I recently went for a long-weekend trip to New Orleans with my good friend Thom (who has written on this blog about living a location-independent lifestyle).

We found NOLA to be a fun, culturally-diverse and beautiful holiday destination.

Below are our own tips as well as those that we received from our friends and family that have also visited the city. 

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DO

• Swamp tour: we went for a 90-minute ride with Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours; saw an 11-foot alligator, which was pretty phenomenal!

• Plantation tour: the Whitney Plantation tells the story from the perspective of slavery
• Cycle: City Park is a beautiful public space to enjoy with dedicated bike lanes; not unlike Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in terms of design

• Observe architecture: along the Garden District Walk, between Magazine and St Charles
• Magazine Street: stores and restaurants; west of the Warehouse District and out into the Garden District

• Downtown Tattoo: on Frenchmen St; the place to get a tattoo
• Ghost tour
• Saint Louis Cemetery
• US Mint
• WWII Museum
• Old Absinthe House

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EAT

• Elizabeth’s Restaurant: tasty brunch; get the fried green tomatoes
• Good Karma Cafe: at the back of a yoga studio, vegan food, spacious dining area, free wifi

• Booty’s: craft daiquiris and amazing food
• Cafe du Monde: very touristy, but open 24 hours for beignets and coffee
• Surrey’s: shrimp and grits, bananas foster French toast
• Central Grocery: mufalettas

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DRINK

WINE & COCKTAILS

• Oxalis: excellent happy hour; in cool Bywater neighborhood
• Sylvain: gorgeous menu and great drinks
• Arnaud’s French 75: very classy; located in the French Quarter
• Bacchanal: a hip wine and cheese bar; delicious food; live music every night; incredible wine selection

BEER

• The Courtyard: new nanobrewery in a warehouse
• The Avenue: cool beer pub
• DBA: live music and good beer selection
• Sidney’s: liquor store with decent selection; good to grab and drink overlooking the waterfront near Jackson Square

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PARTY

• The Country Club: mostly gay/mixed mansion bar with swimming pool; weekend brunch; mimosas and Bloody Marys; $15 all-day admission to pool area with hot tub, sauna and deck chairs; highly recommended

• Oz: biggest gay club in NOLA

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LISTEN

• The Spotted Cat and Snug Harbor: both on Frenchman Street; after 10pm; amazing jazz
• Burlesque/cabaret: AllWays Lounge
• BJ’s: in Bywater; Monday nights for gumbo, and dirty rhythm and blues
  

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Please feel free to add any other tips you have to the comments below!