Howdy. Not really sure where to post this…I’ll be visiting the States this summer with family and friends and we’ll be spending a few days in New Orleans. 4 adults and 4 kids total…in particular I’m looking for advice regarding swamp tours. There seem to be hundreds and I’m wondering if anyone out there could recommend one. We don’t want to take an airboat (too loud, scares off the wildlife) and we don’t want to take one of these huge tourist boats. We’d like to get deep into the swamps and get a chance to look at the wildlife.
In addition, anything else to do in the area for families would be of interest. Preservation Hall is a given, of course, but any other advice/suggestion gratefully accepted…
It’s hot. It’s like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.
It depends on what you’re used to, I suppose. I was born and raised in Southern California. It got hot down there, but at least there was little humidity. Now I live in the PNW where 30ºC is regarded as ‘hot’. Compared to L.A. and the Salish Sea, Summer in New Orleans is almost unbearable.
And yet, half the time I go in Summer. Go figure. So I can’t recommend any outdoor activities such as the ones you suggest. I’ve never actually been to NOLA as a ‘tourist’; it’s always been visiting friends.
Take a stroll through the Saint Louis Cemetery, where you can see Marie Laveau’s (Vodou practitioner) mausoleum. Pick up a stone or piece of chalk and write “xxx” on the wall. She will grant you a wish. (Didn’t work for me, but. . .)
Now I’m not saying I know this from experience, and I’m not saying it’s something you would do… just know that should you decide to visit during some sort of… festival time… and imbibe enough to lift your shirt for people on the balconies, don’t get so blinded by hurricanes (the drink, not the other kind of natural disaster) that you don’t notice the hordes on the first floor packing loads of digital recorders.
Visit the cemeteries. Eat beignets. If you guys can trade babysitting nights go to Bourbon St at night and catch local bands in seedy looking bars. And yes, definitely prepare for the oppressive heat. Enjoy walking the street with a yard of beer and watch the mechanical legs swing from the window. Sorry I can’t be more specific. Every time I’ve gone it was without a plan and it was fabulous. One time I ended up staying with a guy on Magazine whose job was to review porn for illegal activity so that it could be sold in the XXX Charter store.
Honestly, I haven’t been since Katrina. It may be. I just always knew I had been if I had seen the legs, been kicked out of at least one bar and brought home a cheap cat head wall hanger from the voodoo lady at the end of Bourbon.
They were there as of two years ago.
Pat O’Brien’s piano bar is a must. Just be careful with the Hurricanes. They may taste just like fruit punch, but they are loaded with alcohol.
OffBeat is the place to go to find out what musical groups are playing where. Most of the good jazz clubs are on Frenchmen Street, in the Fabourg Marigny just outside of the French Quarter. Bourbon Street is mostly bars and strip clubs - one pleasant exception is Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse in the Royal Sonesta Hotel at 300 Bourbon St.
The New Orleans Menu is a good site for learning about the New Orleans food scene. All the reviews are by Tom Fitzmorris, a local writer.
Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World is the company that makes most of the floats for the Mardi Gras parade. They give a entertaining tour. Take a camera if you go.
Be careful when visiting the cemeteries. St. Louis Cemetery is in a rough part of town. Metarie Cemetery is safer and has some magnificent tombs.
Old New Orleans Rum Distillery was the best thing we saw when we went a few months ago. It’s not expensive at all, around 12 dollars a person. They have a complimentary cocktail when you get there, then show you how the rum is made. Very cool. The shuttle departs from another place you can’t miss:
The French Market. The food in these stalls trumps the fancy restaurants every time. Tons of vendors selling almost anything you can think of (if you want to get on the shuttle for the Distillery, it meets at “The Organic Banana”, a smoothie stand).
Adjacent to the French Market is the old US Mint. I don’t know if it’s your thing, but I would’ve liked to check it out.
For the men, there are a couple of cigar factories (the best one is near the old Jax brewery (a mall)). Even if you don’t smoke, it’s fun watching the men make cigars by hand.
The zoo will be too hot to enjoy, and IMO, the aquarium leaves a bit to be desired. The aquarium has an Imax theater in it though… you can check out their website for movies if you want.
One last thing, While it’s fun for the adults, Bourbon Street is no place for kids. At any time. I saw so many parents with their children, just steps away from rowdy bars and strip clubs. Just inappropriate.
Keep in mind that while kids are allowed in bars, they are not allowed in places that have video poker machines, which happens to be most bars in the French Quarter.
We’ve taken our kids a few times and have enjoyed the following:
Street car uptown - Grab the shuttle for the zoo, eat at Jacques-Imos.
WW2 Museum - Cool museum. Naturally everything is from a US point of view.
Mardi Gras World - See how they make the parade floats (haven’t been since they moved it across the river)
Canal Street Ferry - Free ferry at the foot of Canal - Grab lunch at the Dry Dock in Algiers.
Audubon Aquarium
Shopping - All over. Lots of cool little shops.
Music - There are buskers all over. Bands can be found at Jackson Square & on Royal Street.
Napoleon House - Historic place to eat lunch
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet’s chain restaurant. Not my thing, but not bad with kids.
Mona Lisa’s - Nice Italian/pizza place in the lower Quarter.
Bourbon Street - Don’t take the kids. Lots of strip clubs and way drunk tourists at all times.
French Market - Good place to get your souvenirs.
My kids have always enjoyed just being in New Orleans. It’s a great town to just walk, window shop, and people watch. You can drink on the streets, so you can enjoy an adult beverage while strolling around with the kids.
Remember that summer in New Orleans can be jungle hot, with sporadic thunderstorms that make it feel hotter. To me it’s one of the best times to explore the city, just be prepared.
I think it is called Charles street, river waterfront. There is an oyster bar there and a jazz trio playing – easy to find – grab a table at happy hour, take in the sights listen to jazz and enjoy the freshly shucked oysters.
If you are an early-bird, take a walk through the French Quarter around 8 am. It is impressive how efficiently they clean up the piss/vomit/etc from the night before. Seriously, it is impressive.
Visit one of the voodoo shops. The owners are fascinating people. Especially Voodoo Authentica at 612 rue Dumaine. They have a nice collection of Haitian flags for sale (fairly expensive though).
Get a window seat at Desires on Bourbon Street. Eat oysters and watch the street traffic passing by.
Visit the jazz club at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta. Especially on Friday at midnight for the Burlesque Ballroom show.
Dinner at Antoines. Bring along an iPod and watch the video of The Radiators “Shuck the Head”, filmed at Antoines.
Take a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking, 524 St Louis Street. The general classes are demos with meals, and are lots of fun, but hands on classes are available.
Ditto on riding the street car through the Garden District.
My husband says that taking a swamp tour was one of the most fun things he’s ever done in his life… I didn’t have enough spare clothes to risk getting wet/muddy, so we didn’t go, so I don’t know first-hand.
But we had fun drinking margaritas at the New Orleans Aquarium’s movie theater while watching a 3D feature. Also, visiting the gay penguin there.