NOLA Recommendations
Museums
New Orleans Museum of Art
Located in City Park, there is a free outdoor sculpture garden next door.
Backstreet Cultural Museum
Tiny museum that displays suits worn by Mardi Gras Indians and history of the Mardi Gras Indian culture.
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
As described, nice collection of Southern art.
National WWII Museum
Formerly the D-Day Museum. Largest WWII museum in the country. Very large.
Pharmacy Museum
Located in the French Quarter — Circa-1823 apothecary turned museum with exhibits of early medicines, superstitious cures & more.
Mardi Gras World
Tour a 300,000 square foot working warehouse where floats are made for Mardi Gras parades.
Activities
Walking Tours
From ghosts to architecture. A neat way to see the city.
Ride the St. Charles Streetcar
A fun and inexpensive way to see the city. Start just outside of the French Quarter and loop down through the garden district. Takes approximately an hour one way. $1.25 PP, Cash only unless you have the app!
Check Out a Historic Cemetery
New Orleans is known for their unique cemeteries scattered across the city. Pay to tour St. Louis No. 1 or 2 (See Nicolas Cage's Pyramid Tomb in Saint Louis No. 1) Or head to the Lower Garden District and meander around Lafayette No. 1 for free — Interview with the Vampire was filmed there.
Music Box Village
Located in the Bywater neighborhood. Very unique outdoor interactive art space/venue where just about everything is a musical instrument.
The Fly/Audubon Park
Chill by the Mississippi at “the Fly” in this Uptown park. The adjacent park is one of the city’s nicer runs, and can be combined with the St. Charles streetcar line if you need more miles.
Crescent Park
Compact park along the river offering trails, picnic areas & views of the city skyline.
City Park
Giant park full of old oak trees and Spanish moss — go find the chime tree.
Bayou St. John
Grab a po boy at Parkway and picnic on the bayou.
Ride the Canal St/Algiers Ferry
The best way to get close to the Mississippi River! It’s a quick ride, just $2, but once you’re on the other side there’s good bars (Old Point / Crown & Anchor) or coffee (Congregation) or food (Plume /Barracuda). Or rent a bike and enjoy the levee!
Get out of town
For swamp tours, we’ve been told the Last Wilderness Tours or Wild Louisiana Tours, if you’d prefer to kayak. If you want to see a plantation home, the Whitney Plantation is the only one that meaningfully reckons with slavery. Heavy but powerful.
Good Eats
Happiest Hours
Favorite places to grab a delicious drink are
Really Really Nice Wines
Tell Me Bar
Patron Saint Wine and Pizza
Pal's
Bouligny
La Petite Grocery
Elysian Bar
Swirl (connected to 1000 Figs which is a CAN’T MISS food place)