That’s why I decided in 2026 to keep travel simpler and only go to places that are on the continent of North America, should driving back be necessary. And I am only taking direct flights, to reduce any canceled or delayed flight options. My local airport doesn’t have a ton of direct flight options, but Breeze Airways, which operates out of the Charleston International Airport, has some fun destinations as directs flights, so I decided hey, let’s go to New Orleans for a few days.
Timing a New Orleans trip always seemed a bit tricky because I do not want to be there during Mardi Gras. Jazz Fest is another big tourist time. Summer is even hotter and more humid than South Carolina, and autumn is hurricane season. So timing it for early March on a year when Mardi Gras was in February seemed ideal.
Starting off, it was great because while being post-Mardi Gras, the city was still festively decorated with Mardi Gras colors.
Where to Stay in New Orleans
The French Quarter is the heart of the touristy part of the city, and since we are tourists I wanted to stay fairly close to it while avoiding the worst of it for sleeping — Bourbon Street. I chose the Chateau Hotel, a cute boutique hotel about three blocks from Bourbon Street, and starting to border the edge of the French Quarter. It was also only about three or four blocks from the river, and a few blocks from Cafe du Monde. It was a low-frills option that felt right in the heart of the neighborhood. The CC Coffeehouse was one block away, and Antoinette’s was two blocks down Royal Street. I highly recommend this option, and this side of the French Quarter.
Where We Ate in New Orleans
The highlight of our eating adventures was lunch at Commander’s Palace. I had never heard of it until I was watching a Binging With Babish episode on eating in New Orleans. Right after watching, I booked a reservation, which was smart as they fill up QUICKLY. I booked over a month in advance and was only able to get a lunch reservation which ended up being perfect. If you’re there to celebrate, note that on the reservation and they’ll make it special!
The first morning we were there we were up earlier than the rest of the city thanks to being on East Coast time still. It worked in our favor as we got to Cafe du Monde right before 8 a.m. and walked straight in to snag an outdoor table. We were served fairly quickly and enjoyed the lattes and beignets.
Pro tips: TAKE CASH. And don’t wear black.
Beyond those two definite food stops, we just meandered around and ate wherever looked good when we were hungry. Some highlight include The Gumbo Shop, Mona Lisa, Pere Antoine, and the Creole House.
Drinking in New Orleans
There wasn’t a lot to do in New Orleans other than drink and sweat. We did a lot of the latter and a little of the former. We often found ourselves at Lafitte’s the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the country for a drink. Partially because it was closer to our end of Bourbon, and partially because at the time of evening we went (before 10 p.m.) it was much quieter than farther down Bourbon towards Canal.
I also wanted to take a spin at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone, so we stopped by during the daytime. There were two seats available so we each ordered a drink. It moves slowly, almost unnoticeably until you do notice it!
One rotation took about one drink. We decided to give other people a turn and continued on our way. But I absolutely recommend giving this a whirl, and during a weekday daytime if you don’t wait to wait too long for a ride.
We also stopped in at Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House one morning (yes, before noon!) for a drink to wait out a rain shower.
Things to Do in New Orleans
This is where we got a little unsettled after a few days there. There’s not a lot to DO activity-wise. We walked a lot, in fact one day we walked 26,000+ steps! That’s over nine miles. There’s a lot of gorgeous architecture and homes to look at, but the walking can be a lot in the humidity. Which is why one of my favorite things to do was the Hop On Hop Off bus tour!
We saw a lot more than we ever would have just on foot, and we got to get out in certain areas to check it out, like the Magazine Street area, which had a lot of shops and restaurants.
We did go to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum which was cool, but pretty small. And we had to Uber there and back because it’s in the Garden District and we would have had to walk under the interstate and through some sketchy areas, also it was quite far to walk and back.
If you do go to this museum, maybe pair it with another in the area. We didn’t do the World War 2 Museum because I feel like we’ve seen enough WW2 stuff on our travels. It looked amazing though and we may have missed out by not going.
Downsides of New Orleans
Obviously it’s humid there most of the time, being built on a swamp.
As I mentioned previously, there’s not a lot to do activity wise. If you’re traveling with a group and want to sit and linger and talk a lot, this would be a great place to do that.
There’s a lot of construction going on. One place we had lunch had jackhammering start as soon as we got out food, so we ate quickly and left. This iconic building was covered up with construction fencing. So it’s something to keep in mind.
Pros of Going to New Orleans
It felt very safe there. I only saw one person who was sketchy. There are tons of public safety officers all over. We did not stay out past 11 p.m. so it may seem a little less safe the later you’re out, but that’s general to everywhere. You could tell each night leading up into the weekend that it was getting busier on Bourbon Street — there was a big difference between Tuesday night and Saturday night!
If you have gone to New Orleans before the past few years, you might remember it smelling awful. They have a new waste management company called IV Waste that scrubs the streets each morning so everything felt fresh and clean.
People were SO nice down there. Every server and tourism related person we came into contact with was wonderful. The people who live there are delightful, we had some great random conversations with locals who approached us to chat and tell us fun stories.
And finally, there’s so much to see. You’ll see all sorts of things you may never see anywhere else! Where else would you see a unicorn mule?
Overall, it was a fun trip, but I am glad we were only there for four days (five nights). I don’t know if I’ll go back with so many other places on my list, but I am glad we did when we did!
