What to do? Where to go? Mostly outside. What neighborhoods to avoid? We will be staying in a VRBO or some such, cuz dogs. Want to make sure we land in the right neighborhood there. Thanks, dopers.
What, 100 views and no replies? Help a (soul) brother out, Dopers. Pleease?
2-3 days in NO? Ride the streetcar lines, especially the one through the Garden District. Eat in as many of their fabulous restaurants as you can. Listen to all the music all around you.
Plan on getting a muffuletta from Central Grocery.
Beignets and coffee at the Cafe du Monde. Preservation Hall Band in the French Quarter. Dinner at Jaques-Imo’s. A shrimp po’boy with red beans & rice almost anywhere. The Riverwalk has some nice shops and maybe a couple of hours in a cooking class.
Personally, I prefer muffulettas at Frank’s, a couple of door down from Central Grocery. I like mine hot, and CG won’t do it.
Touristy, but a must-do. Cafe au lait and a plate of beignets is good.
Personally, I’d go with an oyster po’boy. That’s my fave. Dressed, of course.
Have a beer/drink at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. It’s one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans. Sit by the window and watch the people go by.
ETA: Pedicabs are a great way to get around when you’re tired of walking.
.
I read all this and am so glad we have a Cajun food cart four blocks from us. The guy is a Louisiana homeboy and makes killer gumbo, jambalaya and beans/rice from his grandmother’s recipes. They ship in the rolls from a NOLA bakery and ship in their andouille and tasso from the homeland. If they ever leave our 'hood, I swear I’ll hunt them down.
I would have replied if I’d know WTF a “VRBO” is. Help a brother out by defining your acronyms.
I’ll keep it simple and list 3 places I think you’ll be glad you went to:
In no particular order:
d.b.a. in the Marigny District Great place for music, plus the Marigny district is a cool artsy part of town.
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar is a pretty cool bar on the far end of Bourbon Street built between 1722 and 1732. It has dirt floors and is mostly lit by candlelight.
Jacques-Imo’s is a really good restaurant past Tulane. It’s also a great opportunity to take a street car on the St. Charles line as it drops you off about 2 or 3 blocks from the restaurant. I’d make reservations if possible.
VRBO is a website for people who have properties that they rent out. It’s a good place to go to if you want to rent a house or a condo. It stands for “Vacation Rental By Owner.”
VRBO: Vacation Rental By Owner – they’d be staying at a local home.
Seconding Chefguy’s, Enright3’s and Johnny LA’s recommendations as for places and things, including the people-watching at Lafitte’s and the riding the streetcar lines from end to end.
Do not drink more than one and only one of anything that comes in a goofy plastic container or is named after something destructive.
Other faves of mine:
Algiers Ferry - $2 each way ride across the Mississippi for pedestrians, just so you can say you were on the river
National WW2 Museum for those into the whole history bit. NOLA was where they made the Higgins boats and the D-Day museum grew into a whole-war museum.
Frenchmen St. for great music.
Pat O’Briens on St. Peter between Royal & Bourbon for drinks and souvenirs.
On the river near Jackson Square is a ~130-year-old brewery converted into a shopping mall.
I concur. This is the street that some locals took us to when they wanted to show us the ‘real’ NOLA. Loved it.
The restaurant, Court of the Two Sisters, has been amazing every time I’ve been there. First in 1978, then again in 2016. Their turtle soup is fantastic!!
Lots of good suggestions here. I’m going to recommend you take one of the swamp tour boat rides. They can be kind of corny, but lots of fun. Great photo ops too.
Visited NO a couple of years ago. We had no definite plans when we got there and stayed in a Hotel. If you like History, the WWII Museum is a must see. We also went to the Battle of New Orleans Battle site and rather enjoyed it too.
We stayed away from all chain restaurants and never had a bad meal. Bought a pass for the street cars and got off whenever we saw something interesting to us. Wandered all over and never felt unsafe.
All in all, it was a great time.
The dope ate my post.
Visit the zoo in the garden district. A bit worn, but a nice urban zoo.
I like Longue Gardens. It is a bit out of the way. The house is nice. Call ahead for tour times. The gardens are quite nice. The whole place takes a couple of hours. It takes a bit to get there, I would recommend a cab. It isn’t far from downtown, but you have to know the streets to get to it easily.
Here is a brief description I pulled off some website:
Longue Vue House and Gardens
7 Bamboo Rd., New Orleans, LA 70124 [Map It]
(504) 488-5488
Neighborhood: Mid-City
Attraction Type/s: Museum, Historic Home, Garden
Description: Hidden among the trees off Metairie Road is this magnificent city estate. Classified as a National Historic Landmark, Longue Vue is one of the last true examples of the Country Era Place homes that marked affluence in the early 20th century. Both the interior and exterior are feasts for the eyes with meticulously designed rooms and eight acres of breathtaking gardens. Tour the grounds to experience the splendor for yourself.
We enjoyed the Lafayette Cemetery. We liked just wandering around and looking at the architecture, with no particular destination in mind.
We LOVED Who Dat Cafe in Marigny. Oh em gee. It was so good that we went there three or four times, even though the city is full of amazing restaurants. The Not Yo Mama’s Corn Cakes are out of this world.
Port of Call on Esplanade has absolutely stellar burgers and baked potatoes (yes, baked potatoes) as well as the aforementioned sketchy but delicious cocktails, and absolutely horrible service and long waits and rude patrons and way too loud music and it’s totally worth it anyway. They’ve achieved the pinnacle of restaurant table turnover: make the food great enough that people want to come, and the ambiance horrible enough that they don’t want to linger.
I think it was the time before last, when I was in New Orleans, when my best fiend was living in the ‘Art House’ (a communal living arrangement on Esplanade, west of the freeway and before Bell St.). One of the women in the Art House worked at Port of Call. You’re right. Good burgers.
I’ve always liked the burgers at Checkpoint Charlie’s, at Esplanade and Decatur.
Wow. Great suggestions. Thanks, all.