New Orleans: The Mystique and the Magnificent
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Have you ever visited New Orleans? Last year was the first time our family ever visited the city, and we fell in love. I don’t know about you, but I was nervous about traveling to the Big Easy. The culture, mystique, and navigating through a town with so many people concentrated in the French Quarter left me wondering what to expect. However, like with anything in life, you have to throw the fear of the unknown to the wayside and take the plunge. New Orleans, Louisiana, is a magnificent city filled with pirate tales, food, religion, and culture.
Touring the Town
Although New Orleans is famous for its seafood, it is not close to the ocean. A tour guide told us that many people mistake the Mississippi River for the sea. However, your nearest beach is over an hour away on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. New Orleans is an authentic river town formed because of its prime location to ship goods along the Mississippi River.
Transportation
We camped just outside the city in between New Orleans and Kenner. Our campground was the New Orleans KOA West. A free shuttle was available to transport campers to and from the city each morning and afternoon.
The first evening, we drove to the French Quarter. If you have a large vehicle, I do not recommend going through the area. There are so many narrow streets in the French Quarter, and several times we had to pull our side mirrors in to pass a delivery truck or people in the road. This instance was the only time we drove into the city. Each morning we would take the shuttle into town, and then while there, we would Uber or Lyft throughout the city and back to the campground.
A travel note- if you have never Ubered or Lyfted, search for promo codes for first-time riders. Both companies typically offer first-timers promotions to receive free or discounted rides. Also, if you fly, check out our article on how to earn free Uber and Lyft rides while visiting airports throughout the United States.
Lodging in New Orleans
We definitely would have stayed in the French Quarter while visiting if we were not camping. However, regardless of whether you lodge in a hotel, Airbnb, or campground, ask your shuttle or Uber/Lyft driver to tell you a little about the town. Our KOA shuttle driver was a certified tour guide, so he would take us on different routes each morning and give us a full-blown tour of the city before we ever arrived. We looked forward to his tours every morning.
What to Visit?
Sean always researches attractions before we travel to cities and towns. We can’t say enough about Free Tours by Foot. Our tour inside the French Quarter was magnificent. With Free Tours by Foot, there is no upfront fee. You pay the tour guide what you think their tour is worth at the end. We learned so many neat aspects of the town from our guide. While taking our tour, we made stops and learned the history behind Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, Presbytere, Pirates Alley, Old Ursuline Convent Museum, the Homer Plessy School, the William Faulkner House, the Tennessee Williams House, Bourbon Street, and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop.
The tour company also offers cemetery, Garden District, ghost, food, music, cocktail, and Treme tours.
The Natchez
One of our favorite attractions in New Orleans was the Steamboat Natchez at Woldenberg Riverfront Park. Listen to the pipes on that boat! The Natchez offers sightseeing and dinner cruises.
National Historical Parks
Since it is our goal to visit every US National Park, we saw the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park and the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve while in town. At the Jazz park, a musician taught us all about the traditional song and dance of the region, and we were able to shake a leg and play some instruments while there.
Jean Lafitte was a real pirate, and he had a significant influence on New Orleans.
The 1850s House
We also toured the 1850s House. The house is part of the Lower Pontalba Buildings that frame Jackson Square. The famous buildings received their namesake from the owner of the 1850s House, Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba. Her home was donned in Parisian architecture, and it was restored in the original fashion of the era.
St. Louis Cathedral
The St. Louis Cathedral sits adjacent to the Pontalba buildings and is one of the most iconic landmarks in New Orleans. The cathedral is the oldest in the United States, with 280 years of church worship on the grounds. You can still attend mass at St. Louis Cathedral.
New Orleans Cemeteries
The cemeteries are also famous in New Orleans. People are buried in tombs due to the flooding of the Mississippi River and surrounding swamplands. Notable cemeteries include St. Louis numbers 1 and 2, Greenwood, Metairie, Odd Fellows Rest, Canal Street, and Lafayette numbers 1 and 2. In addition, many tour companies offer ghost tours in New Orleans due to the tombs’ unique architecture and the city’s history.
National World War II Museum
One of our main reasons for the trip was the National World War II Museum located in the New Orleans’ Business District. The museum opened in 2000, in affiliation with the Smithsonian Institute. Learn everything you can about involvement in World War II with pavilions (sections) to tour, including Louisiana, John E. Kushner, US Freedom, and Campaigns of Courage. Also, visit the Boeing Center and the Solomon Victory Theater. Finally, don’t leave the National World War II Museum without viewing the 4-D movie, Beyond All Boundaries, narrated by Tom Hanks.
The Garden District
Our KOA tour guide gave us a detailed history of New Orleans’ Garden District. The district is famous for its mid-19thcentury southern mansions. If you are a fan of architecture, visiting the Gardens District is a must.
Eating in the Big Easy
If you go to New Orleans and only visit restaurants, you will still have a fantastic vacation. New Orleans is famous for both its Creole and Cajun cuisines. Creole cooking is considered city food, while Cajun cooking is considered country food. I got schooled on the differences between Creole and Cajun while at the New Orleans School of Cooking.
New Orleans School of Cooking
If you love cooking or want to learn about the Creole and Cajun influences that have shaped New Orleans, I highly recommend taking a class or watching a dinner demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking. Since the family knows how much I love cooking classes, they attended a demonstration with me for dinner. Our menu included artichoke shrimp soup, crawfish etouffee, and pralines.
Another travel note- If you are from the south or have ever spent time here, we pronounce pralines “pray-leans.” However, in New Orleans, they will look at you sideways if you say “pray-leans” and instead pronounce them “prah-leans.” But, whichever way you choose to say the word, just enjoy every last bite, and you will not be disappointed.
Cafe Du Monde
I would fly to New Orleans for breakfast each morning and dine at Café Du Monde if I were rich. They serve one food, beignets. However, those beignets are delicious. While there, sip on a hot or frozen café au lait (coffee with hot milk). I actually drink my coffee au lait style every morning. Café Du Monde adds chicory to their coffee, and it knocked my socks off so much that I bought tons of coffee and beignet mixes and hauled them to California and back in my camper.
Another little travel note- they sell their coffee (check it out on Amazon) and beignet mix (check it out on Amazon) on Amazon. I didn’t have to take the coffee and mixes on my 9,000-mile journey last summer, and now I buy from Amazon. Café Du Monde’s coffee is the preferred coffee I drink every day. I am just missing the beignets, which cannot be recreated no matter how hard I try. While at the café, be sure to visit the rear of the building where they have a large window, and you can watch them fry pure perfection!
Amazing Eats
I can’t recommend the food in this town enough. You can’t miss Central Grocery (home of the first muffuletta and the Sicilian mob), Commander’s Palace, Rivershack Tavern, Sal’s Sno-Balls, and Harbor Seafood while in the area.
Preparing for Your Trip
I am not going to lie; it was as hot as blue blazes while in New Orleans. The humidity was sweltering. If you are visiting during the summer months, be sure to pack lots of water each day or plan on stopping by enough restaurants to take a load off and rehydrate while there. Due to pop-up rain showers, we always recommend our trusted plastic backpack and other travel essentials found in our 9 Travel Essentials article. These items are genuinely essential to us, and we will not travel without them.
Wear comfortable shoes. Long ago, we made a family rule that Sean, Jackson, Lucy, and I would wear quality footwear regardless of current fashion trends. However, I hate to wear tennis shoes. Instead, there are good orthotic sandals and flip-flops that you can wear while walking many miles each day. The Vionic Tide II flip-flops (check them out on Amazon) are my favorite. These shoes will be found on my feet, whether I walk 100 yards or five miles in the summer months. Sean, Jackson, and Lucy like Olukai flip-flops (check them out on Amazon) because they have orthotic arch support as well.
If you are from Atlanta, don’t be offended if you see New Orleans Saints posters tacked up around the city saying how much they hate Atlanta and the Falcons. It is all in good fun… I think… maybe not… Before we drove into town, we saw these posters on buildings along the interstate, and I was offended. Sean laughed and told me about the sports rivalry. Apparently, it is between the Atlanta FAILcons and the New Orleans AINTS. If anyone asks, just tell them you are from… Anchorage.
Visiting NOLA?
I cannot write enough about the fantastic city of New Orleans. So, if you are pondering a visit, definitely take the plunge. You will be thrilled that you did.
Are you vacationing in the Big Easy? Check out Trip Advisor for fantastic lodging options in the area!
Have you visited New Orleans? What is your favorite attraction? We would love to hear from you. Please drop us a line in the comment section below!
Looking for other great towns to visit? Check out San Diego, California, and Savannah, Georgia!
