During our short stay in NOLA, we got an excellent taste of this historic city! Read on to discover our recommendations for things to do in the New Orleans French Quarter, and surrounding areas...
We did it, we finally went on our Honeymoon! 4 years, and 2 kids later. I’ll have a whole bunch of posts about our awesome Carnival cruise experience later on.
But for now, I feel like our port city deserves a post all its own! We boarded our cruise ship, Carnival Valor, out of New Orleans. And honestly, it felt like having an extra excursion day.
The city is so interesting, full of unique preserved history and experiences. We had never been to NOLA before (or any part of Louisiana), and I think it’s safe to say that the city is unlike any other in the world. We explored things to do in the New Orleans French Quarter, and it was definitely memorable!
Here was our experience in New Orleans…
Arriving to our Airbnb & a little taste of NOLA
Our Carnival cruise disembarked on a Monday afternoon, so we flew into New Orleans on Sunday. (A valuable tip I learned from other cruisers – never fly in on the day of your cruise! Come early, in case flight schedules change. That peace of mind is 100% worth the extra hotel or airbnb cost.)
The first thing we noticed when we got off our plane was the humidity. We’re from the Rocky Mountain states, where it’s a dry desert climate most of the year. So, the humidity was a big change! If you’re visiting NOLA, make sure you dress for the weather. My husband loved the humidity. But my hair definitely stayed up in a bun the whole time, and we took a midday shower just to combat the sweat (maybe TMI, but hey, you can’t say I didn’t warn you).
Anyways, after leaving the airport, we took an Uber to our Airbnb to drop off our bags and then walked to Magazine St, since it was only about 5 minutes from our Airbnb in the Garden District.
And with that is my first recommendation if you’re in New Orleans for a short stay – book your lodgings in the Garden District! Trust me. For one thing, it feels safer than other surrounding areas. (I mean, obviously, be smart when you’re out walking in a new area, regardless. But it felt nicer than downtown.) And it’s absolutely gorgeous.
Nearly every home is a historic building. With beautiful balconies (called galleries), oil lamps, and occasional plaques on the fence outlining unique facts about their home. The trees are huge, with branches that create stunning arches over the roads. (My husband has this thing for cool trees, and he was obsessed. Haha!) And little lizards can be seen scurrying through the gardens.
We kept things simple Sunday night, ordering beignets at one of the many coffee shops and enjoying dinner at the popular Rum House Carribean Taqueria. (It was packed! Luckily, they have pagers to let you know when your table comes available, so we just explored the other nearby shops and bought a few things for our cruise until they paged us. I thought that was a nice touch.) After that, we headed back to our airbnb, to get some much-needed rest.
Only one morning to experience New Orleans
The next morning, we woke up early to make sure we could enjoy the city before our cruise set sail! We walked to a nearby street car station, to head on over to the French Quarter. While we were waiting, we looked around at the Mardi Gras beads hanging from tree branches.
*Side note: We were told by a local that there are celebrations similar to Mardi Gras every single Sunday! So, if you want to experience an event like Mardi Gras/Carnival (the holiday, not the cruise line), you can come basically anytime of the year. I had no idea!
I think riding a streetcar in New Orleans is a must. Sure, it was crowded and hot. But do it for the experience! Just try to snag a window seat if you can, so you can open the window and let in a breeze. It was less than $3 for my husband and me to ride.
As soon as we arrived at the French Quarter, we went to Cafe Du Monde. This is the most popular place for beignets. So, of course, it made our list of things to do in New Orleans French Quarter. And let me just say, it did not disappoint. Although it looked like there was a super long line, we found out there was a second window, and once we hoped into that line, we ordered within 5 minutes.
It was very reasonably priced for 3 beignets (and they threw in an extra beignet for each of us!).
While we sat and enjoyed our delicious breakfast, we listened to street performers, playing lively jazz tunes.
After that, we walked to Jackson Square, less than a minute away, to begin a walking tour of the French Quarter. We booked with the Nola Tour Guy and had a great experience. (There are so many options for tours in New Orleans. We chose this one because of good online reviews, and it had a pay-your-price model.)
Our guide gave us a very thorough history lesson of the city, starting from its earliest settlers and working all the way up through about the 1980’s. I’m pretty sure I know more about New Orleans than any other city in the world now!
We started in Jackson Square. Which is not only beautiful itself, but it’s also a popular place for street performers and surrounded by historic sites such as St Louis cathedral (one of the oldest cathedrals in the U.S.), the beautiful Pontabla buildings, Pirate Alley, the Cabildo, and Louisiana state museums.
Then, we walked to other historic sites, including Bourbon Street, the homes of famous authors and playwrights (William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams), a bar that used to be a blacksmith shop and black market for pirates (specifically Jean Lafitte), the supposed home of voodoo queen Marie Laveau, and more. Along the way, our guide also gave recommendations of museums we should visit. The list of things to do in New Orleans French Quarter (and nearby) is extensive!
If only we had more time in New Orleans!
But, as you can probably tell, so much was packed into that 2 hour walking tour, that I would highly recommend it if you only have a short time in New Orleans. For just one morning, before our cruise ship embarked, we felt like we got an excellent taste of the culture and history of this exciting city!
More things to do in New Orleans French Quarter (and surrounding areas)
We loved our experience in New Orleans and have no regrets about how we spent the time. Buuuutt.. If we ever have the chance to return to NOLA, here are a few more things we’d love to experience:
- Swamp Tours (How cool would that be!? Just be wary if you have a fear of crocodiles because you’re almost guaranteed to see a few!)
- The Cemeteries (These aren’t just ordinary cemeteries! The grounds are filled with impressive above-ground marble chambers. Random fact – St Louis Cemetery No 1 is even the site of Nicolas Cage’s pyramid tomb.)
- A Ghost or Vampire Tour (Again, there are so many companies that offer these kind of tours in NOLA. Personally, I would’ve gone with this one, based on the reviews.)
- Plantation Tour
- Ride a steamboat on the Mississippi
- Any of the historic museums
- There are so many, I can’t even begin to list all of them. But here are a couple:
- The Louisiana State Museums
- Faulkner House Books store
- New Orleans Jazz Museum
- The WW2 Museum (I have heard people rave about this museum. So, if you’re a history buff, definitely add this to your list!)
- Mardi Gras World (Literally right next to the cruise terminals, this museum contains props and floats built for the Mardi Gras parades.)
- New Orleans Museum of Art
- Historic Voodoo Museum
- New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
- There are so many, I can’t even begin to list all of them. But here are a couple:
Although the whole point of our honeymoon was to go on a cruise, we feel extra lucky that we set sail from such a cool place! It was totally worth taking the time to explore New Orleans for one morning. We didn’t feel rushed, still made it to our 1:00 boarding time, and got to squeeze in an extra little adventure at one of America’s most interesting historic cities.
For more about our belated honeymoon cruise, check out this post. And keep an eye out for more cruise content coming soon on the blog. Until then!
Are you new to the blog? Check out these posts about ‘celebrating family heritage’ and ‘helpful tips for family road trips.’
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