2 days in New Orleans

Day by day

1. Day 1: Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral

   Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, Café du Monde and the French Market and Bourbon Street, then Frenchmen Street in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Jackson Square

      Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo and the Presbytère and by the red-brick Pontalba Buildings of the 1850s. Artists hang their work on the iron railings, and brass bands, tarot readers and street performers set up on the flagstones.

   2. Late morning

      St. Louis Cathedral

      The present building dates from 1789–94 and was largely rebuilt in 1849–50, on a site used for churches since the early 18th century. Entry is free outside services.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Beignets

      Café du Monde at the French Market, serving them since 1862, and Café Beignet on Royal and Bourbon streets.

   4. Afternoon

      Café du Monde and the French Market

      Behind it, the French Market's open-air sheds stretch along Decatur Street with food stalls, a flea market and souvenir stands.

   5. Late afternoon

      Bourbon Street

      Among the noise are historic buildings such as Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, said to be one of the oldest structures used as a bar in the US, and Galatoire's restaurant. Much of the street is closed to traffic in the evenings.

   6. Evening

      Frenchmen Street

      Carry small bills for the band's tip bucket and a one-drink minimum, wander between clubs and stay where the music grabs you.

2. Day 2: The National WWII Museum and Mardi Gras World

   The National WWII Museum, Mardi Gras World, Ogden Museum of Southern Art and St. Charles streetcar, then Preservation Hall in the evening.

   1. Morning

      The National WWII Museum

      The 4D film Beyond All Boundaries, narrated by Tom Hanks, is an optional extra.

   2. Late morning

      Mardi Gras World

      Guided tours show sculptors and painters at work on papier-mâché and foam figures, and include a slice of king cake.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Gumbo

      Almost every Creole restaurant; Dooky Chase's in Tremé is known for its gumbo z'herbes, a green gumbo served on Holy Thursday.

   4. Afternoon

      Ogden Museum of Southern Art

      The Ogden collects the visual art of the American South, from 19th-century landscapes and self-taught artists to contemporary painting and photography, in a five-storey modern hall attached to a 19th-century Romanesque library building.

   5. Late afternoon

      St. Charles streetcar

      Charles line is the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world. Its olive-green wooden cars rattle about 21 km from Canal Street through the Garden District and Uptown, past mansions, Loyola and Tulane universities and Audubon Park, to Carrollton Avenue.

   6. Evening

      Preservation Hall

      Stand near the front for the closest view of the band; sets are about 45 minutes, so it fits before a late dinner.

Before you go

• Preservation Hall: Capacity is small; buy tickets for a specific set online, especially at weekends and during festivals.

If it rains

• Swap in The Cabildo (French Quarter): Pair it with the Presbytère on the other side of the cathedral, which has exhibitions on Mardi Gras and on Hurricane Katrina.
• Swap in Audubon Aquarium (Riverfront): Combine it with the riverfront walk and the Canal Street ferry to Algiers Point.
• Swap in The Historic New Orleans Collection (French Quarter): Step into the courtyards between galleries for a rare peaceful pause in the Quarter.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 15–20 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.2 hours in December to 14.1 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Tram. The St.

More or fewer days

• One day in New Orleans
• 3 days in New Orleans
• 4 days in New Orleans
• 5 days in New Orleans
• 7 days in New Orleans

Questions travellers ask