Nine Secret New Orleans Tips
Welcome to New Orleans & Louisiana, arguably one of the most unique cities (and state) in the United States. With an intriguing mix of cultures, history, architecture, food and music, it’s easy to see why this city is high on so many peoples bucket lists.
This is part one of a two part introduction to our experiences and selected recommendations to you!
Getting Around New Orleans (NOLA) City & the Jazzy pass
We travelled around the city on foot, public transport, rideshares, and for a few days had a rental car.
If you are staying in or near the French Quarter, the good thing is that it is very easy to do almost everything in the city on foot.
From our experiences, a multi-day jazzy pass is not worth it. It is no cheaper than just buying day passes. There is also an app, RTA GoMobile, but as of 2019 there had been a lot of complaints about glitches in the app. Our tip is to just buy a ticket or a day pass when you board a bus or streetcar.
Free Walking Tour
On our first day we signed up to the French Quarter free walking tour, starting in Jackson Square at the statue of former President Andrew Jackson. Our guide was Andrew (a coincidence??) who was absolutely fantastic. Despite it being a typical hot, humid September day, Andrew kept us entertained, interested and in the shade throughout the tour. We got a great insight into the dark history of cultures that came to make NOLA & Louisiana what it is. On top of this, Andrew was an expert in the tales of the city, from pre-European settlement through to recent history of Katrina. We left with many recommendations on things to do, some of which we did.
Though the walking tour is free, tips for the effort that the guides go to is welcomed and greatly appreciated.
New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
This Museum is absolutely unique and interesting. The museum is open from 10am-4pm, Tuesday – Friday, with an entry fee of $5. There is a 1 hour tour that starts promptly at 1pm that is no cost once you have paid the entry fee. The tour is an absolute must! Without it you will still see some really cool jars that used to store opium, liquor and mercury as well as some less than appetising surgical instruments, but you miss out on the intricacies of medical history between the College of Surgery and African Medicine, why Barbers were often involved in surgery, along with the significant events that stemmed from this in shaping Medicine in the USA as it is today.
Where to see jazz music? Get to Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen Street is the place to be to bar hop and see a huge array of local jazz bands with an even wider variety of styles. Venues range from tiny bars that you can cram 30 people into, through the multi-story bars. Some of our favourites were Apple Barrell and 30°/-90°. We didn’t end up a the famous The Spotted Cat Music Club as there was a prohibitively expensive cover charge for the band that was playing with our modest backpacker budget, though Apple Barrell has a similar standing room only feel.
There are lots of other options available, just walk along and find some music that you like the sound of! For a laugh, take a walk down Bourbon street if your hotel or hostel is on the way to Frenchmen!
Bacchanal Fine Wine and Spirits
After somewhere that offers live music, fine wine, cheese plates and tapas in an outdoor setting to get all of those afternoon and evening feels?? Then get to Bacchanal. Bacchanal has been around for quite some time, but interestingly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this venue became a gathering point for the community and local chefs who lost their restaurants to cook and come together. Fridays and weekends can get very busy, so get there in the mid-afternoon to secure a table, otherwise find some standing room and grab a table when someone leaves. Check out their website for what time bands are playing, but be aware that the music finishes at 10.30pm so the neighbours can sleep – rest assured you can stick around until much later if you need to finish a bottle of wine.
You enter through the wine store, find one or a few bottles to drink, choose some cheese and then head out the back to the music. More substantial food can be ordered out the back, and another bar upstairs caters to beer and cocktails. Getting there is best by taxi or Uber as it is a long way to walk, unless you have access to a car.
Beignets
The delicious treat of NOLA! These deep fried pillowy pastries covered in powdered sugar. If you have a sweet tooth, definitely try out a few places, almost all bakeries will sell them, along with some selected beignet specialty cafes. We went to Café Du Monde, unofficially the best according to local foodies. One plate has 3 pastries on it for about $2.75 (plus tax and tip)
Katrina and Mardi Gras Museum
If you are need somewhere to shelter from the heat for a few hours, the
The Presbytère is a great place to go. The bottom floor houses an extensive permanent exhibition on Hurricane Katrina which devastated numerous island nations in the Caribbean as well as towns in the USA, of which the hardest US city hit was New Orleans. It is a very sobering exhibition, but well worth the price of admission. Once you have completed downstairs, you can head upstairs which is dedicated to the history and glamor of Mardi Gras. This floor holds some truly unique costumes, headpieces, jewellery and history of Mardi Gras – we highly recommend a visit!
Bekham’s Book Shop & Man Ray Records house and book shop
We stumbled upon this incredible second hand book shop with an attached record shop while seeking shelter from the heat in the French Quarter, and what a store. There are 2 floors dedicated to books, with the record shop being in the third floor. If you’re lucky, there might be a crowd along with the owner playing some records.
If not, the staff manning the book shop are super helpful. They also happen to know what seems like every bar in NOLA where you can catch well known, as well as up and coming bands. From warehouses, to private jazz lounges and street corners. If you are after some local live music knowledge, these are the people to see!
Crawfish
Unfortunately in September crawfish is largely out of season, but you can still track it down (ask while you are on the free walking tour for the latest!).
We were recommended MRB Bar & Kitchen in the French Quarter – but we did not get time to go here. We actually ended up getting our crawfish fix outside of NOLA city – see our other post for information on this one!
Bike ride with lights
Do you like a party on wheels? On our first night we saw a huge group of cyclists on cool bikes lit up with LED’s riding the streets of NOLA on a tour. They even had a bike with huge PA speakers so it was a rolling party! There are a few companies that run this in NOLA, just search for “NOLA Light up ride” to find them, from about $35. Some companies only cater to large groups, while others let you join as an individual or small group to others that are like minded!