3 Days in
The Big Easy
New Orleans Travel Itinerary & Guide
3 Days in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is an insanely fun city! Overflowing with history, mouthwatering bites, cheap drinks, music that will rock your soul, & bars that never close, New Orleans should be next on your travel bucket list!
Day 1:
Toast
Start your morning off right with a delicious breakfast from Toast! It’s a small very casual breakfast spot with indoor and outdoor seating. The menu features a mix of traditional breakfast items, Cajun/southern dishes, and sweet or savory crepes. I ordered the biscuits with sausage, onions, grits eggs, and mornay sauce. It was delicious, heavy, but very delicious! Perfect meal to fill my belly before a long day. The one thing I was a little bummed about is they didn’t have bloody marys or mimosas but I’ve heard many places in New Orleans allow you to bring your own alcohol. Haven’t confirmed it for this restaurant but it’s a possibility! To be honest, though, I don’t think the vibe of this place though is boozy brunch, it’s more of coffee and casual. Which reminds me, their coffee is on point.
Garden District
Take a stroll through the Garden District, close to Toast where you’ll see some of the most beautiful New Orlean’s style homes. Also, you can find the house that is used in the 3rd season of American Horror Story: The Coven. In reality, it’s called the Buckner Mansion and can be found here. Another highlight in this area is one of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s houses located at 1527 Harmony St, New Orleans, LA 70115. We asked one of the neighbors about the house, and they mentioned they had never seen Beyonce there only gardeners, but who knows you might be luckier and see Beyonce beyond the Partition.
Tracey's
If you’d like a drink while you walk around, Tracey’s is a quick and affordable watering hole. Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention that you can walk around with an open container in New Orleans?! It gets even better, most restaurants and bars have to-go cups also known as “geaux cups”.
Lafayette Cemetery
Finish your geaux cup and toss it before visiting the Lafayette Cemetery. You might be asking Tony, I am on vacation why am I visiting a cemetery? Believe me, there is something fascinating about the New Orlean’s cemeteries. Due to the hurricanes and floods, almost all of the bodies are buried above ground in beautiful graves. You can jump on a tour with a guide right outside of the cemetery or just stroll through on your own. Either way is quite enjoyable.
St. Charles Streetcars
Take a ride down the St. Charles Streetcars towards the riverwalk and Jackson Square. By the way, do not refer to them as trolleys, that’s a bit of a no-no with locals, they are “streetcars”. The streetcars are a historic way to travel across the city, that surprisingly has a mix of locals and tourists (unlike the trolleys in San Francisco which are strictly tourist). The cost is $1.25 in cash. (Emphasis on the cash part.)
Riverwalk
Take a leisurely stroll along the riverside towards Jackson Square.
Jackson Square
Check out Jackson Square, take some photos, and enjoy the street performers.
Cafe Du Monde
If heaven existed on earth, and it was a bit chaotic and crowded, then it would be Cafe Du Monde. The famous beignet and coffee eatery, Cafe Du Monde lives up to the hype! You seat yourself, just grab the first open table and wait for a staff member to come by to take your order. I saw for a few tables that people waited a long time and actually had to flag down a staff member so keep that in mind if service is a little slower than anticipated. The beignets come in orders of three…I could have eaten a whole order to myself! They are delicious hot and fresh, while perfectly complimented by the chicory coffee. We enjoyed both the classic and frozen chicory coffee. Be sure not to wear black or your clothes will be covered in powdered sugar. They also have a to-go window, but I strongly recommend to take the time to enjoy the beignets while they are hot and fresh. (I’ve heard that if they sit around they become hard and aren’t as majestic!) Also, be sure to step inside and see the process and assembly line for how the staff gets everything together. The bathroom line can be kind of long, but at least you get to watch most of the magic happen. They also do sell beignet mix and chicory coffee mix as a souvenir, which you can also buy in the airport and at most grocery stores.
French Quarter
Take a walk around the French Quarter, enjoy the beautiful architecture, live performances, and lively atmosphere.
Pat O'Briens
Stop in Pat Obrien’s for their famous drink: the Hurricane! They have a really neat inside bar with cool decor, my favorite part though is the outside patio garden area. It’s really the perfect place to sit on a nice day.
Drago's
Alright, I’ll start with my disclaimer normally I avoid restaurants within hotels because they end up being tourist traps and never that good. Drago’s within the Hilton completely twisted my view on this. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal here. We started with a half order raw oysters and then my favorite: a full order of the chargrilled oysters. I can’t emphasize enough that you have to order the chargrilled oysters! Even if you don’t like oysters, which people at our table did not, we all devoured the chargrilled oysters. They do not have the slime and slippery texture that raw oysters have…and the best part they are drenched in butter. For another appetizer we had the fried alligator bites. They were fried perfectly with a delicious ranch-like sauce. We also enjoyed the jambalaya pasta and the crawfish Étouffée. Both meals were delicious and full of flavor. The service was excellent and overall gave us a good introduction into the food of New Orleans.
Bourbon Street
Head out to New Orleans Party Street: Bourbon Street! I heard a lot of horror stories and bad things about Bourbon Street, so my expectations were very low. It turns out that I had such a great time there! It’s very casual, you can go out in shorts, jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. (Ladies, do not wear heels!) Drinks are extremely cheap at most places, compared to other major party areas like Las Vegas. Most bars have a 3-for-1 deal…yes, this isn’t a typo! 3 beers for the price of one, 3 shots for the price of one, a triple drink for the price of a single…well there must be a catch, right? Like, the price of one must be $15? No! Not at all…$7 for 3 beers, $7 for 3 shots, $7 for a triple vodka soda. Most of the bars close down at 4:30 am…if they even do close. Some of my favorites were: Cornets, the Cat’s Meow, and Razoo Bar & Patio. Then saving my favorite for last: Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. Lit by candlelight, filled with the merry sounds of singalong songs from the piano, this place is legendary…and another reason it’s legendary: built during the 1720s, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar is regarded as the oldest structure to be used as a bar in the United States and is considered one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans. Also, pro-tip bring some beads to throw from the balconies!
Day 2:
Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour
We used the company, Jean Lafitte, to travel through the Louisana swampland on a pontoon boat. It was a great tour and interesting. We were nervous at first that the pontoon would be overcrowded or uncomfortable, but there was plenty of room to move around and enjoy the tour. We saw plenty of alligators, turtles, and birds. They even allow you to hold a baby alligator, that they’re helping raise before releasing it back in the wild as part of conservation efforts. They will help arrange transportation for an additional fee. We found a Groupon for the tour: $72 for four people (then $25 roundtrip per person for transportation).
Dat Dog
After the swamp tour, you will be starving, and the perfect remedy is Dat Dog, where you can enjoy a wide variety of delicious hotdogs…including a hotdog made with alligator sausage…I know I know, you just held a baby alligator but it’s just so delicious.
I devoured the Son of a Saint which is Vaucresson Hot Sausage, Andouille Sauce, Grilled Onions, Tomatoes, “Chick” Sauce & Creole Mustard for $7.95. This hotdog was so good and a great choice since it has a Cajun flair to it. We also enjoyed an alligator sausage hotdog with the chef’s recommended fixings. The cherry on top was the WTF Fries which included chili, cheese, onions, guacamole, sour cream, and more. There are multiple Dat Dog locations (the one on Frenchman Street has really cool Star Wars art) but this location has a great outdoor patio.
Midway Pizza
We then celebrated a friend’s birthday at the local favorite: Midway Pizza. One of our traditions is to always try a pizza place wherever we visit, and this place delivers (see what I did there). We ordered the Caesar salad and house salad. Both were refreshing, especially after eating all the heavy food in New Orleans. For drinks, they specialize in a Sazeracs. For the main course, we enjoyed three types of pizzas. One full pizza of the King Creole (House creole/Fredo sauce, garlic marinated gulf shrimp, topped with tomato basil relish, green onion)-had to be sure to get a Cajun flair in on this meal. This was our favorite. Then we did a half Kingpin (House meatballs, caramelized onions, shaved parmesan, green onions) and half Tiny Bubbles (Chisesi ham, pineapple, Spanish onions, jalapenos). This was more than enough delicious food for five people.
Ghost Tour
A ghost tour is an excellent way to learn the history and beliefs of a city. New Orleans is especially fascinating with a rich and dark history. If you’ve seen the 3rd season of American Horror Story, this ghost tour will be perfect for you as the tour information and show are very intertwined. The tour goes through the French Quarter, very close to Bourbon Street.
Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen Street is lined with bars/music venues. Hop into any bar and enjoy world-class jazz which each venue having a different twist from brass band to blues there is music for everyone.
Day 3:
Mahony's Po-boys
You can’t leave New Orleans without enjoying a po-boy and Mahony’s is the perfect restaurant to do so. With a casual vibe and a killer po-boy, this should be a must on your list! I had the regular shrimp po-boy which was perfect! We also enjoyed the debris fries and a delicious bloody mary.
Sno-la Uptown
A snowball is very similar to the Japanese kakigori and Korean patbingsu if you’re familiar. It’s shaved ice with ice cream, condensed milk, syrup and a variety of toppings. Sno-la’s specialty is cheesecake bites fused into their snowballs. I enjoyed the Chantilly Cake, which was like heaven in my mouth. The Chantilly Cake is shaved ice, cheesecake bites, icecream, condensed milk, strawberry syrup, and then topped with strawberries and blueberries. What’s nice is they don’t just stack everything on top of each other so all the flavors on top then it’s just ice on the bottom. Instead, they layer and use straws to make sure the syrup reaches the bottom. There isn’t room to sit inside but there are tables outside which are perfect on a nice day.
Port Orleans Brewing Co
Make sure you visit Port Orlean’s Brewing on a Sunday during the spring to experience the New Orlean’s favorite a crawfish cookout! You order the crawfish by the pound from an outside vendor (maybe call Port Orlean’s ahead of time to make sure the vendor is there that day). The crawfish also come with sausage, potatoes, and sometimes corn.
Joey K's Magazine Street
Joey K’s has all the greatest hits of Cajun cuisine. Including their famous red beans and rice which has won many awards. We also had the gumbo which was delicious and the best part was the all you can eat fried catfish. Breaded and fried perfectly, this was one of my favorite meals.
Tips and Tricks:
I really recommend visiting New Orleans in the Spring time. We visited at the end of July and the weather couldn’t be more perfect. There are festivals going on all year long. We were actually there then during Jazz Fest. Jazz Fest was a blast and great line up of performers, so be sure to check out what events are going on. Also, the best part of visiting in the Spring, is that it’s crawfish season, so you can enjoy a crawfish cookout with the locals. We stayed at a great AirBnB, about 15-minutes from everything and really affordable. (Note: there are no AirBnBs allowed in Bourbon Street.) https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16648670
We didn’t need a rental car, you can just Uber/Lyft most places.
I loved reading your article. Which ghost tour did you take??
Hi Cami, thank you very much for the kind comment. We used the following ghost tour company: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/which-new-orleans-ghost-tours-are-best/ They have free tours and paid tours as well. I hope you enjoy your visit!