New Orleans: Let the Good Times Roll
Well, it happened again— my soul fell in love with yet another beautiful US city, and this time it was the legendary New Orleans, Louisiana.
I’ve wanted to travel to New Orleans for *years* and once my husband and I were fully vaccinated we knew we had to go. It was about time, and I’m so glad we did, because the good times definitely never stop rolling in “The Big Easy.”
New Orleans, Louisiana: why you should visit
(AKA, reasons I chose to visit the beautiful Crescent City, and why you should, too!)
Some of the best food in the world. Seriously. World-renowned French, Spanish and Cajun inspired creole cuisine you can only find here in NOLA, like crawfish etoufee, seafood gumbo, and beyond— and don’t worry, I’m writing a whole separate post on eating in New Orleans, lol!
Seriously cool American, French, Spanish, Haitian, and African history. From voodoo rituals in Armstrong Park every Sunday (since the 1700s), to the historic French Quarter to Pirate’s Alley and all around, there’s *so much rich history* in NOLA, I don’t even know where to begin.
Arts and artists of all kinds. From Anne Rice (the famous novelist, and one of my main reasons for visiting the city) to local artisans, jazz musicians’ birthplaces, etc., there is always an artist playing music in the streets, someone painting in the park, etc. in the beautiful city of New Orleans!
New Orleans, Louisiana: things to do
Since all I listed above is a great example of the hundreds (near thousands) of things you can do in New Orleans, I’m going to drill-down some of our favorite sight-seeing and excursions adventures from our recent trip and share them here:
Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour. Also known for its beautiful setting in the Gulf waters, NOLA and the surrounding areas are notorious for beautiful, vibrant swamplands and river lands full of unique flora and fauna. For example, on our Cajun Encounters tour we saw wild boar, raccoons, and of COURSE plenty of gators!
Haunted walking tour. This haunted walking tour that we found on TripAdvisor was certainly a worthy enterprise, as it discussed by beloved Anne Rice and incredibly cool Voodoo, vampire, and witchcraft history. Dispelling offensive voodoo myths and providing clear, credible knowledge around such topics, this tour was both fun and informative and kicked off in the beautiful (and historic) Armstrong Park, heading toward Frenchmen Street with many stops along the way.
Walking the French Quarter (and exploring every nook and cranny). This is probably what we enjoyed the most (and spent most of our time doing), as the French Quarter has just *so* much to see and do! Bourbon Street aside (however, Bourbon is certainly worth visiting for a drink and some legendary people-watching), the French Quarter has streets upon streets of beautiful homes, shops, flea markets, Jackson Square, Pirate’s Alley, and so much more to explore. You could spend an entire week-long vacation just walking the FQ, I’m pretty sure, and you’d find something new and fun to do every day!
Touring The Garden District. One of the quicker stops on our trip, The Garden District was worth peeking into to see some historic homes, such as Anne Rice’s former home on First Street, as well as the Buckner Mansion where American Horror Story: Coven was filmed.
And so, so much more!
— Oh, and don’t worry, like I said before, I’m creating a whole separate post on where to eat in NOLA (since NOLA is probably the best food city I’ve ever been to, TBH.)
All in all? DO NOT sleep on New Orleans. Seriously. This is among the best cities I’ve ever visited in the USA, and you won’t regret it for a second when you take a trip down to The Big Easy.
Xoxo, MM.