoy easy access into Bayou Bienvenue, a lush wetland. Self-guided tours are $40 to rent a single kayak; guided tours start at $55.

Antiquing. For everything from eclectic thrift shops (The Funky Monkey) to vintage designer clothing (Century Girl Vintage), Magazine Street is the place to go. There’s even a mall dedicated to vintage finds (Magazine Antique Mall, 3017 Magazine St.; no official website). Start out in the Lower Garden District around St. Andrew Street and make your way to Napoleon Street. If all the shopping makes you parched, walk up Napoleon to St. Charles Avenue for a frozen French 75 at Superior Seafood. Afterward, you can hop on the streetcar to ride past all of the beautiful Garden District mansions. The track ends in front of the city’s beloved landmark diner, Camellia Grill.  

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Rollin’ on the river: The Mighty Mississippi is the nation’s second-longest river and one of the most economically important waterways in the world. Explore it by cruising on the charming Paddlewheeler Creole Queen. The ship accommodates 880 passengers — the largest indoor capacity available on excursion vessels in the city — and is powered by a 24-foot paddlewheel. Trips include a dinner jazz cruise, a historical cruise, or a New Year’s Eve or Fourth of July cruise with front-row seats of the fireworks over the river. 

Ways to save: The New Orleans Sightseeing Day Pass offers substantial discounts. ​

Don your (comfy) dancing shoes: A New Orleans institution, Tipitina’s was established in 1977 as a neighborhood juke joint and a place for composer, pianist and rhythm and blues legend Professor Longhair (aka Henry Roeland Byrd) to perform. This club still attracts locals and tourists alike, and some of the city’s most cherished musicians have played here, including Dr. John, the Neville Brothers and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews. Tipitina’s has also hosted famous acts including Wilco, Pearl Jam, Lenny Kravitz, Bonnie Raitt, James Brown and Willie Nelson. Come prepared to dance because there is no seating. 

Ways to save: You don’t have to see the big acts here to have a good time. Tickets for Fais Do Do With Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, which plays frequently, are only $10.

Whip it up, Cajun style: If you like Louisiana food and you like to cook, you don’t want to leave New Orleans without knowing how to make a proper roux (hint: Keep an eye out for the blue smoke rising over that flour and butter). The New Orleans School of Cooking, in a renovated molasses warehouse in the French Quarter, is the city’s oldest cooking school. Learn the basics from chicken and andouille gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish étouffée to bread pudding, pralines and bananas Foster. 

Ways to save: Instead of a taking the small, hands-on class for $145, choose an open demonstration class for less than a third of the cost.​

The greatest generation: It’s tough to visit the National World War II Museum in New Orleans without feeling awe for the generation and the war that profoundly changed the world. Located downtown on six acres, the museum is more like a campus, with five pavilions that house historical exhibits, restaurants, a period dinner theater and the Higgins Hotel, which opened in 2019. The museum is designated by Congress as the nation’s museum of World War II and comprises moving first-person oral histories, multimedia experiences and a treasure trove of artifacts. The outdoor show Expressions of America combines art, music and the actual words of those directly affected by the war — soldiers, nurses, chaplains, factory workers, artists, entertainers and loved ones at home sharing stories of sacrifice and bravery.

Ways to save: The museum is one of the attractions offering discounts through the New Orleans Sightseeing Day Pass. ​

Hoof it: There are many ways to see New Orleans, and among the best is Free Tours by Foot. Visitors rave about the 90-minute Voodoo tour, which introduces West African religion that arrived in New Orleans with enslaved people in the 1700s. The tour explores the historical culture and beliefs of Voodoo practitioners as well as what is currently practiced in the French Quarter. Also popular are cemetery tours including one for the St Louis No. 3 Cemetery, where people from all parts of New Orleans society — colonizers, Creoles, Cajuns and free people of color among them — are buried aboveground, since much of the city is at or below sea level. Believe in ghosts or spirits who hang around here on earth? Regardless of whether you do, you’ll probably get a kick out of the New Orleans Ghost Tour, which winds its way through the French Quarter through some sites of the city’s chilling past. These include locations for American Horror Story: Coven and modern true-crime stories.

Ways to save: These tours are “pay what you wish” at the end of the tour so everyone’s budget should be happy. 

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