Season guide · New Orleans · United States
New Orleans in spring
March–May: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Warm, bright weather, azaleas and crawfish season, with French Quarter Festival and Jazz Fest drawing big crowds in April and early May. Expect highs up to 30°C (86°F) and lows around 12°C (54°F), with about 23 rainy days across March–May. March–April are among the best months of the year to visit.
Key facts
- Months
- March–May
- Temperatures
- 12°C (54°F) to 30°C (86°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 23
- Crowds
- Busy
- Hotel prices
- High
Weather in spring
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 23°C (73°F) | 12°C (54°F) | 8 | 11.9 h | 4/5 |
| April | 26°C (79°F) | 15°C (59°F) | 7 | 12.9 h | 5/5 |
| May | 30°C (86°F) | 20°C (68°F) | 8 | 13.6 h | 4/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 26°C (79°F) against a yearly 26°C (79°F), and 23 of the year's roughly 115 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 4/5 and hotel prices 4/5 on average.
What's on in spring
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- March: St Joseph's Day altars (around 19 March)
- March: Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival (usually late March)
- April: French Quarter Festival — free music stages (usually mid-April)
- April: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (usually the last weekend of April and first of May)
- May: Jazz Fest second weekend (usually early May)
Make the most of the weather
Experience · St. Charles Avenue
St. Charles streetcar
Running since 1835, the St.
- Time needed
- About 45 minutes each way
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- Views
Park · Mid-City
City Park and NOMA Sculpture Garden
Take the Canal streetcar's City Park/Museum branch to the end of the line, which stops at the museum steps.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Art
- Nature
Zoo · Uptown
Audubon Zoo
In Uptown's Audubon Park, the zoo's Louisiana Swamp exhibit recreates a Cajun bayou with alligators, including rare white alligators, while other areas cover the African savanna, Asian animals and a jaguar jungle.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
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Aquarium · Riverfront
Audubon Aquarium
Combine it with the riverfront walk and the Canal Street ferry to Algiers Point.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Experience · Riverfront
Steamboat Natchez river cruise
The Natchez is a steam-powered sternwheeler that sails from the Toulouse Street Wharf behind Jackson Brewery, with a calliope concert on deck before departure and a jazz band on board.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Couples
- Kids
- Views
- Iconic
Day trips in spring
- Whitney Plantation (About 1 hour by car) — On River Road in Wallace, the Whitney is a museum dedicated to the lives of the enslaved people who worked Louisiana's sugar plantations, told through memorials, first-person testimony and preserved buildings.
- Oak Alley Plantation (About 1 hour by car) — A Greek Revival mansion at the end of an avenue of 28 live oaks nearly 300 years old, with exhibits on the enslaved people who lived and worked on the estate.
What to pack
- Light, breathable clothes, a sun hat and high-factor sunscreen
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is spring a good time to visit New Orleans?
Yes: March–April are among the best months. Warm, bright weather, azaleas and crawfish season, with French Quarter Festival and Jazz Fest drawing big crowds in April and early May.
+What is the weather like in New Orleans in spring?
Highs of up to 30°C (86°F) and lows around 12°C (54°F), with about 23 rainy days over the season.