Explore Louisiana || New Orleans, The Big Easy

Good ol’ NOLA; forever tainted with the stereotype of being a dirty, smell, dangerous city. Okay so like, Bourbon Street is, but there is so much more to New Orleans than Bourbon Street, and I’m here to tell you how I was able to learn this in only 72 short hours.

Things to know before you visit: New Orleans is EXPENSIVE. Not quite as expensive as Vegas maybe, but it’s certainly up there, but there are ways to get around it, and that my friends, will take some smart planning and not letting yourself fall into all the traps that lie waiting for you.

I visited New Orleans this Memorial Day weekend with a friend who works at the Hilton Inn. Therefore, finding a cheap “ish” hotel wasn’t a difficult endeavor. We were able to grab two nights in the New Orleans French Quarter for less than $300. Had we not been so lucky, you’re probably going to be looking at somewhere between $250 – $500 per night down here. So if this is an issue for you, go during the off-season. After MDW prices tend to really die down, and don’t pick back up again until the winter holiday season.

My second tip of advice; ditch the car. If you’re flying in, don’t bother with a rental. Uber is affordable, there weren’t many surges, and if you’re in the quarter everything is within walking distance. You’ll save money on valet fees or hefty garage parking fees.

Follow this itinerary and you’ll see so much more of what New Orleans really has to offer.

Day 1: The French Quarter

We drove down (lucky for me I’m only about 3 hours from the city), got in around 4:00 pm, valet’d the car, and headed out towards Bourbon. Now I know I said that New Orleans Bourbon street was gross, but you have to at least experience it once. New Orleans is notorious for its vast culture of voodoo and spiritual practices. Therefore, you must visit some of the voodoo shops. We started with Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo. This is the most popular voodoo shop in the city, sits right off of Bourbon street and was incredibly crowded. In my opinion the wrong person will spend WAY too much on the little trinkets inside of the store, and if you’re interested in having your palm or cards read, you will pay way too much here for this. Snoop around, don’t spend more than $15.00 on one item, and then go on your way.

I wanted a little voodoo doll to take home, so I found this adorable little felt guy who is supposed to be spelled with protection. We didn’t die here, so I guess he works.

Our next stop was another voodoo shop down a side street called Boutique du Vampyre. Still relatively pricy for souvenirs, but the card reading here was much more reasonable, so we had our cards read here. 10 minutes for $30 plus a tip. I’ll save my experience for myself, and it’ll be up to you whether or not you believe the accuracy of your own. Definitely recommend though.

Tip: This store is affiliated with a little speak easy around the block. If you ask, they might just give you the password.

Turns out, card readings make people hungry, so we grabbed dinner at Sylvain afterwards, right up the street just inside of Jackson Square.

The menu didn’t provide much of a variety, but we split a few items, and seriously everything was amazing. The chicken sandwich is classic, but so much better than I expected considering the environment and dining style of this restaurant, and you HAVE to spend the extra $5 for the cornbread. I don’t even like cornbread, but I couldn’t stop eating it (damn you sweet cajun butter). They also serve some of the best moscow mules I’ve ever had.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to freshen up for our first night out. We tackled Bourbon Street first to get it out of our systems, starting with Carousel Rotating Bar. Yes, this is a heavily acknowledged bar and definitely tourist central, but super unique and very cool. We were lucky enough (persistent I guess is probably a better word to use here) to get seats at the bar. The most popular drink here is the Vieux Carre, but unless you’re a bourbon kind of person, skip this. We opted for chocolate martinis.

The martinis were heaven on Earth, and yes it was cool to be circling a bar on a carousel, but what hit my sweet spot here was the service. The bartenders were swamped, but so sweet, hilarious, very accommodating, and attentive. A million times worth the wait and the claustrophobia.

Other notable bars we attended on Bourbon later this evening were:

• Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe Bar (get the absinthe frappe); yum
• Cat’s Meow Karaoke Bar where we drank one too many Hurricanes and waited over an hour for me to sing Thank U, Next
• Tropical Isle; I feel like the worst person in the world for telling anyone to do this (but you just have to once) but get the hand grenade. It’s potent, and disgusting, but hey you’ve gotta get that classy tall plastic drink to carry around on the street somehow right? DID YOU EVEN NOLA IF YOU DIDNT TRY THIS

Day 2: Marigny and Bywater

Wake up with a pounding headache because you took my advice about the hand grenade, chase down an advil with a liter of water, suck it up, and get your day started with a New Orleans iced coffee from French Truck Coffee Co.

Spend some time popping into the stores along Chartres St. A lot of them are beautifully decorated and have some really unique clothing, shoes, bags, you name it. We walked over to Jackson Square from here to check out the park and some of the famous historical buildings.

Jackson Square park is breathtaking. Make sure that you walk over to the statue in the center, stand back and gawk at the cathedral. It’s a sight to be reckoned with. Absolutely magical, I felt like I was at Disney World.

While we were here we also visited 1850 house for $5.00 a person. While this was relatively underwhelming, it was cheap and interesting to see how individuals lived in the 1800s in this area, so if you’re there and you have a few extra bucks, take the 10 minutes to tour this. We had planned to stop for beignets at Cafe du Monde afterwards, and unpopular opinion: no. The line to sit wrapped around the entire building and did not appear to be moving what so ever, so yes, I went to New Orleans and did not eat a beignet. If you have the time and the patience, then be my guest. I’ve heard they’re worth the wait.

Our next stop was the Voodoo Spiritual Temple; a hefty 20 minute walk. While this was virtually just another standard voodoo shop in New Orleans, I almost enjoyed this one more (maybe it was because I had to work for it) but the prices for items here seemed much more reasonable and authentic, and there is an incredible temple in the backroom of the shop that you can step into and leave behind an offering to make a wish for something that you truly desire. (Unfortunately I do not have any photos because I felt it would be disrespectful to take any and encourage you to do the same).

We then walked another 20 minutes into the heart of Marigny. Yes it was hot, yes it was long, but YES it was worth it. The buildings here are adorable, the street art and wall murals are intriguing, and we even found a quaint little bar on the way to our next destination called Horns where we stopped for brunch and some beers.

Finally reaching our next spot, sweaty, tired, and cranky we made it to a place called The Country Club. Walking in, this place looks like a fancy five star restaurant with the decor and the wait staff, and even some of the clientele, but you pay $15 for a day pass and walk out the back door and right into a massive pool party in the middle of a giant courtyard. We spent probably about 2-3 hours here and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

Dinner was at Bacchanal right up the street; a picnic style charcuterie restaurant. The line was long to sit, but moved at a respectably quick pace. Walk in, pick your meats and cheese and a nice big bottle of rose bubbly, and then you’re off into the courtyard to listen to jazz and snack away on your adult lunchable.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to shower and change for our night out. We said goodbye to Bourbon Street in exchange for Frenchmen Street; a much better pace. There are live jazz bands in pretty much every single bar on this street. My recommendation: the internet lists bars such as Spotted Cat and Snug Harbor, but these were sardine cans. Go to some of the less packed bars. The quality of music is just as good, but you’ll find it much easier to breathe. Palace Market is located along this strip as well and has loads of artists sitting out selling their products. They’re open late, so you can even grab a beer first and then peruse if you prefer.

Day 3: Garden District

You would think that three days simply isn’t enough in such an area like New Orleans to get the full experience, but with the amount that we covered accompanied with the lack of sleep, 72 hours was more than enough.

A short drive over from the French Quarter, start your day at District Donuts. Get the vanilla iced latte and bruleed cinnamon roll to go, and head over to Audubon park. Set up picnic and have your breakfast at the tree of life. This tree is incredible, having been there since 1740 and wise beyond its years. With the low lying branches it is climbable (with care) and at certain points you are able to see over the fences of the Audubon zoo and spot some giraffes. Before you head out, make sure to give it a quick hug for good luck.

In this same park, there is a small attraction that was built shortly after Hurricane Katrina called The Labyrinth. This is a walking meditation practice that encourages individuals to learn to trust the path of life regardless of the twists and turns that come along with it. The Labyrinth was built to honor the victims and the families of these victims that were taken during the storm, and walking the maze was a truly emotive experience for me.

The Garden District is a popular location for homes of celebrities and filming for many popular tv shows and movies. We only viewed one while we were here, which was that of the mansion made famous by the TV series American Horror Story: Coven. When looking for the location of this home, type in Buckner Mansion on Google.

Another popular attraction in this area is Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 (come on guys, you didn’t think I’d go to New Orleans and NOT view one of the famous cemeteries). While St. Louis No. 1 is the most popular cemetery in New Orleans, you can no longer tour this location without a tour guide (most of which charge $20); all of the others are free if self-guided. It’s still strange to me how death can be portrayed so beautifully and artistically with the careful structures of the above-ground tombs.

Our final attraction in this area before heading home was a bar called Eiffel Society; named in part from its construction utilizing around 11,000 pieces of the Eiffel tower from Paris. It’s not everyday you get to say that you visited a part of the Eiffel without leaving your country. Nonetheless that you downed a $7.00 French 75 inside of it.

From what I remember while living in Maryland, Abita Brewing Co. has made a slight presence in the northeast portion of the US. I’m not sure I can speak to other regions (think Purple Haze). The Abita brewing company however, lies in Abita Springs, LA. So of course we had to stop there to visit on our way home. The brewery is about a 45 minute drive outside of New Orleans, but a notable area to visit because there is also a very weird art attraction right next door. Abita Mystery House.

An eclectic collection of bizzare sculptures, street signs, and electronic displays, a man named John Preble has created a truly unique structure here. The artist himself runs the museum, and we got to meet him while we were visiting. The gift shop itself holds strange souvenirs such as mini hand pencil toppers, hand sanitizers with snarky labels such as “You maybe just touched your genitals”, and Bigfoot shaped car air fresheners. After visiting a city like New Orleans, I couldn’t think of a better way to end our trip.

All in all, New Orleans was nothing like I’d imagined; much less open, much less picturesque during the daytime, much more friendly and welcoming, and much more enticing than I could have dreamed. I will definitely be going back, there is just so much more to see and learn here.

That’s a wrap. Make sure to subscribe on the left hand side of the web page to see be notified of any upcoming articles. Follow my instagram page at @unfriendlyadvice for more content of this trip and others past. If you have any questions or need travel tips on this area feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail! I’ll be heading up to northern Alabama in a few weeks here, covering some cool hikes, doing a bit of caving, kayaking, and then some, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled!

Until next time

-C