The Glade 4.0

I'm considering booking a cruise that leaves out of New Orleans.

I've never been to Nawlins, i think if I do this i'd like to book to arrive a couple days early and look around. I mean, it's the Big Easy! Jazz music! It was born there!

What are the must-see things if I only had a day there? What do I want to avoid?

(It would not be during Mardis Gras.)

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
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I think the short answer is The French Quarter.

I don't know if this was intentional, but I find it amusing.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

I do what I can.

Beignets and coffee at the Café du Monde, then.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Yeah pretty much. That puts you right on Jackson Square too, which is definitely worth a walk around. The French Market is a couple blocks away - it's a big open-air place that's a nice place to visit in the morning. They have shops with good frozen drinks or a mean bloody mary in case you feel like something that'd take the edge off of the night before.

PS - it doesn't matter if it's not Mardi Gras. It's always New Orleans. I was most recently down there early last summer, and there are still streets blocked off for pedestrian traffic and people roaming around drink in hand at 2 am on just some arbitrary weeknight in June.

You can always tell when you're in the Quarter.

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From what the locals tell me, you can pretty much max out the Quarter in 2 days or less.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Go during Jazz Fest.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

There are tons of places to eat. Ralph and Kacoo's in the quarter is almost always good. Not overly pricey. You can certainly find other places that are more expensive. The Court of Two Sisters does a mean champagne brunch iirc.

I always enjoy walking around Audubon Zoo. And I almost always take a ride on The Natchez.

It's been quite a few years since I've been down there for some fun, but if things haven't changed too much, I always start my trip out at Jax Brewery. They have a parking lot you can park for $, if you have a car. It's right by the river, and there's a little trolley type train that you can use somewhat to go up and down the riverside to save a bit of walking. Across Decatur Street leaving Jax, you can find Toullouse Street (where Ralph and Kacoo's is just a short walk). Couple streets northeastish, and you find the square. Back towards the river and a bit further northeasterly, you find Cafe du Monde. And if you keep going northeasterly, you will eventually get to the French Market. There are lots of things along the way.

Bourbon St has a lot of bars, usually music, and novelty stores. If you have kids that you want to avoid "sexy" stuffs, be prepared it will be hard. Lots of the novelty stores have "adult" stuffs on display, and it's not unusual to see a nekidish person walking around the streets. Bourbon St. is also about 3 blocks from Jax, up Toullouse. Hopefully you get a nice map to help you get around.

Also be prepared for scammers and bums. Stick to the main roads and don't venture off the beaten paths. There are some streets and alleys you don't want to venture down Daytime is usually pretty tame, but at night the vampires come out.

I hope you have fun. It's a fun place.

We spent almost two weeks there a couple of years ago (during Mardi Gras). We rented a car and drove out to New Iberia to tour the Tabasco factory, which was fun; hit a couple of plantations on the way back (Laura, Oak Alley, and another one that I can't remember right now). The Audobon is fun, and they also have an Aquarium. I also second the Steamboat Natchez.

We also did a couple of tours - it sounds cheesy, but a cemetery tour is fun. I think it actually was called the Voodoo cemetery tour or Spirit tour, I forget exactly which one we took. But it included a pretty stiff drink at the end (like many New Orleans activities!). Now that I look at the map, we took a tour that visited St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

We didn't get a chance to go, because it was just opening a month or so after we were there - but you might want to check out the National World War II Museum.

The Rock N Bowl was very fun - live music and bowling. We made it to the original location, but it has since moved to another space. Still sounds like fun.

And, since you won't be there for Mardi Gras, you should go across the river to Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World, one of the places where they make many of the floats. It's pretty cool, and fun to see another side of the river.

Have fun!

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Add: I completely neglected night activities, if you are without child and looking for bar scenes.

The two I would suggest not missing: Pat O'briens. Specifically the piano bar. And the other bar that I would say is a can't miss, is: Old Absinthe House.

Pat O's is very much a touristy destination. But I think if you aren't going to likely be back to N.O., you need to at least go once. The piano bar can be fun at night, especially with a group of friends. It's a bit hokey, and there will be a lot of tourists getting **** faced, but you should at least take a peek.

The Old Absinthe House is steeped in history. It's cramped during the rush. But it usually has some very good music and a unique atmosphere.

There are tons more to see, but it's hard to reduce the number to must see. I would avoid the strip clubs, as in my experience most are nasty and charge a large amount in drink costs to cover their nasty stripper costs.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."