Top Reader Tips About New Orleans
We asked for your New Orleans travel tips and received over 150 comments. Here’s a selection of the best, with tips for daily life, getting around town, and default alternatives for tourists. Read dozens more in the original post.
A mhobsmob reader gives a Twain-style description of the city:
ConesOfFunshire recommends going outside of Mardi Gras or Jazzfest for a better experience of the city away from the crowds. (And don’t ignore the suburbs.) Or:
If you want something in between, head to St. Patty’s Day. You will get a little bit of a feel for what Mardi Gras is, but you can still move around and explore the city the rest of the time.
Dinner with Porthos agrees :
St. Patrick’s Day gives you the best of both worlds: one fun, long parade followed by a clear, quiet weekend getaway with great weather.
“ Learn something about the city before you hit the road,” says Gosert Goserian. “I recommend Ned Sublett’s book The World That Made New Orleans (also available as an audiobook).”
Jtingley86 teaches transit etiquette :
Tram: Get money ready so people can get on and off quickly (many stops), if you don’t have an accurate change ($ 1.25), the ticket machine will give you change back on your reusable pass. I usually put in a $ 5 bill and use it within a week.
The same reader also cautions us against Yelp restaurant reviews:
Eater and Thrillist are good places to get recommendations, Yelp is usually awash with high reviews for the average tourist food.
And they know some good gay bars:
Bourbon Pub and Oz are two large gay bars at the end of Bourbon, which come with an extra charge on weekends. Lafitte’s in Exile, Good Friends Bar and 700 Club are the best alternatives. 700 Club has a surprisingly good restaurant window in the back … Catfish and macaroni and cheese chunks are especially good for snack bars.
Jamecobalt knows a good tour of the plantation :
Most of the historic plantations in the area are disturbingly romanticized. For a more accurate idea of what the plantations were like, take an emotional tour of the nearby Whitney Plantation.
Xraycat wants you to cruise the wetlands responsibly:
If you already live in the city, here’s a day trip:
“Try to get out of the Quarter,” says Paul. “Marigny and Bywater are close, but a little more local.” And always a tip :
It is a service industry city. Almost everyone who lives here is a bartender, guide, waiter, hotel clerk, etc. Tipping is sometimes the only income for these employees because it is still acceptable to pay $ 2.13 an hour for waiters in Louisiana. If you are good to the people who have served you, they will make sure you have fun and give you all the help you need.
Reader Triplicate recommends visiting the WWII Museum , taking a tour of the bay and buying oysters while they’re in season.
Go to Audubon Park, but bring water with you, as it is difficult to buy there, says DMVsFinest. And on the cheap to the city :
If you’re on a budget, take the $ 2 E2 bus from the airport to the city. It’s a little awkward, but better than spending $ 35 on other funds.
AV Nerd grew up in NOLA and has a lot to say about the struggle to live in a city without big money:
Streets become impassable due to flooding from small thunderstorms. Recommendations for boiling water literally for several days. High taxes, open government corruption, crumbling infrastructure. A single wandering hurricane far from literally dying. Public schools are also known as the killing fields for your children, and if you want a good education, you have to pay for a private school. There is a good reason why when someone asks you where you went to, they mean your high school. I would be curious to know how many people dressed for the LSU parade this weekend actually went to LSU or even gave birth to children in LSU. Hint – not much.
But hey, this is a lot of negativity! Positive: your out-of-state friends will want to visit you and will really mean it; You can buy beer and spirits at the Walmart convenience store; the architecture and the oaks are very picturesque; it is a great place to disappear and take on a new identity.
There are several controversies in the comment thread about the safety of the city. MJBuddy1 gives this sound advice :
Be moderately street-smart. Don’t be out late without other people. In any case, there is no reason to be in these places. Don’t go “over” (northwest) Bourbon without knowing the city, and if you want to travel to Marigny at night, I’ll probably just take it back and forth because blocks can get knocked down or missed if you get disoriented.
MJBuddy1 also lays out the cocktail:
Grab drinks to go to some fun places, but stop at some too. New Orleans bartenders are actually good at mixed drinks, an art that seems completely dead in much of the country. Order a Sazerak somewhere and you will probably hate it. Absinthe is pretty easy to find if you’re willing to pay a ton of shit for a few ounces of anise-flavored booze (Pirate’s Alley Cafe is pouring absinthe right. If someone lit this shit, go away. Lucid is probably the cheapest place and goes beyond respectable). You can grab a Pimm’s Cup at Napolean House, and Hurricane Pat O. is a popular drink.
Recommended food:
- “N7! No reservations, hard to find, but worth it. ”- AW12
- “Central grocery store. They invented the muffulet, which is great. And huge. You will want to share the same whole with someone else. “- dphuff
- “Mr. B’s Bistro.” – profmoxie.
- Elizabeth: “Bacon with praline?!?! * let your drool * “- hey, cool breeze! “Fried green tomatoes, eggs Benedict – one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth” – TheScrobocop ” I’ll definitely drop by for their fried chicken livers in hot jelly.” – Dr. Boners soap
- “Seriously, the best fried chicken is at Popeyes.” – Lemmy Stardust.
- An Eve-the-the-original-sinner reader suggests the Verti Marte seafood and sandwich shop and cites Couchster , one of several NOLA delivery services .
- “If you’re in the mood for snowballs and I mean good shaved ice and not the garbage that is mini-cubes, head to Hansen’s Sno- Bliz .” – Verleibre
Finally, McMick has a great story about his bachelor party in New Orleans . There is no advice in this story, it makes McMike look stupid, but it’s fun, and it starts like this:
I rented a tuxedo with a white tuxedo and opted for $ 5 “stain insurance” that covered everything but tears and tears. I put on my tuxedo before leaving and didn’t wear anything else until I left the pool after swimming in it last night.