Laizze bon Temp roule! Let the good times roll and that is just what we did!
My son is a Saints fan, so it was only natural that we would go to New Orleans on our road trip. His father and I came the week before Katrina hit so it had been 16 years since I had been here and almost 60 years since my mom had been there.
Download the Premium Parking app if you plan to drive to a lot of places around the area. When you find a lot, you just put in the code, choose how long to park and it will charge your card. It isn't cheap but we paid it for convience.
There are many roads that are one lane, so watch for that and there are lots of pot holes in the road, so go slow.
If you have young children you may want to prepare them as we saw lots of homeless people and many came up to us asking for money. Just always be aware of your belongings and surroundings.
When we arrived, our hotel room was not ready to we went to the World War II Museum. It is a large place and could take a lot of time to see it all. There is a parking garage across the street but we just paid the pricy parking lot fee right next to the front door. It is also pricy to enter the museum and you if you choose to do the movie it is another $7 per person.
There is an interactive room where you can talk live to a real vet from WWII and ask questions, there are real planes to see and the movie about WWII is great. My son is 11 and had studied the war but some images could make a younger child upset. It is 4D and the seats shake, there is fake smoke, and flashes of lights are used, but they did an amazing job with it.
There is a cafe here and I think I saw if you have a Smithsonian membership, I think you get a discount.
We then checked into our hotel, the Ritz Carlton. This was a great hotel. They have a pull in area that is covered and you will see the valet parking. We would definatly stay here again (if we can afford it, we used points for this stay)
They have a spa, indoor pool that was closed when we were here. They give you water bottles in the lobby and have a restaurant on the lobby floor. Did I mention they have a Champagne vending machine?
Make sure to get have the kids club check in. They were not doimg it when we checked in ( Maybe bc of covid?)and I messages and askied why and they sent this to my son to make up fore it. He loved coming to the room and seeing it on his bed!
We got a double bedroom and felt it was nice and big with lots of room. They would not give us a roll away for my son due to fire safety reasons(totally understand), but we had plenty of room for one. They have a k cup coffee maker in the room too.
If you stay here, you MUST order room service and get the beignets! They are honestly in our opinion the best in New Orleans! I mean we may have even ordered them every night and to go in the morning when we left! The other food was amazing too!
We did takeout the first night from Mr. B Bistro that my husband and I loved when we came. We had Uber Eats deliver it. We sat in the courtyard at the Ritz and ate.
We got up the next day and drove around Bourbon Street (where at night everyone goes to drink) to show my son what it looked like. Thursday from 8 am to noon they clean the streets so we had to avoid that on a few streets while driving around but loved how empty it was.
We had a brunch reservation at the Court of Two Sisters which I highly recommend! Go ahead now and make a reservation on Resy.com. They have a great courtyard, but the threat of rain they closed it so we ate inside. They had a jazz band that goes around each room and play while you ate. The food was amazing!
We walked around the shops near there after we ate.
We then drove around a little more to see sights and then went back to the hotel to rest.
We had a 2:00 reservation at Commanders Palace so we went to the Garden District to drive around and check it out.
It was interesting to see the cemetery as they have to burry their bodies above ground for floods. You can take cemetery tours, we just did not have time.
We then had lunch at Commanders Palace, located in the Garden district since 1893. Their service was amazing from the minute you walk in. Kisha was our server and did a great job! Make sure you save room for the Bread Pudding soufflés and the 25 cent martinis!!! They have had award winning chefs and food! Make sure to let them know if it is your birthday when you make your reservation. They do have a dress code so check their website for details on that.
We then headed back to the hotel to relax.
The next day we got up and went to Cafe Du Monde, which is famous for it's beignets. They take cash only right now. Street performers came by and played Jazz while we ate. There is a parking lot next to it if you need to park. A few blocks down is the French Market with local sellers.
A few blocks down is the French Market with local sellers.
Across from the parking to is Jackson Square.
We then went to Mardi Grad World which is open 9-5:30. It has been closed since the last hurricane in 2021 so check ahead to see if it has reopened. We got tickets ahead of time. This is where you learn how they make the floats and get to see old ones and new ones being made, It was very cool to see them close up! They do have a shuttle to pick you up and bring you there for free. We drove and it was $20 to park at the closet lot. You get a piece of king cake and string of beads. Maybe bring a bag to carry the cakes with if you do not eat it during the movie you watch at the beginning. It is all inside but they keep the large doors open to get a nice breeze. Be sure to go outside the gift shop and look at the river! They do have a free shuttle they will pick you up at your hotel.
My son is a New Oreans Saints fan. They do tours off season but the Mercedes Benz Stadium was being renevated so we couldn't see it, but they had a gift shop open. Pull into the parking lo,t go to the top floor and walk to Gate A and you will see it.
We then went and took a Bayou airboat swap tour! Bring bug spray, water bottle, and rain coat if it is to rain. They do sell cold drinks there if you forget. They also will pick up via a free shuttle, but we chose to drive there. It was about 30 mins from downtown, 450 Laroussini Street, Westwego, LA.70094. The tour is about an hour and we saw lots of alligators and we got to hold a baby alligator.
There is a restaurant there to eat if you want called Segnette Landing. I wish we had known before we went as we would have had lunch there. We did get a snack there.
They also have these little shops where you can buy live fresh fish. It is right next to the swamp tour.
You can take streetcars around New Orleans which is fun and they also have a hop on and hop off bus that stops at most tourist spots.
Other interesting place to do:
Preservation Hall ( it was closed due to covid when we were there but loved it 16 years ago)
Other places to eat:
(Make sure to make reservations, some need them weeks in advance)
To see the other cities we went to on this Texas trip, check out these posts:
Check back every Tuesday for a new fun place to take a family vacation!
Check here for other vacations we have taken.
