Solo travel · New Orleans · United States
Solo travel in New Orleans
How to enjoy New Orleans at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0
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Quick answer
New Orleans is sociable and easy to enjoy alone: music clubs, oyster bars and cocktail bars are places where strangers talk, and walking tours, cooking classes and second lines make it easy to meet people. Many solo travellers base themselves in Faubourg Marigny.
Key facts
- Base
- Faubourg Marigny
- Getting around
- Tram
- Emergency number
- 911 (police, fire, ambulance)
- Language
- English
Solo travel tips
- Sit at the oyster bar or the counter in old-line restaurants; it is the quickest way into a conversation.
- Join a history, food or music walking tour to meet other travellers.
- Stay in the French Quarter or Marigny to walk to the music clubs.
- Use a taxi or ride-hailing after dark rather than walking through quiet blocks between neighbourhoods.
- Watch for street hustles on Bourbon Street, such as strangers betting they can guess where you got your shoes.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for nightlife, solo travellers and budget
Faubourg Marigny
Just downriver from the French Quarter across Esplanade Avenue, the Marigny is a neighbourhood of brightly painted Creole cottages and shotgun houses. Its three blocks of Frenchmen Street hold the city's best concentration of live-music clubs, including the Spotted Cat, d.b.a. and Snug Harbor, plus the Frenchmen Art Market in the evenings. Guesthouses and B&Bs outnumber hotels.
- Good
- Walk home from the best music clubs; Characterful guesthouses; More local than the Quarter
- Watch out
- Few full-service hotels; Quiet side streets late at night
- Nearby
- Frenchmen Street, Washington Square Park, Crescent Park, French Quarter
Great on your own
Landmark · French Quarter
Jackson Square
Climb up to the Moonwalk riverfront promenade opposite the square for a view of the Mississippi and the cathedral together.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Photo spot
Religious site · French Quarter
St. Louis Cathedral
Walk round to St. Anthony's Garden behind the cathedral on Royal Street after dark, when the floodlit statue of Christ casts a giant shadow on the back wall.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Iconic
- After dark
Experience · French Quarter
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.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- After dark
- Iconic
- History
- Couples
Museum · Warehouse District
The National WWII Museum
Allow at least five hours, and see the film early in the day before museum fatigue sets in.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Experience · St. Charles Avenue
St. Charles streetcar
Ride out to Audubon Park, walk through to the zoo or the river, and come back at dusk; have exact change or a pass in the Le Pass app.
- Time needed
- About 45 minutes each way
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- Views
Experience · Riverfront
Steamboat Natchez river cruise
Go below deck during the cruise to watch the steam engines working.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Couples
- Kids
- Views
- Iconic
Meeting people
- Jazz brunch — A weekend brunch with a strolling jazz trio is a local institution; Commander's Palace in the Garden District is the classic choice and needs booking well ahead.
- Old-line Creole dining — Antoine's (founded in 1840), Galatoire's and Arnaud's in the French Quarter serve classic Creole dishes such as oysters Rockefeller and shrimp rémoulade in grand, old-fashioned dining rooms.
- Frenchmen Street — The best concentration of live-music clubs, with jazz, brass and funk from late afternoon into the small hours.
- Bourbon Street — Neon, cover bands, daiquiris and balcony parties, busiest at weekends and during festivals.
Sensible precautions
Stick to busy, well-lit streets at night and use a taxi or ride-hailing between neighbourhoods after dark rather than walking through quiet blocks. Pickpocketing and street hustles happen in crowded parts of the French Quarter. Summer heat and humidity are serious, and hurricane season runs from June to November, so watch forecasts and follow local advice.
- Emergency number
- 911 (police, fire, ambulance)
- Staying connected
- Free Wi-Fi is common in hotels, cafés and at the airport; US prepaid SIMs and eSIMs are easy to buy.
Questions travellers ask
+Is New Orleans good for solo travellers?
New Orleans is sociable and easy to enjoy alone: music clubs, oyster bars and cocktail bars are places where strangers talk, and walking tours, cooking classes and second lines make it easy to meet people.
+Where should solo travellers stay in New Orleans?
Faubourg Marigny: Painted Creole cottages and the live-music clubs of Frenchmen Street.