A guide to 24 hours in New Orleans
(Photo by my super talented friend Gen)
Last week, I was to get sent on another work trip to deliver a giant check and I can't believe this is becoming a regular occurrence! On Wednesday we hopped on a plane to Louisiana, and took a 2.5 hour drive up to Lafayette. We got lucky enough that flights home were the same price all weekend, so we asked to stay an extra day and got 24 hours in New Orlean
On this trip, I ate my weight in Southern staples. I had gumbo (for breakfast and dinner), grits, fried okra and pickles, a po' boy, beignets, jambalaya and so much shrimp! If you aren't going to Nola to eat and drink, you're doing it totally wrong.
I wanted to put together my own little guide of what we did because we squeezed pretty much everything in to 24 hours that I wanted to!
EAT
Food stalls at the French Market
I'm a total sucker for open marketplaces like this and I try to find them everywhere I go. A lot of times they're full of tacky/inauthentic souvenirs but sometimes you stumble on great art and tasty food. We grabbed daiquiris (a Nola staple) to go (another Nola staple, you can drink literally everywhere) and walked around. We ended up eating fresh shrimp tacos and jambalaya and perused the stalls until I got some souvenir Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning.
Cafe Amelie
By Friday night, we had already been eating Southern food for 3 days and to say we were full is an understatement. We wanted something lighter but still authentic and we found the perfect place. Cafe Amelie is such a cute romantic spot (Carly and I somehow always end up at perfect date night spots with glasses of bubbly). Their small plates are perfect for a lighter meal, and their entrees have a cajun flair! Sit outside if you can!
Cafe Fleur de Lis
I don't have a picture of this place, but they served a Bourbon Street breakfast that consisted of pecan cakes, candied bacon and a shot of bourbon, which seems good in my book. They have standard breakfast fare but with a Southern twist. I got an omelette with boudin, which is a type of cajun sausage, and Carly got a crawfish and crab cake benedict, both with a side of grits and a big mimosa. It was the perfect meal to end our trip!
Cafe du Monde or Cafe Beignet
Cafe du Monde is a must-see/eat, along with a cafe au lait. It's one of those things that is totally touristy, but still worth doing. Try to go during the week if you can! We want on Friday morning and didn't have to wait long and decided to do the to-go line instead of sitting. When we went back Saturday morning the line went completely down the street! We wanted a second round of beignets so we went to Cafe Beignet instead. Not quite as good, but we got our fix!
Rooftop/Balcony Restaurants
Like I said, you can drink everywhere in New Orleans, and most bars have signs that say "to go" on them. It was fun to walk around Bourbon Street and take everything in, but we decided to go to a balcony bar so we could just people watch from up there. There are probably good restaurants with balconies, but we just went to the closest one and got drinks and fries!
SEE & DO
French Quarter
This was basically our central point, so we walked around and explored the cute streets and lots of little shops. We even did a 5 minute run through a museum that was about to close. Be sure to check out a voodoo shop!
Rent Bikes and Explore
We rented Blue Bikes both Friday and Saturday, but on Friday it was just too busy where we were. On Saturday, we rented them again and biked the few miles over to the Garden District, which I had seen was a really cute area. It was super quiet and peaceful...until we got caught in a huge rainstorm that totally soaked us. But we stumbled on Lafayette Cemetery, and I would say that's also a must-see!
Lafayette Square
If you're exploring the French Quarter or heading to Cafe du Monde, you'll stumble on this like we did. It's right in the center of everything and it's full of street artists, performers and palm readers/psychics.
Frenchman Street
If you're looking for live music, this is the place to be. There's tons of bars and jazz clubs and you can even catch the quintessential brass band playing on the street corner. We caught a really awesome show at a tiny bar and afterwards we stepped outside and there was a crowd around a huge brass band. The moral of the story with this guide is to just explore because you'll pretty much always stumble upon something.
Walk around Palace Market
Another stumble! We had seen this little gated off area earlier in the day and wondered what it was, and found it again that evening. It doesn't open until 7 and it's a little night market full of art and handmade things. I love buying art prints or jewelry or more meaningful souvenirs like that, so these places are always great!
STAY
At an Airbnb! This was just our experience, and I'm sure there's tons of cool hotels or other spots (maybe even haunted ones) but our Airbnb stay was quite an experience. We stayed in Bywater which is just outside of the French Quarter and known for being an artist community. The house was so authentically New Orleans and was full of oddities and cool knickknacks. We were a little worried when we got there because the area looked run down, but I always try to keep an open mind about that. I never want to let my ignorance and assumptions stop me from seeing new places, so I would definitely recommend doing your research and being open to exploring! Sometimes when you step outside the comfortable bubble, you'll find surprising places!
I was so blown away by all of these beautiful little corners of Nola. It has so much charm and you can just feel the rich history and culture everywhere you turn. I'm always fascinated by other places because other than San Francisco, California feels like it just totally lacks history. I love just walking around and taking tons of pictures of buildings (clearly).
I can see why they call it the Big Easy too, there was no rush to get anywhere and we actually had time to spare after seeing all of the things we wanted to. My travel mindset has changed so much recently. I used to think you had to have everything planned and stick to it, and even though I still like to have a plan, I'm so open to just getting somewhere and seeing what happens. Especially in big cities or popular places like Nola, you go there knowing there will be plenty to do. And when you don't have a set plan, you're going to find the hidden gems!
