USA 2025

New Orleans is an awesome city and each I time I’ve been there I feel like I need more time. But 2-3 days is enough to see a lot of the city and do some fun stuff. There is so much to do in and around New Orleans but you don't have to do all the tours if you have a car, just drive around and check places out or take the street cars. It’s a great people watching city and if you eat out or drink at one of the places with a balcony you can sit and watch for hours. There is live music in the street, every bar and every store has music playing, buskers in the street it's everywhere. It's just fun.

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The French Quarter is safe to walk around in at night but stay on the river side of North Rampart Street as it borders Tremé Lafitte, 7th Ward & Lower 9th Ward which are really dodgy areas. Downtown NOLA is right next the French Quarter and an easy, safe walk at night if your hotel is here. If you stay in the French Quarter you will find some awesome old hotels and BnBs but it will be more expensive and it will be louder at night particularly in the weekends. To be honest you’ll probably have your fill of historic buildings just walking around so no real need to splash out on historic hotels here unless you want to watch the crazy of the French Quarter from your balcony. Staying in the CBD near Canal Street is a good location.

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NOLA drinking age is 18 (rest of the country is 21) so the French quarter is often full of young fuckheads on the weekends. Don’t bother with Bourbon Street too much at night for this reason, it will be full of drunk people at night. But DO go to Paddy O’Brien’s for a hurricane cocktail just to say you did. DO sit at the bar and talk to the bartender at any bars you go to, and DO go to Preservation Hall. It’s a 45 minute set of Jazz with the band changing each day, it is less crowded earlier in the day but it will be cooler at night, as the room will be jam packed. It is hot as there is no aircon but that just adds to the atmosphere. You might want to get there early so you get a seat near the front so you can see properly.

There are a lot of con artists around the French Quarter, particularly Jackson square at night, most are harmless but you will get approached by people canvassing and people will ‘accidentally’ bump into you in order to start a conversation. Just ignore and walk away. There can also be purse-snatching and pickpocketing so just be sensible with your stuff and you’ll be fine.

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The food is awesome and you will find lots of local dishes you’ve never had so make sure you eat out and try different things. Gumbo, red beans and rice, muffuletta, etouffee, Jambalaya are all good, we thought po’boys are a bit overrated but you might find a good one. Frogs legs, alligator and turtle soup are all on the menu and worth trying. Beignets are just a stodgy doughnut so give them a miss maybe. We didn’t have time to eat further out than the CBD and French quarter but apparently there are some places worth a visit.   

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Buy some weed. It’s not a legal state but it’s decriminalised and there are stores everywhere and they sell it legally through a loop hole. You’ll smell it in the streets as people smoke openly.