When it comes to New Orleans, the unanswerable question
is not "What is there to do?" Rather, it is "What
is there not to do?" The following is a sampler of
activities and attractions excerpted from an article entitled,
"A Day in the Life - Quintessential New Orleans, The
Ultimate Tour" written by Lisl M. Spangenberg.
Take a guided city tour. It’s the easiest route
to sorting out New Orleans’ many historic neighborhoods
like the French Quarter, the Central Business and Arts
Districts, the Garden District, and Uptown, home of Greek
Revival and Victorian mansions, Tulane, and Audubon Park
and Zoo.
Tour by bus, van, private car, carriage, reclining bike
or even kayak.
Board a riverboat for a lunch cruise; see and feel the
power and history of the Mississippi and sample some Creole
or Cajun specialties at the same time. Grab a muffuletta
or gumbo and picnic by the river or in Jackson Square.
Try Riverwalk, which houses some fine restaurants and
cafés, and explore the three levels of shops that
open onto the river and end at the scenic Spanish Plaza
fountain.
By foot or carriage, Jackson Square has long been the
heart of the city, flanked by the Pontalba Apartments,
the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral, and the Presbytère.
Wander through the flagstoned ambiance of Pirate’s
Alley and stop by the Faulkner House book store to see
where the author penned her first novel, A Soldier's
play.
Explore the markets: French, Farmer’s and Flea, all
in one long arcade along the river. Great local New Orleans
and Louisiana products and tons of jewelry, voodoo dolls,
carnival masks, arts,
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crafts,and tchotchkes for gifts. Check out the Central
Grocery for the aromatic ambiance and local food products.
So many ways to see the French Quarter: mule drawn
carriage and various guided and self-guided tours.
The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors
Bureau's free brochure includes both a self guided
French Quarter walking and city driving tour. See
18th-19th-century New Orleans at your own pace.
Any day but Monday visit the Louisiana State Museum
national landmarks.
Bourbon Street (named for the French royals, not
the liquor) swings all night and into the wee hours.
In the Faubourg Marigny, Frenchmen Street is music
central.
Stroll along the river through the dark breezes vibrating
with the sound of riverboat horns and the scent of
sweet olive.
Carriage and guided walking tours of the Garden District,
a national historic landmark, are fun and informative.
Or do it at your own pace with a self-guided tour
and map.
Hop the streetcar at St. Charles and Common (one
block uptown from Canal, the beginning of the 13-mile
route) and explore the Lower Garden and Garden Districts.
On the way, you’ll see the Superdome and Gallier
Hall.
Just across from Tulane University, Audubon Park
is
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worth a stroll through moss- hung oaks, but catch it on
the way back. Ride the streetcar to the Carrollton area’s
Riverbend, where the river and the streetcar make a sharp
turn into uptown’s commercial enclave.
The Audubon Zoo is renowned for its inhabitants and their
habitats: the wonderful Sea Lion pool, Cajun Swamp, white
tigers, and pony-size rodents. Afterwards, board the John
James Audubon Cruise to the Aquarium of the Americas back
in the French Quarter.
Catch the Magazine Street bus, and journey downtown through
an odyssey of funky, hip shops and art galleries into
the Central Business and Arts District. Standouts there
are the art galleries, particularly the Contemporary Arts
Center at 900 Camp St, and the New Orleans School of Glassworks
& Printmaking at 727 Magazine, which offers free and
very entertaining glassblowing and printmaking demonstrations.
They say the South stops 50 miles north of New Orleans
because that’s how far the city’s European and
Creole heritage extends. But New Orleans and Louisiana
were inextricably linked to the Old South; plantation
life began in the early 18th century, and Louisiana’s
rich cotton and sugar crops were produced on about 1,600
plantations state-wide.
Stroll through a few galleries across Canal in the Central
Business District.
Take a bus ride or a guided tour along tree-lined Esplanade
Avenue, which runs from the river to City Park and Bayou
St. John. Lots to see there: old mansions on Esplanade,
City Park’s live oak stand and the dueling oak under
which so many died.
New Orleanians love to share the good times. They know
how lucky they are to be in this land and of it.
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