New Orleans is one my absolute favorite places I have visited, and I have been a lot of places! We didn’t realize but we ended up in town just a few weeks after Hurricane Ida had rolled through, which for those who were unaware like us, was the second largest and second most destructive hurricane to hit Louisiana, only behind Hurricane Katrina.
You wouldn’t know it just by looking around though, New Orleanians are built different. Most places were already cleaned up and reopen for business, and everyone was friendly and welcoming without a trace of negativity. The only tells were a few large piles of debris neatly stacked at a few roads end. Though the town was rebuilding and ready, it was also quite empty of tourists, which is much more our vibe. We were happy to have more room to explore and to support the local economy in it’s rebuilding efforts by spending money on tours, great food, cocktails, and fun costumes.
Day 1 – Arrival
Flying for 5 and a half hours and landing in the evening, meant day one was a locate some noms and sleep mission.
I still think about our incredible little Airbnb that was conveniently located above the Pythian Market. The Prythian Market was a new-age fancy food hall, with 10 different restaurant stall options. Think of it like food trucks, but designed after a bar front or cafe front with a few cute seats, decor and design unique to each stall, and a specific vibe for each stop. It was a foodies paradise for night one, getting to wander and try a few different plates of local cuisine. Our own small food tour. Sadly the Prythian Market was shut down in 2022, but not because the food wasn’t awesome, because they owe 2.5 Million in back rent.
Day 2 – Exploring the French Quarter and Eating our Way Through NOLA
Ten hours of sleep does wonders for the soul, we woke up refreshed and ready to frolic in the heart of New Orleans; the famous French Quarter.
French Quarter Flea Market
“Oscar of New Orleans,” requires a special shoutout. He’s a wonderful conversationalist and a local legend at the French Flea Market. We passed his wagon stall and his smile stopped me in my tracks and beckoned me in for a conversation. He creates wearable art that captures the spirit of NOLA perfectly, a happy explosion of colors that when viewed, you can almost hear the jazz music of Bourbon Street.
A few pairs of earrings richer, we waved our goodbyes to Oscar, only to see his face once more smiling down at us from one of the market flags. That man is in establishment and is a must on any NOLA trip.
New Orleans wandering wouldn’t be complete with a stop at the famous Cafe du Monde for beignets. My mouth still waters at the mention – and if you don’t know what a beignet is, it is a pillow soft doughy inside, with a sugar dusty crispy exterior piece of heaven. This iconic NOLA institution is absolutely worth the long wait in line, just make sure to get a cafe au lait to wash the pastry down.
Walking Food Tour
A new city is never complete without a walking food & history tour, in my humble opinion. We tend to always book a walking food tour on day one, because tour guides will always point out the notable spots, shops, and other food stops not included on the tour and I always write them down. A local’s guide of where to go is as good as gold.
Destination Kitchen (Voted #10 best food tours in the world on Trip Advisor), was our choice and I must say I highly recommend them! It was one of my absolute favorite food and history tours. It was so good I got lost in the guides stories and food and only managed to snag two photos of the multi-stop trip. I’m normally quite sad when I forget to snag photos and notes, but this time is was so worth it.
Bourbon Street & Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo
Another local legend is Bourbon Street and no NOLA trip is complete without at least a wander down this legendary lane. If you’re looking for live music, epic people watching, good cocktails, and parades this is your oasis. You truly can’t go wrong, especially if you’re looking for good live music, we landed at Bourbon Bandstand, which had an incredible band with a fantastic singer.
Bourbon Street is a bit loud for my taste, so we only spent one evening ticking it off the bucket list, and then we tended to hang out where the locals hang out, Frenchman Street.
Beloved Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau’s legend runs deep in the veins of New Orleans history and mystery. There is one shop allowed with her namesake and it is Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, so before you wander away from Bourbon Street, make sure to stop here at least once!
Day 3 – Sazerac House and A Hidden Gem
The Sazerac House
Three stories of self guided history, a distillery, and a Sazerac tasting, are what awaits you at The Sazerac House. The Sazerac is a traditional New Orleans cocktail consisting of Sazerac Rye, Absinth, a sugar cube, and Peychaud’s bitters.
Beautifully designed to showcase it’s namesake, The Sazerac House was an unexpected highlight. If you aren’t up for three floors of history, I still recommend you pop in to their bar and try one. A highlight history reel is typically given from the bar tenders and you can still experience what some call the first American cocktail.
Hidden Gem – Bacchanal Wine
Craving a quieter night, I started looking on Google Maps to see if I could find anything tucked away from the party and stumbled upon Bacchanal Wine, an open air venue that felt like a back yard beach party.
Live music was still pumping but at a much more manageable volume than the rowdy streets of downtown. Sunset was magical and we felt like we found a secret slice of paradise.
Witches Brew Haunted Night Tour
Haunted stories of ghosts and voodoo abound in NOLA, with an abundance of different companies and guides. We opted for the adults only haunted tour with Witches Brew, that included a few stops for drinks including the House of Blues, a place I wish we would’ve gone back to but didn’t manage with our time limit.
I adore ghost stories and the soul of NOLA pulses with dark mystery that speaks to witchy woo woo in my heart. I really enjoyed the tour, the voodoo history woven into local lore, and the sense that something lurked in the shadows of such a vibrant city.
Day 4 – French Quarter & Shrimp Boil
French Quarter Shopping
After a boozy night, we started our day with a Bloody Mary mission and were pleased to stumble upon Organic Banana – no one does spicy like the creole, and their spicy Bloody Mary is to die for. Bloody Mary is known as The Poet Priestess of the Spirit of New Orleans, a fun little fact I learned that day while recovering from our night out.
Embracing the spirit of the party of New Orleans, we grabbed a Pina Colada and hit the shops! We wandered past No Rules Fashion, an eclectic collection of incredible items along the lines of sexy steampunk. It was hard to pick only a few things but we only had so much room in our suitcase! Another mention is The Trashy Diva, a very sexy shop you’ll have to see for yourself.
Shrimp Boil Dinner & A Show with Mr. Gregory
New Orleans is known for many things, among them shrimp boils and cabarets and I recommend the Shrimp Boil Cabaret Dinner & a Show with Mr. Gregory. As previously mentioned, we went just a few weeks after Hurricane Ida had hit, which meant a pretty special item was on the menu.
Hurricanes obviously don’t just disturb the coasts, but I had never thought about the impact on the deep ocean until this shrimp boil. Hurricane Ida was so intense that she drudged up massive deep water shrimp from the depths for our feast. I have never seen shrimp so big!
A proper shrimp boil, we had bowls of seafood, corn, and andouille sausage poured onto newspaper and dug in with our fingers, while a local bayou band played. An upright base, a steel guitar, a piano, and two men’s voices was all it took to blow me away and create the ideal Louisiana night.
I would remiss if I didn’t also mention the final item of the meal; local chicory “coffee” to drown the very large meal down.
AllWays Lounge & Cabaret
After a fabulous feast, we were full, happy, and very awake. A late night cabaret felt like the perfect cap to a wonderful evening, so we wandered into the AllWays Lounge and Cabaret for a show. Though we chose ours by convenience, as it was walking distance from the shrimp boil, I think you can’t go wrong with any show in NOLA. The entire city feels like live performance art on any given day, so going to actual live performance art in such an artistic city was next level.
Day 5 – Escape My Room
A proper Jess and Oli trip is never complete without an escape room or two, and our final day we were mostly killing time when we realized we hadn’t managed an escape room yet. We headed to Escape My Room, and did the Inventor’s Attic and it is one of the best rooms we have done in the US.
Our trip was an absolute 10/10, New Orleans is one of my favorite trips we’ve taken. It truly has it all and I can’t wait to go back.
Though most of my mentions are highlights, I have another highlight that I would AVOID – and that is Mother’s Restaurant. We were STARVING and wandering about while hungry but I had remembered the name from many mentions while I was doing trip research, and it is highly recommended. I truly have no clue why. I was so hungry and could not eat most of what we got, everything was beige, battered, and a bit soggy. We tried to power through because we were hungry and heading to the airpot, but we both ended up sick.
Attractions / Tours not scheduled but came recommended to us
- Live Music The Madison, The Spotted Cat Music Club (highly recommended), & Blue Nile.
- Natchez Steam Boat Dinner or Brunch Cruise – The Last real Steamboat around
- Witches Brew Voodoo Tours
- Mardi Gras World
- Voodoo Museum
- National World War 2 Museum
- Garden District
Good Eats – Some of which I mentioned already.
- Café du Monde – French Quarter – Known for Beignets
- Mother’s Restaurant – best po boy sammies (recommends the catfish)
- Acme Oyster House
- Dragons Seafood Restaurant – best charbroiled oysters in the city
- Coops Place – Jackson Square – Incredible fried chicken and jambalaya
- Gumbo Shop – allllll the cajun
- Seaworthy – classy but not overly pretentious oyster bar
- Willa Jean – good food, chic atmostphere, good cocktails
Wandering Wild 