New Orleans is a city I always wanted to visit. I’m not sure why, but it seemed to me that this city had a lot of history and influences from all over the world. There were some things I didn’t know about New Orleans and we learned a lot! A 3-day trip to New Orleans is definitely not enough, but we’ll be back….for sure!
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Where is New Orleans and a bit of history
New Orleans in the state of Louisiana, is north of the mighty Mississippi, a few miles before this river flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The city has the most population in Louisiana with a little more than 390,000 people.
We decided to take our car to drive down. It was almost a straight line, down to the south on I-55 for about 13 hours. Some people thought we were crazy by not taking a plane, but we don’t mind taking road trips in general. With the world slowly opening up after the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt safer to drive and save some money. We were switching off driving and listening to books on tape or listening to 70’s, 80’s and 90’s music on Pandora.
New Orleans has an interesting history. Throughout the years the city went from to the French, to the Spanish, to the US, back and forth. New Orleans (or La Nouvelle Orléans) was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi Company. In 1763 took over till 1802. Then New Orleans went back to the French Republic for a year. During the American Revolutionary War New Orleans was an import port for smuggling military goods up the Mississippi River.
During the French Colony time, the French around New Orleans faced struggles with several Native American tribes. They were forced to retreat into New Orleans. These young colonists had a hard time to find work. This is when they brought African slaves over to the colony to help with the labor for the investments in New Orleans. The slave law was formed in 1720. With this, the Afro-Creole society with its own dialect and religion came to this part of Louisiana. The religion associated with this period was called Voodoo.
Even now, you see an impressive mixture of all these cultures that once ruled this city. From French town names and area’s/districts in and around New Orleans till Spanish street names, Creole food, Voodoo rituals, ghost tours, the native American name on the famous steam boat (Natchez).
Transportation
Driving through New Orleans by car, wasn’t so bad when we were visiting. It’s probably super busy around Mardi Gras (February).
We walked a lot and left our car near our hotel for the days we were there. Some people told us that the Hop-on-hop-off bus was a great way to switch off walking with sight-seeing by bus. These are the ones where you can sit “on the roof” of the bus.
At the time we were visiting, there were no city bikes available. I was actually looking forward to use them, but I think because of the COVID pandemic, they were not ready to bring them out again. Typical for New Orleans are the charming street cars, horse and carriage and the pedicabs, which are small carriages pulled by someone who is biking.
We were told to take the ferry to the other side of the river when the sun was setting. Of course we totally missed it and ended up sitting “romantically” at the steps next to the Mississippi River, which was a mistake (more on that later!)
Where to stay
According to friends, family and people online, who’ve been to or live in New Orleans, said that staying close to the French Quarter (in pink) or downtown business district (in blue/green). This way you can get around in all directions and visit most of New Orleans in just a few days.
They also said that there are great Airbnb places in New Orleans, but we opted for hotels on Hotwire. We can always get some very good deals at the last minute. (I think we booked our hotels 2 days before we left). We stayed 2 nights in 1 hotel and the last 2 nights in another hotel, just to switch things up and see another part of the city. Both hotels were great!
Before we started our trip, I asked the “Dutch in America” Facebook group, where to go, where to stay and what to do on a 3-day trip to New Orleans. Thank you all for giving us great tips for our trip.
Here you will find the best things to see and to do. We realized quickly that New Orleans has a lot more to offer and we definitely come back with our kids to explore more of New Orleans. We received great tips for a family trip with kids as well (scroll down for more information).
Day 1, Café Du Monde, French Market, Bourbon Street
Our first day, we got up early somehow, even though we arrived late at our hotel. We used our GPS systems on our phones to get around. Where do we get breakfast?
Café du Monde.
From our hotel (International House) we walked to Poydras Ave (wow, New Orleans has palm trees), crossed Canal street and over Decatur to get to the Jackson Square with the St. Louis Cathedral. We were early, so not many artists were out, but later we found out that around this square, some amazing artists show off their work. The place to buy local and support these artists.
Across the street on the corner you’ll find the original Café du Monde. Luckily for us, it wasn’t busy and we ordered coffee, one café au latte and one with chicory. And of course 1 order of beignets (one order has 3 beignets). These beignets are very similar to the Dutch “Oliebollen” without the raisins, which we usually eat around New Years.
While we were sitting at one of the tables, we listened to one of the many musicians in New Orleans. Next to Café du Monde, we walked up the stairs to the Mississippi river. From there we could see the Greater New Orleans Bridge. We walked down again and through Jackson Square to Bourbon Street.
Bourbon Street
This famous street in New Orleans is THE place to be around Mardi Gras time, and actually any time…but not during the day. The architecture is amazing and very special for this city. It was a hot day and as we walked through Bourbon Street, you could smell the alcohol, party vibe from the evenings before. A few tourists walked by, but most of the places were closed. Not much to see and do during the day….but at night??? Keep reading!
From this street we walked into the direction of Louis Armstrong Park, which is a quiet park when we were there. The reason we ended up at this park was that my husband asked a guy at an information stand near Café du Monde where a farmers market was and he pointed in that direction. I just wanted to know where the “French Market” was. He thought a normal local farmers market could be in the Louis Armstrong Park (btw, if you’re looking for a local Farmer’s Market in New Orleans, they have 3! Definitely something I’d like to visit next time).
French Market
At last, we found it. By this time we were getting hungry. The French Market is a place where you can eat some of New Orleans famous foods and drinks to try. From oysters, cocktails, crepes, creole cuisine and much more. A little further on, the market offers souvenirs, clothes and more art. It is fun to walk and see many souvenirs, but I’ve heard that many vendors are owned by the same people and they’re not like the local artists around Jackson Square. At that time we didn’t know that and we bought a few souvenirs for the kids.
A great place to find all kinds of food, drinks and watch people. Lunch time: I had Creole Shrimp, taco style Po Boy and my husband had an omelet with veggies.
Coming from a 40 degrees weather going into a 90 degrees weather, took a little energy out of us and we decided to go back to our hotel to rest.
It was about 8:30 PM, when we thought it was time to eat something. Not many restaurants were open late and grilled chicken was still on my wish list to try. I wanted to know why everyone mentioned the amazing New Orleans grilled chicken! But no restaurants for grilled chicken were open.
Than I remembered our special vacation meal I can always eat: Poke bowl! This had nothing to do with New Orleans, but we’re still on our vacation and the seafood is good around here, so why not try a Poke Bowl in New Orleans. The Poke Loa was open till 9 PM. We couldn’t sit at the restaurant, but my husband said he had a great idea!
We got our bowls to go, walked over Bourbon street. CRAAZZZYY! People were all dressed to impress, a good amount of bachelorette parties, beads were thrown down from the balconies (and it is not even Mardi Grass). Music everywhere, people beating on drums, a woman with a huge snake around her neck, everyone was holding some sort of drink in their hands….and we walked through the street holding our Poke Bowls carefully in our hands. How long still?? One more block, then take a right. Where are we going? Keep walking to the river. Okay, we sat on the steps at the edge of the Mississippi River under a street light overlooking the river and the lit up bridge. There were a few more couples talking quietly. One couple was doing some Voodoo ritual or something. We just ate our Poke Bowls.
After we almost finished our food, I jumped up because some rats emerged from the rocks on our right and a cockroach as big as my hand crawled from another rock towards another couple. The girl saw it coming and started to scream. Okay, we were done! Back to the hotel!
Day 2, Garden District and WareHouse District
Today we decided either to walk to the Garden District or to take the Street Car. The weather was not as hot and we were ready for a walk. From our hotel to the Garden district we came through the Warehouse Arts district.
Many people mentioned the World War II museum, which is btw HUGE!!! We might want to visit this museum in the future, but for now we wanted to enjoy something uplifting and more positive. In front of the WWII museum we saw a statue of a familiar person especially for all of the Dutch followers of this blog: Anne Frank!
In the area around the museum, you’ll find more museums, like art museums. We walked down to the Garden District. There we found a coffee shop ( I was craving an ice coffee) and a cute bookstore. I bought this fun little book, because I loved the water color drawings on it and it was all about New Orleans. On our way back home during our car trip, we read a lot of it, things we missed and things we didn’t know (for example what Chicory coffee is).
While having a little break and talking to the owners of the bookstore, we found out where some good restaurants are and a self-guided Garden District walking tour on your phone.
We noticed quickly that we didn’t come at a good time to visit New Orleans. Restaurants started to open up slowly and some businesses and tourist attractions were still closed. The following restaurants were recommended but upon calling them for a reservation, both of them were full for the whole week!! I guess, people are getting excited to get out again!
Brennan’s Restaurant and Commander’s Palace.
The lady at the bookstore told us about Herbsaint, which was full too, so we ended up asking Siri on our way back to the hotel :”Best vegetarian restaurant near me”. She took us to “Seed”, a small and quiet restaurant with plant based dishes. This was a great way for my vegetarian husband to try New Orleans specialties like Gumbo, but than with mushrooms, instead of seafood or sausages.
Day 3, Creole Queen tour, Mardi Gras World
Today was a very warm day and we ended up walking to the river where a mall was located. The idea was to walk down the river towards the Mardi Gras World. We ended up taking a last minute decision for a boat ride on the Queen Creole, hoping that this would cool us down a bit and that we would learn a little more of New Orleans.
So, it was a “yes” to both. It cooled us down a bit, especially when we tried a special New Orleans cocktail, called “Hurricane”. The boat ride was not as spectacular as we hoped for, but the narrator was very entertaining and we got some great knowledge about New Orleans.
The idea to walk down to Mardi Gras World unfortunately never happened. I was excited to see it, because every Carnaval time/Mardi Gras in the Netherlands we have parades with floats too and several days of dressing up, face paint, music, dance and drinks. I wanted to see if it would be THAT similar. Something to see for our next NOLA visit ( It took us 2 days to figure out what NOLA meant btw: New Orleans Louisiana).
Instead, we walked to Frenchman Street to see and listen to all the musicians in the different pubs and restaurants. We ended up at a restaurant, called “The Marigny Brasserie” that served also vegetarian dishes. And…I got my wish list item, fried chicken.. on macaroni and cheese. Don’t get me wrong, but this was a delicious new take on mac and cheese and the grilled chicken was just amazing. My husband also found the love (of drink) of his life, the strawberry mojito, which was actually the drink I ordered!
More things to do with children In New Orleans (for another visit!)
This was a great visit. The weather was perfect. People told us to go after Mardi Gras, so between February and June, when it is not too busy or hot yet! This city has so much to offer and I’m amazed by the people of new Orleans, who suffered so much in the last few years with hurricanes like Katrina and the pandemic on top if it all! A lot of culture, music, art and amazing food! Yes, we are coming back. And hopefully we can intrigue our children to come with us to see and do the following things with us:
1. Mardi Gras World
2. Swamp tour on the Bayou
3. The Audubon Zoo
4. Audubon Aquarium of the America’s
5. Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium
6. New Orleans Children’s Museum
If interested:
7. World War II museum
8. Plantation Tours
9. Art Museums
10. Trying to find all the best sweets in The Big Easy!
What is a King’s Cake? How do pralines taste and how much powdered sugar can I eat with one beignet, without dusting myself with it!
Hello everyone,
Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.