Visit New Orleans

I work in Los Angeles, but I live in New Orleans.

If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in this extraordinary city, here are some ideas of what to eat, drink, hear, and do in the French Quarter, Treme, Bywater, and Marigny neighborhoods. Scroll down for lists, more info, and links.

affordable breakfast/brunch      

• Cake Cafe (marigny)
• Clover Grill (french quarter)
• Elizabeth’s (bywater)
• Ruby Slipper (marigny)
• Satsuma (bywater)
• Stanley’s (french quarter)

affordable lunch/dinner          

• Bennachin (french quarter; african food)
• Coops (french quarter; go on off-hours)
• El Gato Negro (french quarter)
• Junction (bywater; locally sourced burgers)
• Melba’s (marigny-adjacent; soul food cafeteria style)
• Pizza Delicious (bywater)
• Port of Call (french quarter; nola-style burgers)
• St. Roch Market (marigny-adjacent; high-end food court)
• The Joint (bywater; famous bbq)
• Willie Mae’s Scotch House (treme)

fancier meals

• Antoine’s (french quarter)
• Arnaud’s (french quarter)
• Bayona (french quarter)
• Brennan’s (french quarter)
• Dooky Chase Restaurant (treme)
• The Franklin (marigny)
• NOLA (french quarter)
• Oxalis (bywater)
• Paladar 511 (marigny)
• Sylvain (french quarter)
• Three Muses (marigny)

drinks

• Bar Tonique (french quarter)
• Black Penny (french quarter)
• Carousel Bar (french quarter)
• The Franklin (marigny)
• French 75 (french quarter)
• Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (french quarter)
• Napoleon House (french quarter)
• Old Absinthe House (french quarter)

music venues

• Chickie Wah Wah
• DBA
• Fritzel’s 
• The House of Blues
• Kermit Ruffin’s Mother in Law Lounge
• Maison
• One Eyed Jacks
• Preservation Hall
• Snug Harbor
• The Spotted Cat
• Tipitina’s

museums

• Voodoo Museum (15 minutes)
• Backstreet Cultural Museum (local African American history; half hour)
• The Presbytère (Hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras; 45 minutes each)
• The National World War II Museum (half to full day)
• Pharmacy Museum (one hour)

to do

• Relax at a pool? The Country Club (not a country club)
• Enjoy a courtyard with a bottle of wine? Bacchanal
• Go on a walking tour? New Orleans Streetwalkers Tours
• Visit a cemetery? Save Our Cemeteries
• Take a boat ride? Steamboat Natchez
• Go uptown? St. Charles Streetcar
• Discover music with a stroll? Frenchmen St.
• Enjoy some nature? Audubon Park
• Shop for art? Royal St.
• Ponder the birth of jazz? Congo Square
• See some military history? Site of the Battle of New Orleans
• Buy gifts? Frenchman Art Market
• Eat some beignets? Café du Monde

get out of town

• Visit a plantation? Laura Plantation
• Take a hike? Jean Lafitte National Park
• Swim in Lake Ponchartrain? Fontainebleu State Park
• Go canoeing or kayaking? Canoe and Trail Adventures