There are many bars, buskers, eats and visual treats in New Orleans. Photo / Louisiana Office of Tourism
February 21 is Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but this city is a year-round dime, writes Caroline Gladstone
New Orleans, the Big Easy, and NOLA are just a few of the names attached to the city that sits on the crescent of the Mississippi River and by all accounts is always open for a drink.
While it’s the birthplace of jazz, with contenders Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton claiming to have invented the genre, the city is a haven for music lovers of all stripes - ragtime, New Orleans gospel, blues, R&B and of course big brass bands.
Many folks have had things to say about the city, but Bob Dylan sums it up best: “There are a lot of places I like but I like New Orleans better.”
New Orleans has cornered the party-town trifecta - great food, free-flowing booze and music – and while it can be a chaotic riot most time of the year, it gets even rowdier come Mardi Gras.
Most of the noisy fun takes place in Bourbon St; as the barman at the more sedate Bombay Club said: “People need that primal outlet and that’s Bourbon St.”
He’s right, but while a night in the precinct is completely wild, with folks staggering around with huge plastic cups of Hurricane cocktails, buskers galore, and even the odd guy with a snake around his neck charging a few bucks for a photo, it would be a shame to strike it off your list.
Here’s how to spend four days in New Orleans whatever time of the year you visit.
Day 1
Stroll down to the Mississippi River to get your bearings. If you’re staying in the French Quarter (which is the best locale) it’s an easy walk; if staying uptown take the streetcar to the Canal St stop. Woldenberg Park is the spot to sit and watch the river action or get on to the water aboard a two-hour jazz cruise on a paddle-wheeler such as the Natchez. Alternatively, there’s a ferry running between Canal St wharf and Algiers Point for US$2 a ride.
Back in the French Quarter walk to Jackson Square (you can’t miss General Andrew Jackson astride his horse) and visit the St Louis Cathedral. The oldest Catholic cathedral in North America, the triple-steepled church is the city’s symbol. Next door is the Cabildo or State Museum of Louisiana housing the Louisiana Purchase treaty, signed in 1803, while two minutes away is the Ursuline Convent museum. These three provide a good insight into the city settled by the French in 1718.
A great place for a casual lunch is the French Market with dozens of cafes under one roof and a farmers’ market also selling meals. Expect to taste all the NOLA favourites from gumbo, catfish and jambalaya, and listen to good music to boot. Afternoon activities could include shopping in stately Royal St for the perfect hat at Fleur de Paris or the weird and wonderful at Rev Zombie’s Voodoo Shop on St Peter St.
End the day at a white tablecloth restaurant such as Irene’s – billed as “civilised decadence” - or grab a snack at the House of Blues, co-owned by Dan Aykroyd, aka Elwood Blues.
Day 2
No matter where you’re staying you’ll find a cafe serving beignets - little parcels of fried dough, dusted with icing sugar. Pronounced ben-yay, they are best eaten hot, straight out of the fryer, with coffee. Cafe du Monde (opened in 1862) serves them around the clock, while Cafe Beignet is another favourite. Sweet or savoury they hit the spot.
Fuelled up, the next destination should be Vue Orleans, on the 36th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel. With a touch of a button New Orleans comes to life through dozens of interactive videos telling the story of music, food and culture. Stroll around the observation decks for 360-degree views and have a go at steering a Mississippi riverboat on a simulator.
Next, head to Canal St and hop aboard the St Charles Avenue streetcar for a ride along the city’s most beautiful boulevard to the Garden District. The tram rattles past gorgeous Loyola University, stately homes and hotels, including the Pontchartrain where Tennessee Williams worked on his famous play A Streetcar Named Desire. An all-day US$3 Jazzy transport pass lets you ride any streetcar, bus or ferry.
As dusk descends, it’s time to gird the loins and head to Bourbon St to have a drink and hopefully catch a brass band parade – they’re pretty frequent events. There are so many bars and buskers, eats and visual treats, you could stay for an hour or you could stay all night. Going more upmarket – head to the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone on Royal St and take one of the 25 seats on an actual carousel that rotates. First opened in 1949 it’s been a favourite with drinkers from Hemingway to Truman Capote.
Day 3
Start the day with brunch at The Court of Two Sisters, a restaurant with the largest dining courtyard in the French Quarter. Located in Royal St and named for Bertha and Emma who ran a “notions” shop (sewing supplies) in the 1890s, this is the place to linger for hours as you work your way through a buffet of southern classics – grits and grillades, crawdads, chicken and sausage gumbo, baked ham and even turtle soup with sherry. Dine indoors or in the fabulous courtyard to the strains of great jazz.
Walk it off with a stroll to Faulkner House Books, the former home of novelist William Faulkner. Squeezed in among the pastel-painted shops in Pirate’s Alley, this tiny space can accommodate only four people so there’s bound to be a small queue outside. Have a quick look and then wander up to Orleans St for a bookshop a little less organised – Arcadian Books & Prints. Here, towers of tomes reach to the ceiling threatening to topple, however, the owner knows where everything is kept. Next, if you fancy communing with the spirits take the Canal streetcar to the end of the line to a clutch of cemeteries open to the public, including the beautifully ornate Lake Lawn Metairie. The city is famous for its above-ground marble crypts although many have recently been closed to prevent vandalism. Take the tram back to the business district for a casual dinner at Mother’s restaurant, renowned for po’boys – baguettes with fillings such as fried oysters and shrimp.
Day 4
Perhaps give your feet a rest today and take an organised tour to Oak Alley, a former sugar plantation about an hour west of the city. The antebellum mansion is superb but the piece de resistance is the avenue of oak trees, hung with Spanish moss. Like all plantation houses of pre-Civil War days, it has a dark slavery history which is depicted in the vast parkland via a series of recreated huts that act as an open-air museum.
If you’d rather stay in town, head to Sazerac House to learn about NOLA’s most famous cocktail comprised of rye whiskey, Peychaud’s Bitters, Herbsaint and absinthe. The three-story Sazerac House is a shrine to the libation containing a distillery and a museum.
Finally, it would be a crime to leave the Big Easy without a visit to the New Orleans Jazz Museum in the old US Mint Building. Follow it up with a visit to nearby Frenchmen St and one of the cool clubs, such as Spotted Cat or Blue Nile.
Four days is not enough – but it’s a start!
For more things to see and do, visit neworleans.com
The trendy spot is just six minutes from the Waikiki beach.