The creole city of New Orleans has long been celebrated for its good eats, great music and year-round party atmosphere. In fact, their Imperial French and Spanish counterparts saw NOLA’s inhabitants as fiesta folk as far back as the 1700s. But thanks to those historic settlers and the city’s centuries-old position as a rich port, New Orleans is much more than a non-stop party destination. Add to the mix the recent city-wide resurgence ripe with new hotels and hip restaurants coupled with that famous Southern hospitality and you’ve got an awesome destination for any type of romance-related getaway from a bachelorette bash to your honeymoon.
Photo Credit: Richard Nowitz
Travel Tip: Get a dash of Creole culture with a city visit before setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. Many large brand companies, including NCL and Carnival offer itineraries from New Orleans.
A Look Back
First settled in 1718 by the French, then traded to the Spanish in 1762 and 1763 before reverting to French rule once again in the early 1800s, New Orleans sings of European influences and history. It’s the site of the country’s first Catholic cathedral — Saint Louis in the French Quarter — and is home to both the U.S.A’s first all-girls school and a Catholic school founded by the Ursuline nuns in 1727.
Photo Credit: Richard Nowitz
Wheeling Around
Hands down, the best way to explore the city is on a bike tour. The three-hour Creole & Crescent ride with Free Wheelin’ Bike Tours provides an awesome overview to nearly every historic NOLA neighborhood from the French Quarter to the Marigny and Treme. There are plenty of stops under the shade of old-growth oak trees draped with Spanish moss (so named after the beards of the colonist Spaniards) to snap pictures of historic homes, including one where French painter Edgar Degas spent some of his youth, and the city’s most infamous brothel.
Photo Credit: Richard Nowitz
A repose at the sprawling City Park is an opportunity to savor chicory coffee and beignets (fried dough smothered in powdered sugar).
Photo Credit: Jenna Mahoney
Photo Credit: Pat Garin
Travel Tip: The easiest — and cheapest — way to get from one point of the city to another is via streetcar. The mahogany-seated transport cars, which have been functioning continuously for more than 150 years, cost just $1.25 a ride.
Photo Credit: Jeff Anding
Next: Explore the music and food scene in NOLA ►
We've Got the Beat
If there’s one word that’s synonymous with NOLA it’s “jazz.” After all, the airport is named for Louis Armstrong, and no matter where you are, the streets of the city quite literally sing. While Bourbon Street gets all the hype, true music fans head to Frenchmen Street in the Marigny, which abuts the French Quarter. Favorite spots include D.B.A., the Spotted Cat and Snug Harbor. For a more upscale experience, enjoy a nightcap and listen to live music at the Polo Club at the Windsor Court Hotel. Note: Zydeco (a purely southern Louisiana music genre) is a little harder to find — ask your waiters, tour guides or taxi drivers for their favorite places to enjoy Cajun music.
Photo Credit: Richard Nowitz
#EEATS
Food is as much a part of experiencing New Orleans as are its sights and sounds. And the city boasts not only its own cuisine, but also an exciting food scene that’s constantly evolving.
Photo Credit: Richard Nowitz
One of the hottest spots of the moment is Cochon in the hip Warehouse District. As the name indicates, the menu is heavy on pork (even the biscuits have lard) and regional classics. Linger over lunch on the outdoor upper gallery (balcony) of Dickie Brennan’s Tableau in the French Quarter. Overlooking leafy Jackson Square, it’s the perfect perch for bird’s-eye people-watching.
Photos courtesy of the New Orleans Conventions and Visitors Bureau
The best brunches are at Café Amelie in the French Quarter, which boasts one of the most romantic courtyards around, along with the best shrimp and grits in the city. Café Atchafalaya in the picturesque Garden District has a cool make-your-own Bloody Mary Bar and some of the tastiest cold-brew coffee on the planet. To try your hand at local cuisine, take an interactive class, complete with tastings, at Langlois Culinary Crossroads.
Photo courtesy of The Old No.77
Check In
Set in the artsy Warehouse District and at the edge of the French Quarter, the new The Old 77 Hotel & Chandlery is perfectly positioned while still feeling charmingly quiet. Once a coffee warehouse, the 167-room hotel has a hip, modern feel with sleek furniture. The restaurant is helmed by Top Chef Nina Compton (room rates start at $109 a night; old77hotel.com).
Photos courtesy of The Old No. 77