Ultimate guide to the French Quarter New Orleans

Flying into New Orleans at sunset, the scenery below was stunning. We took in sweeping views of the Gulf of Mexico, the winding Mississippi River and the area’s fascinating, low-lying interconnected bodies of water made up from swamps and bayous.

But, immediately after landing in the Big Easy and checking into our hotel, it was time to explore everything about the French Quarter — from its world-famous restaurants and culinary delights, to the iconic architecture, lively music and colorful characters.

Any first-timer to the French Quarter of New Orleans will tell you, as we experienced, the area has so much going on it can be overwhelming. This was our first real visit to this vibrant neighborhood, and, with so much to see, do, eat and drink, we created this ultimate guide to help you navigate the French Quarter and make the most of your stay.

We did the research to provide you with an honest evaluation and helpful tips on how to get around, famous drinks, restaurants, things to do, and more in the oldest neighborhood of New Orleans. It was tough work, but somebody had to drink that Sazerac.

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Best things to do in the French Quarter New Orleans

1. Attend a Festival in New Orleans

Plan a visit to new Orleans around one of the many festivals held throughout the year in the French Quarter. One of the most renowned festivals around the world is, of course, Mardi Gras.

French Quarter Fest: April 11-14, 2024

We were lucky enough to visit New Orleans during the annual French Quarter Festival and it’s an intense way to soak in everything the neighborhood has to offer over the course of a few days. And, with the festival’s 40th anniversary taking place this year, we just know the festival organizers will be giving it their all.

Opening day of the French Quarter Festival this year begins with a kickoff parade, starting at 10 a.m. on April 11, in the 200 block of Bourbon Street before meandering its way to Jackson Square for the opening day ceremony.

The festival is all about the best food, drinks and music the community has to offer and this year more than 1,700 local musicians and 60 neighborhood restaurants are taking part. The event is the world’s largest free festival showcasing Louisiana music and features every genre, from traditional and contemporary jazz to R&B, New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, Latin, Zydeco, classical, cabaret and international. Learn more about music of Louisiana.

The annual French Quarter Festival in New Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Map of the French Quarter Garden District of New Orleans.

2. Explore Bourbon Street

The most obvious place to start when exploring the French Quarter is the famous/infamous Bourbon Street, which we visited during the day, at night, and in the middle of the French Quarter Festival.

Did you know the “go cup,” was invented on Bourbon Street? One visit to this noisy, boisterous, booze-imbibing, music-filled street and you’ll see it’s still very much in use. While much of the French Quarter is very family friendly, Bourbon Street is the epitome of party central, but while the kids might get an eyeful or two, we still think it’s an experience for all.

In the evening, neon lights create a brilliant backdrop for the throngs of revelers who wander the street, typically drink in hand, while the sounds of blues, jazz, R & B, and New Orleans funk can be heard through the open doors and windows of bars and cafes, and from the street musicians who congregate on every corner.

Lined with balconies and beads, scenes from Bourbon Street are some of the most iconic images you’ll see of the French Quarter. Another little-known fact is that Bourbon Street was not named after the famous amber-colored liquor, as one might easily assume, but instead gained its moniker from a royal family in France.

Bourbon Street is one of the most famous streets in the French Quarter. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

3. Sazerac House

Speaking of liquor, a tour of Sazerac House is a must while visiting New Orleans. And, while all ages are welcome to tour, it’s only guests 21 and older who can take part in the tastings, which, of course, we did.

Sazerac House is important historically because it was there in 1832, when young pharmacist Antoine Amédée Peychaud first began combining his bitters with his favorite imported French brandy — Sazerac-de-Forge et fils — and the original Sazerac Cocktail was born. Today, classic Sazerac is mixed with rye whiskey, due to a historic shortage of the imported brandy.

According to Sazerac House, it was then American cocktail culture was born, and with it, the historical importance of the French Quarter as “an incubator and celebrator of all things alcohol.”

The Ultimate Cocktail Experience at Sazerac House New Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

4. The French Market

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the historic French Market is six blocks long and includes a flea market, farmers market, eateries and café style seating. The market is located at a natural levee of the Mississippi River where the Choctaw Indians used to trade their wares to river traffic before Europeans settled the New World. Those early European settlers then came by boat to this location to sell produce and dairy products.

The French Market opened in 1791 and over the next 200 years, was built, destroyed, and rebuilt many times over. What remains unchanged is the market’s sense of history, culture and community, making it a place worth checking out while visiting New Orleans.

Today, the French Market is made up of seven buildings at Jackson Square, with the famous Cafe Du Monde on one end and the farmers market and flea market on the other.

Line up to get into Cafe Du Monde in the French Market. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Café du Monde

We can almost guarantee you’ll have to line up to get into Café du Monde, located at 800 Decatur St., but it is such a quintessential French Quarter experience you’re going to want check it out anyway, even if it’s for the beignets alone.

Of course, it’s most famous for its dark roasted coffee and chicory drinks, but it’s the beignets covered in a small mountain of powdered sugar that get the most Instagram love. Pro tip: Wear white or tuck a napkin into your shirt, because you will get covered.

The café is open 24/7 and only closes on Christmas Day and when the occasional hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.

In the French Quarter Cafe Du Monde serves up iconic beignets.

6. Vue Orleans

We enjoyed our visit to Vue Orleans so much, starting with the 4-D experiences, which bring historic New Orleans characters, politicians, musicians and artists to life, we highly recommend it to anyone considering a visit to the city.

Located on the riverfront at the top of the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, it includes a 360-degree panoramic viewing platform, which allowed us to take in all of the city’s historic neighborhoods and the workings of the Mississippi River.

Inside, the interactive Confluence of Culture wall is a large collage where, just by pointing, you can learn interesting facts about the art, music, food, history and culture of New Orleans in French, Spanish and English. You don’t even have to touch the image, some of which play music or sounds. Even the elevators are entertaining and offer different digital shows going up and down.

Then there’s the Story Café, a digital eatery, complete with bar stools, where local foodies chef Kevin Belton and journalist Poppy Tooker, demonstrate how to make some of the most iconic New Orleans dishes, including gumbo, jambalaya, king cake, and more.

4-D experiences at Vue Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

4-D experiences at Vue Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Views overlooking the French Quarter from Vue Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

7. New Orleans School of Cooking

If you are looking for a fun, entertaining and inexpensive way to learn about the food, folklore and maybe even a little gossip about New Orleans, the New Orleans School of Cooking is the spot to be. Established in 1980, this family owned school is located in the heart of the French Quarter.

If you would like to be inspired by authentic Louisiana Cajun and Creole cuisine with a collection of tasty recipes and chef profiles, we highly recommend subscribing to Louisiana Cookin’ magazine. The magazine comes out six times a year and we love it.

Here’s a little of what we learned about Cajun and Creole cuisine:

• Gumbo, a Louisiana stew, is a classic comfort food served over rice. The recipe starts by making a roux using flour and fat, adding a flavorful sock, then the Creole holy trinity (finely chopped onion, celery, green bell peppers), and a combination of smoked sausage, shrimp, chicken or other meat, crab or basically whatever you have on hand.
• Jambalaya is almost the same as Gumbo except the is rice cooked with it and it doesn’t start with a roux. Creole style Jambalaya is cooked with tomatoes, giving it a red color, while Cajun is brown.
• Boudin is a smoked sausage made up from beef, pork, turkey or seafood and always made with rice in Louisiana.
• Po’ Boys are basically a sandwich made with a baguette that can be filled with fried oysters or shrimp, or other meats of your choice, along with lettuce, tomato and a variety of fixings.
• Crawfish, as it is called by Louisianians, is also called crayfish, crawdads or sometimes mud bugs. It is a freshwater crustacean found in lakes, ponds, swaps, rice fields, wetlands, marshes and, yes, even in front yard drainage ditches. Crawfish season runs from late November to June.
• Étouffée is almost like Gumbo, but it has a much thicker consistency and is made with shellfish like crayfish, shrimp or crab and served over rice.
• Beignets are a little like a doughnut, but are square and typically sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sometimes they can be filled, making them either sweet or savory. These iconic treats are often served with café au lait.
  
• Pralines a sweet Creole confection created by French colonists, known as Creoles, has a long history. Originally, made with almonds, Louisiana’s local grown pecans were substituted. Like most recipes handed down through the generations, some are better than others. We have personally made pralines at home from a recipe provided by the New Orleans Cooking School, and so far they are the best we’ve tasted.

New Orleans Cooking School is a great foodie experience. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Pralines a sweet Creole confection created by French colonists. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

7. Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall opened in 1961 by founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe who had a goal to “protect, preserve and perpetuate” the musical tradition that is New Orleans jazz and, more importantly, to help care for aging musicians.

According to the Preservation Hall Foundation, the story of the hall dates back to the 1950s at Associated Artists, a small art gallery at 726 St., owned by Larry Borenstein who found difficult to attend the few remaining local jazz concerts in the area so began inviting these musicians to perform “rehearsal sessions” in the gallery itself. These sessions featured living legends of New Orleans Jazz, including George Lewis, Punch Miller, Sweet Emma Barrett, Billie and De De Pierce, the Humphrey Brothers, and dozens more.

Today, the 60 musicians who make up the hall’s musical collective play 360 shows each year, which are attended by more than 150,000 music and history lovers from across the globe.

And, while the building has changed very little since the day it opened, the music manages to remain true to its roots, while also evolving to embrace younger musicians who’ve learned traditional styles of jazz from the greats before them and whose music and spirit is embodied in the very fabric of the music hall.

Jazz Music in New Orleans – Inside Preservation Hall

8. St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square

Step inside the oldest cathedral in Louisiana. St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square is one of the most recognizable landmarks in New Orleans, Louisiana. Located in the heart of the French Quarter, the Catholic Cathedral, dedicated the King of France, Louis IX, has served the community since 1727.

One of the top things to do in the French Quarter New Orleans is to visit Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Jaskson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

9. Mississippi Steamboat

From Jackson Square head toward the Mississippi River to take a stroll along the waterfront, this is where you can see one of the last authentic steamboats on the Mississippi. Steamboats started operating on the river in 1817.

The New Orleans Steamboat sits along the Mississippi waterfront docked at the French Quarter. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

10. Famous Restaurants

There are so many places to eat at in New Orleans with more than 1,000 restaurants to choose from. In fact, New Orleans is one of the world’s top foodie destinations with award-winning restaurants and celebrated and celebrity chefs.

Here are three places we tried in the French Quarter that we can highly recommend. We were very lucky that we managed to get reservations. Extremely popular, well-known restaurants in the city can be sold out up to a year in advance, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Tujague’s

Tujague’s is one of the most famous and historic restaurants in New Orleans. Tujague’s opened in the French Quarter in 1856 and is the second oldest in the city. This is where the famous Grasshopper cocktail was invented in 1918.

Celebrities are no stranger to Tujaque’s and frequent the three-story restaurant that offers six beautiful dining rooms and a private dining space on the second floor with a private balcony overlooking Decatur Street. We loved the atmosphere here and it was perfect for our first dinner experience in the city.

We both had to try the Turtle Soup, then shared Oysters Rockefeller and one of their trademark dishes, the Spicy Shrimp Remoulade. The turtle soup is a dish with deep roots in Louisiana, so we had to give it a taste. We shared a bowl and found it tasty, hearty and full of vegetables and shredded turtle. We were glad we tried it, but didn’t order it again during our visit.

Tujaque’s is one of the most famous and historic restaurants in New Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Tujaque’s is one of the most famous and historic restaurants in New Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Bartender Anthony showed us how the the perfect New Orleans Grasshopper is made.  At the time of our visit a Grasshopper cost $13. It’s a perfect combination of a minty liqueur crème de menthe, a chocolate liqueur crème de cacao, brandy and cream.

Bartender Anthony shows us how a Grasshopper cocktail is made. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Tableau

Dickie Brennan’s Tableau, located on Jackson Square offers a variety of dining setting from inside dining, a open courtyard, private dining, lounge and a balcony overlooking Jackson Square, perfect for people watching.

French Onion Soup: Creole French Onion Soup – $14
Chicken Tableau: Roasted chicken breast, crispy fried thigh, tasso ham potatoes, sauce Béarnaise – $30
Agyu Denver Steak: braised cippolini onions, sauce grand-veneur, lyonnaise potatoes – $44

Dickie Brennan’s Tableau, located on Jackson Square. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

The Ruby Slipper

The Ruby Slipper is a favorite brunch spot with locals and visitors to the city and we can see why. The food here is amazingly scrumptious. We did not make reservations for breakfast the day we went, but our timing was perfect and they managed to find us a table for two before a big crowd came in two minutes later. When we left, there was a long lineup. Tip: Pickup is available to order online.

We tried the Bennies and one of us opted for the mix and match any two of the bennedicts:
Chicken St. Charles – Fried chicken breast served over a buttermilk biscuit, topped with two poached eggs, finished with a pork tasso cream sauce
Eggs Cochon – Slow-cooked, apple-braised pork served over a buttermilk biscuit, topped with two poached eggs, finished with hollandaise.

Their buttermilk biscuits are famous and they go through 40,000 a week.

Most Ruby Slipper bennies are served on their famous buttermilk biscuits. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Menu for the Ruby Slipper, a favorite brunch spot with locals and visitors to New Orleans. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

11. Take a food tour

Taking a food tour has to be one of the best ways to try some of the famous foods of New Orleans and learn about the history and the culture behind the bites. We went on a Doctor Gumbo combined cocktail and food history tour. This entertaining tour makes up to six stops at award-winning seafood restaurants, James Beard Award-nominated craft cocktail lounges, iconic Creole restaurants, an artisanal candy store and more.

We tried four full-sized cocktails, including a rum-filled Hurricane, a Pimm’s Cup and the French 75. We also tried up to nine bites, well, they were actually large portions, of different dishes. We tried classic dishes like gumbo, muffulettas and other culinary delights.

The muffaletta originated in New Orleans, purportedly at Central Grocery, where it is still made today. The Sicilian-inspired sandwich is made with Italian charcuterie and a spicy Creole olive salad. Here’s a recipe from New Orleans celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse for you to try.

This entertaining four hour tour started on Bourbon Street at Ralph Brennan’s Red Fish Grill. We can’t recommend this tour enough. We had a lot of laughs, just enough cocktails, too much to eat, and learned some really interesting and, sometimes scandalous, stories about New Orleans.

Doctor Gumbo combined cocktail and food history tour. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Writer Sandra Thomas is a little shocked at the size of this “snack-sized” muffuletta, during the Doctor Gumbo combined cocktail and food history tour. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Writer Sandra Thomas tries a cocktail on the Doctor Gumbo combined cocktail and food history tour. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

12. Carousel Bar & Lounge

Make sure to visit the Carousel Bar & Lounge, which opened inside the historic Hotel Monteleone on Sept. 3, 1949. (While you’re at it, check out the crystal chandeliers adorning the lobby of this grand dame property.) This is just one of the places in the French Quarter to try famous New Orleans cocktails.

The bar includes 25 vintage, circus-themed painted seats surrounding a colorful marquis, which revolves around world-class bartenders creating world-class cocktails, once every 15 minutes. While to this day, the bar remains a haunt of celebrities, famous authors and playwrights such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote were also once regulars.

We managed to snag a seat at the revolving bar and ordered the Carousel’s signature cocktail, Vieux Carre, a mix of Sazerac rye whiskey, Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, Angostura and Peychaud Bitters.

New Orleans’ one and only revolving bar, the Carousel Bar and Lounge is still spinning after 70 years and, as we sipped our cocktails, it was easy to imagine Ernest Hemingway sauntering up to the bar and ordering his “usual.”

13. Garden District

Stroll through the Garden District, which saw us gaping at pre-Civil War homes, many showcasing grand wrap-around porches, towering columns, ornate wrought-iron gates and gabled roofs.

We learned the history of the elegant homes of the district by taking a Two Chicks Walking Tour, which also included a stop at the famous Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

Learn more about the New Orleans Garden District walking tour.

Where to stay in the French Quarter New Orleans

There are lots of cool, historic and charming boutique hotels throughout the French Quarter and in other close-by neighborhoods adjacent to this area. When touring the French Quarter, bar and lounge areas are usually worthy of visit.

We stayed five nights in the city and tried two very different types of accommodations.

Bienville House Hotel in the French Quarter, offers the true Old-World elegance of a charming inn. We had heard a lot about this manor-style hotel, so walking up to the front door and taking in its architecture and ambience, including French windows, wrought-iron balconies with potted plants, sconce lighting, brass plaques and waving flags set the mood perfectly. Read our review of Bienville House.

Virgin Hotels New Orleans when it comes to service, cleanliness, amenities, décor and great vibe, this eclectic boutique hotel nestled in the heart of downtown New Orleans hit all of the right notes for us. We honestly loved this hotel. Read our review of Virgin Hotels New Orleans

That sense of intriguing history followed us throughout all of our explorations on New Orleans’ French Quarter and we’ve barely scratched the surface. For more information and tips on Louisiana, check out our stories here.

A Guide to Mardi Gras Carnival season the authentic Louisiana experience, Step inside iconic Preservation Hall New Orleans Jazz scene, Music in Louisiana is a vibrant blend of Heritage and Harmony

Wendy Nordvik-Carr and Sandra Thomas attended various locations throughout Louisiana as part of a press trip by Explore Louisiana, Visit New Orleans, Visit Lafayette, Visit Lake Charles and Visit Shreveport, which did not review or approve of this article before it was published.

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