How to spend top weekend in New Orleans - ideas on extraordinary attractions and sites

New Orleans is an amazing city where only festivals can be more powerful than hurricanes. The city is the homeland of jazz, interesting gastronomic traditions, and incredibly cheerful people who courageously resist the vagaries of mother nature. It is preferable to start exploring New Orleans with a walk along its main streets, which literally turn into a huge open-air restaurant in the afternoon. The thing is that the townspeople are big barbecue enthusiasts. Not a day goes by without cooking the favorite treats in the open air. Delicious quail, specialty spicy sausages, and many more interesting meat dishes can be tasted just while walking along the streets in the evening. Besides bbq trucks, the streets are full of artists, musicians, and souvenir sellers. Regular evening walks will certainly not be boring in New Orleans.

Want to visit a symbolic place? Go look for the legendary Dooky Chase Restaurant, which is considered one of the oldest restaurants in town. Its guests can try the most popular national dishes, including popular gumbo soup, the secret ingredient of which is okra. The founder is Leah Chase who has been the restaurant's owner and chef for over 60 years. Throughout its history, Dooky Chase was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt so the opportunity to visit this historic landmark today is great luck for all travelers.

Few travelers are aware of another interesting feature of New Orleans - the Second Line Street Festivals taking place in the city every two weeks. If you find out when the next festival kicks off, you can turn your vacation into an unforgettable event. The festivals are incredibly colorful, noisy, and covering the entire city. They are always attended by street food vendors, musicians, street performers, and dancers who pick up the most incredible costumes for the event. Walking through the streets of New Orleans along with a crowd of people singing and having fun is perhaps one of the most incredible entertainment ever. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

New Orleans' most vibrant tourist area is the French Quarter , which attracts tour-goers with a variety of colonial buildings. The French Market is also located here. Contrary to expectations, you won’t find French delicacies and wines at this market. Instead, you can buy unique souvenirs in the spirit of New Orleans. Some of the most unusual ones are voodoo figurines and attributes. Fans of traditional memorable gifts are presented with a large selection of T-shirts, trinkets, and other bright things.

In the vicinity of the city, you can visit many more interesting places, and Alligator Farm is one of them. These dangerous and frightening representatives of the animal world are the most important symbol of the state of Louisiana. Alligators are bred on special farms and then delivered to restaurants where unique national dishes are prepared from their meat. Cajun traditions have been preserved in the city too. The largest group of Cajuns lives in L Acadiane . It shouldn't be a problem to get to the area from New Orleans. Here you can chat with hereditary alligator hunters and, of course, get acquainted with their unique national gastronomy. New Orleans is rich in surprises and unexpected discoveries, so its guests should not limit themselves to just classic tours.

Travel on the Natchez Paddle Steamboat

You will probably be intrigued by the possibility of taking a cruise on the Mississippi River on the Natchez paddle steamboat. Such vessels sailed on this great river in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Mark Twain described one of them in his famous work about the adventures of Tom Sawyer. The boat departs from the pier at 11:30 and 14:30 daily. First, it will go in an easterly direction, moving to the seaport and the Gulf of Mexico. Then the boat will turn back to New Orleans.

The duration of the trip is 2 hours. You will be able to see New Orleans from the other side, admire the landscape of the coast and the business center of the city, and sail past warehouses, docks, oil depots during this time. You can also take great photos, listen to the guide's story, and enjoy beautiful music performed by a jazz band. You can even go into the engine room to see how the 6-cylinder steam engine works.

Journey through the Swamps and Feeding Alligators

The Jean Lafitte National Park is located on the shores of Lake Salvador, a 40-minute drive from the city. You will be able to walk through a swampy area without fear of getting bogged down in a bog. You will also be able to pass on the deck made of wooden planks. You can look at exotic plants and observe large spiders, beetles, snakes, herons, pelicans, turtles, and even American alligators.

You will also have the opportunity to become a glider passenger. It is a watercraft that has an air cushion. You can make a trip through the swamps with it without harm to water inhabitants. You can go for a walk at night, lighting your way with a flashlight. Predatory reptiles will swim close to the ship's side during the voyage. You can treat them with special food provided by the guide.

Tour of City Cemeteries

An unusual tour awaits you in New Orleans. This is a tour of the Lafayette and St. Louis cemeteries. They were used several times as movie sets. They are open to the public from Monday to Saturday. Many residents of the city claim that they saw ghostly figures, heard strange creaks and groans, and felt a cold touch on each of them.

Some of the monuments and graves of Lafayette have subsided. They can fail at any moment right in front of you. Some of the monuments are an eerie sight because they are displaced from the ground by the roots of centuries-old trees. If you arrive at the St. Louis cemetery, you will be able to walk along narrow paths. They share tombs-houses. These trails are located above ground due to the high probability of flooding by groundwater. If you are lucky, you will be able to see the ghost dance of Marie Laveau. She practiced the voodoo religion during her lifetime. You can also see the translucent figure of the teacher of the slaves Delphine LaLaurie.

Take Part in the Mardi Gras Carnival

If you come to New Orleans in February, you can attend the annual Mardi Gras Carnival. It is held on Tuesday preceding the beginning of Lent for Catholics. At first, it took place in the French quarter. It was a costume performance dedicated to the meeting of spring. Today it has become a festival of dolls made from all kinds of materials.

You will have the opportunity to attend a satirical performance, see all sorts of platforms moving through the city streets, or take a walk with a hand-made doll. You can also dress up in any bright costume and join the procession of people who have come here from all over the world. You will also enjoy a fascinating tour of the hangars of Blaine Kern Studios. Huge dolls are produced there. They are used during the carnival. You can also view various figures, props, and original costumes.