Not So Usual New Orleans
Want some inside tips on what to see and do in New Orleans? Like things a bit unusual? Here is a list (not all inclusive) of the places and things that we often suggest to our guests when they come to the Big Easy. Many are rather offbeat. All are real and true.
Take the Cocktail History Tour and visit the bars and restaurants that made New Orleans famous. Better yet, enjoy one beverage at each venue (not required). It will be the best tour you ever took, its just that you may not remember much about it!
Visit the Mardi Gras and Easter costume museum inside Arnaud’s Restaurant. Flamboyant and eccentric Germaine Cazenave Wells reigned as queen of more than 20 Mardi Gras balls. As heiress to renowned Arnaud’s Restaurant in the historic French Quarter, Wells also served as the unofficial queen of the neighborhood. Her annual Easter Parade brought out the glitziest, showiest hats in town, followed by an extravagant brunch at Arnaud’s.
Drive the 26 mile bridge across Lake Pontchartrain to visit the Abita brewery on the North Shore and enjoy a Turbo Dog dark lager.
Ride the Carousel at City Park Built in 1906, City Park’s pride and joy is one of only a handful of authentic antique carousels left in the U.S. (City Park pictured left.)
Devour a chocolate chirp cookie at the Insectarium, Audubon Institute’s new bug and butterfly museum. Talk with the termites, reminisce with the roaches, and warm-up to the worms. Thousands of species, all friendly, including the live butterflies in the Japanese garden.
Visit the Backstreet Cultural Museum and see the incredible collection of Mardi Gras Indian costumes. The museum, located in a Creole cottage in Tremé, houses three main exhibits: “Mardi Gras Indians,” “Jazz Funerals” and “Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs.”
Spend some time in the beautiful Pitot House, an 18th century Creole home of New Orleans first mayor, James Pitot
Tour the African art collection at Dooky Chase southern cooking restaurant.
View one of the country’s most unique interactive movies on a 100+ foot wide screen and count the Purple Hearts at the National World War II Museum
Ride the Steamboat Natchez christened in 1975, and sing along with the Steam Calliope which is an exact copy of the original instruments built 100 years ago.
Learn how floats are made at Mardi Gras World and visit a actual size replica of a Plantation home inside the parade works.
Take a swamp tour and learn about the ecology of the wetlands. Watch as Cajun guides lure alligators boat side for photo opts using marshmallows as bait!
Ride the historic Streetcar from one end of the city to the other for $1.25; best and cheapest tour in town.
See the rare white tiger at Audubon Zoo. (Zoo entrance pictured to left.)
Hear Kermit Ruffins and the BarbeQue Swingers play at Vaughn’s lounge in Bywater.
Sample beignets and café au lait at Café du Monde. Mimic the local custom of blowing powdered sugar on your sweetheart for good luck.
Tour the Kemper Williams home at the Historic New Orleans Collection.
Gaze under the stars at Louis J. Roussel Jr. Planetarium in Kenner’s Rivertown.
See the exquisite Mardi Gras jewels at The Presbytere. Designed in 1791 by architect Guilberto Guillemard, it was originally named “Casa Curial” or “Ecclesiastical House.” Though never actually a residence for clergy, it housed the Louisiana Supreme Court and became part of the Louisiana State Museum in 1911.
Enjoy live stage productions at Le Petit Theatre, the oldest community theater in the U.S.
Relish hip cabaret and comedy at Le Chat Noir on St. Charles.
Eat one of the outrageous hamburgers at Port O Call, then walk down to Frenchman Street for some great jazz at Snug Harbor club. Someone from the talented Marsalis family is usually on stage.
Snuggle up with your honey at the Hotel Monteleone’s Carousel Bar.
Vow to do all your Christmas, holiday or gift shopping on famous Magazine Street.
Make friends with the penguins at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
Take the free Algiers Ferry across the Mississippi River, visit the Old Algiers Courthouse. and then cruise back across. Have your camera ready for an awesome view of the city skyline.
Picnic at the Fly. “The Fly” is a stretch of grass, picnic areas and sports fields located at the back of Audubon Park along the Mississippi River. In good weather,The Fly is bombarded with college students and locals looking to catch some sun. There’s something about watching the barges gently float across the water that gives the illusion of being at a beach, even though The Fly is anything but.
Hear Dixieland jazz at its finest at Preservation Hall in the Quarter.
Listen to great music by the Crescent City’s most beloved artists who developed and continue to grace the stage at Tipitina’s, including Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, the Meters, Cowboy Mouth, the Radiators, Galactic, and Better Than Ezra.
Take a tour of primitive art at the House of Blues.
Gaze a while at Lulu King Saxon’s “Uptown Street” at the Ogden Museum of Art.
Find the “secret door” at M.S. Rau Antiques on Royal Street.
Experience pop art and culture at the Contemporary Arts Center.
Sample an omelet, fried pecan pie and a mocha freeze at Camellia Grill.
See the Mardi Gras Fountain change colors at the Lakefront.
Stroll down St. Charles Avenue in Uptown and admire the mansions. Guess how many are still single family homes.
Take a walking tour of the Garden District after a classic creole lunch at Commanders Palace (restaurant pictured to left.)
Take a carriage ride through the the French Quarter. Learn what a Romeo catcher was used for back in the day.
Walk/jog the 1.8 mile track at Audubon Park. Run past the aviary island inhabited by thousands of Egrets.
Purchase a funky bauble at the Flea Market or a shrunken skeleton at Reverend Zombie’s Voo Doo shop in the French Quarter.
Eat Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine’s, where the now famous dish was created.
Delight in the showmanship and presentation of Bananas Foster at Brennan’s restaurant, where the dessert was created.
Window shop for an antique on Royal Street. Expect some pricy but authentic items from the 1700′s & 1800′s.
Explore African American history at the Amistad Center at Tulane University.
Ride the mini train through City Park’s 600-year-old oak trees.
Watch potters at work at Hands in Clay on Magazine Street.
Visit Voodoo queen Marie Laveau’s tomb in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Learn the real reason New Orleanians bury dead above the ground.
Visit the Voodoo Museum and purchase some gris-gris.
Have your tarot cards read, buy a piece of art or have a ink sketch drawn by the street artists at Jackson Square.
Learn how to make a Creole delicacy at the New Orleans School of Cooking.
Admire Newcomb Pottery and Tiffany windows at Newcomb Art Gallery.
Meander through the Besthoff Sculpture Garden in city park and see works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Fernando Botero and more.
See religious artifacts, a hand-carved staircase and manicured gardens at the Old Ursuline Convent, the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley.
Experience Victoriana at its best at the Gallier House.
Learn about native Louisiana Plants at the Botanical Garden of City Park.
Walk through the Louisiana Swamps at the Audubon Zoo.
Visit the Beauregard-Keyes House, home of both General PGT Beauregard and “Dinner at Antoine’s” author Frances Parkinson Keyes. The author moved into the (home now known as) Beauregard-Keyes House in the 1940s and wrote 29 of her books there.
Research jazz and Louisiana history at Tulane’s Special Collections.
Tour Longue Vue House and Gardens, one of the most elegant city estates in America.
Learn about New Orleans’ amazing architecture at the museum of the Preservation Resource Center.
Learn about the birth of jazz at the New Orleans Jazz Historical Park.
Visit the Pharmacy Museum and learn about primitive medicine. It was also here that the term “cocktail” was coined. Find out how and why in a pharmacy.
Tour The Old U.S. Mint, the only building to serve as both the U.S. and Confederate Mint.
Camp out in Jean Lafitte National Historic Park.
Find out why locals have driven 40 miles outside of the city for the last 75 years to gorge on thinly sliced, crispy fried catfish and hush puppies at Middendorf”s restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
Take a late night ghost tour of the French Quarter.
See the 1865 Columbiad Cannon at the Civil War Museum.
Explore Louisiana Artworks where local artists display their inspirations.
Pray for a miracle at the National Shrine of Blessed Seelos.
Walk hand-in-hand with your honey on the Moonwalk. Named for former mayor Maurice “Moon” Landrieu the man who led the transformation of the riverfront area from run-down shipping hub to a scenic promenade.
Eat a snowball stuffed with ice cream at Hansen’s or Plum Street Snowballs.
Learn about the “mystery” of the Mystery Room at Antoine’s.
Try to hug the McDonogh Oak in City Park. This tree has a circumference of just over 24 feet; the tree was named in honor of city benefactor John McDonogh and is a member of The Live Oak Society, founded in Louisiana in 1934.
Visit Bayou Segnette and get close to Louisiana nature-snakes, turtles, gators, and nutria.
Taste “Godzilla meets Fried Green Tomatoes or Crawfish and Alligator cheesecake at Jacques-Immo restaurant in Riverbend on Oak Street.
Stay at the 11,000 square foot 17 room Grand Mansion, the Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast. Ask for the Nanny’s Quarters and don’t be surprised if she stops by for a visit.
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Are you coming to New Orleans, or have you stayed in New Orleans in the past? Do you have an unusual favorite in New Orleans? Please share your tips and feel free to ask questions in the comments section below.
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