We just returned from a weekend in New Orleans. Fun fact: I used to work for a Congressman that represented parts of New Orleans before and after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So NOLA has a special place in my heart. It’s been over 20 years and three kids since my last visit. Obviously everyone knows the scene during Mardi Gras but New Orleans is more than just the debauchery it is most famous for. It is a quirky, mystical, music-lover and foodie’s dream city. There’s so much to see and do here off Bourbon Street. Here are all the things we did in our weekend in New Orleans with kids.
:: Where We Stayed
We were lucky to have good friends who are native Louisianans to guide us on where to stay. Originally we planned to stay Uptown and we were considering some boutique hotels close to Tulane University which was the main reason for our visit. Our friends recommended Chloe and Columns which are nearby. Ultimately, we decided to stay in the Warehouse District to be closer to the main tourist spots. We stayed at the Kimpton Fontenot. It’s a newer property, super cute with a nice little restaurant that has live music in the evenings. The highly rated Old No. 77 is right next door.
:: What We Did
Our intention for this trip was primarily to visit and tour Tulane University for my high school-age daughter so we did not have an aggressive sightseeing agenda planned. We wanted to relax, enjoy good food and music, and take in the vibe of the city. Beyond our visit to Tulane we had an opportunity to do some of the local touristy activities. I think any first time visitor should head first to Cafe Du Monde and fuel up on coffee and beignets. I wouldn’t linger too long. It’s so crowded and overstimulating that I would recommend strolling across the street to Jackson Square. Not that it’s not any less overstimulating — the area is filled with vendors: artists, psychics, and musicians — but it’s a wide open area and you can sit down at a bench and take it all in. The cathedral is spectacular.
The connection between the spiritual and mystical and New Orleans is not lost on me. Twenty years ago I had an insanely accurate palm reading by a psychic in Jackson Square (she told me the gender of my first two kids and predicted that I would become a blogger before I even knew what that was) so I was determined to get another palm reading. I wished I could find my original psychic but honestly there are so many there to choose from and it’s a fun little thing to do if you aren’t taking it too seriously. If you have time, I would recommend booking a haunted mansion or ghost tour of New Orleans. There are also cemetery tours if you are into that. We left Jackson Square and headed over to the French Market. This is a good place to stop for a quick bite, drink, and don’t miss the snowballs. The humidity in New Orleans is no joke.
Riding a streetcar to Uptown or from Uptown to the French Quarter is probably something everyone should do once. Strolling through the Garden District is just a dreamy way to see the city.
One of the most special and unique things about New Orleans is that there is music everywhere you go. We didn’t do as much of this as I would prefer but there are so many cafes beyond the famous hot spots (like Preservation Hall) to sit down and enjoy live music. This city is full of musical talent and you can easily pop into any cafe — especially in the Marigny area — for great live, local music.
:: What We Ate
You can’t come to New Orleans without popping in to Cafe Du Monde for a beignet so of course we did that. But the real stars of our dining experiences in NOLA were the dinners. We are so lucky we were able to make reservations at many of our top restaurant choices from the list of places recommended to us and we didn’t have to book too far in advance save one: Shaya which is Israeli/Lebanese cuisine and located in Uptown. On my next trip to NOLA I will make sure to book here in advance. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of Indian cuisine but when I saw that Saffron Nola was a fusion of Indian and Cajun influences it became my top choice for dinner. It truly did not disappoint. On our second night we dined at Peche. Everyone I talked to raved about it. My kids aren’t wild about seafood so it was a bit of a tough sell but it was definitely a solid booking. I don’t think it’s quite on the same level as Saffron because that was so special and unique. On our last night my daughter really wanted to try crawfish so we headed over to the Boil Seafood House on Magazine Street. I’m not a particularly adventurous eater so I stuck to mussels but my daughter really enjoyed digging into the crawfish and shrimp boil. Fortunately we sat near some native Louisianans who were able to teach her how to properly peel and enjoy a crawfish.
Here’s a list of some other restaurants that came recommended that we hope to try in the future:
- Red Fish Grill
- Emeril’s
- Gianna
- Le Petit Grocery
- Domenica
- Compere Lepin Carribbean
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