A traveler's guide to New Orleans
Eat less often and better. The city will offer you a meal every forty minutes. You do not have to accept all of them.
New Orleans is a port city that feeds you and then puts a horn on the corner. The French Quarter is the front door, not the whole house. Stay for the brass, the po'boys, and a neighborhood that is quiet at noon and alive after nine.
When to go
Late winter and spring are the sweet spot, Mardi Gras week aside unless that is the point. Summer is hot and storm-prone. Fall is still warm and easier. Jazz Fest books the city solid.
Neighborhoods
The French Quarter in the morning and for one night. Marigny and Bywater for music. The Garden District and Magazine Street for walking. The Warehouse District if you want galleries and a shorter stumble home.
Eating
Gumbo, a fried oyster po'boy, and a dining room that still does Creole without a costume. Bourbon Street drinks are a tourist tax. The better bar is two blocks off it, or in the Marigny.
If you only remember this
- Streetcars are charming and not a full transit system.
- Hydrate. The heat and the hospitality both count.
- Book the serious dinner before you fly.
- Storm season means a flexible ticket.