NOLA isn’t as big as some of the other famous American cities like New York or Los Angeles, so a proper New Orleans tour doesn’t have to involve staying for weeks. We would recommend staying for three or four days if you want to see all the hits, and about a week if you want to really get to know the town.
If you have only a couple of days, you should make sure to visit the most essential places in the city. We would recommend focusing on the French Quarter, the most well-known neighborhood in New Orleans. With its many shops and curiosities, as well as its iconic colonial French and Spanish architecture, it’s easy to see why so many tourists flock to the French Quarter on their first trip to the Big Easy.
On the west end of the neighborhood, check out Bourbon Street in the evening for a taste of NOLA’s famous nightlife, including live music, street food, and plenty of bars. Stop by Preservation Hall for some of the best Dixieland jazz in the city.
If you have some more time, make sure you don’t miss the luxurious Victorian houses of the Garden District. It’s also worth taking one of New Orleans’s famous haunted tours, focusing on the city’s many legends about ghosts, witches, and voodoo sorcerers. It’s also well worth exploring the areas outside the city itself. The bayou outside NOLA is full of gators, snakes, and other wildlife as well as lavish historical plantation houses – many of which are open to the public.
To make the most of your next trip to New Orleans, we recommend checking out our New Orleans Self-Guided Walking Tour. More prolific travelers might also be interested in Action+, a yearly subscription that grants access to over 100 tours for a single price.
Essential Travel Guide:
