Fun things to do in French Quarter, New Orleans: Our second trip to the Crescent City!

 

Jackson Square, New Orleans 

Mark Twain:  “New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.”

When my wife and I were planning our cross country trip going from North Carolina to California, we wanted to make sure we add New Orleans to the mix.  The reason for adding the “Big Easy”, or the “Crescent City” is simple:  we love Cajun/Creole food!!!

It made perfect sense to go to New Orleans, as we were spending a week in Biloxi (MS), and the drive would take mere two hours via I-10.  After spending the afternoon touring the Destrehan Plantation, we checked into the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown New Orleans.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we knew we weren’t going to like what we saw, in terms of parking situation.  There was a convenient valet parking, but it also cost $48!!!  I couldn’t justify paying that kind of money, so I instead opted for self parking for $30 per day.  

Self parking situation was inconvenient to say the least, as we had to walk two and a half blocks to get to the parking garage from the hotel.  We parked our car, then walked back to the hotel with our luggage in tow.  The walk took about 10 minutes and I can assure you that we weren’t very happy with the situation.  We decided then and there to make sure we book a place where parking is free and is on site!

After checking in to the hotel, we settled in to our temporary home for the next two nights.  At least the hotel was clean, had a nice view of downtown, and is close to the French Quarter.  You win some, you lose some…

Views of downtown from our hotel

After getting a good night’s sleep, we got ready the next morning to explore the city.  The location of the hotel is the best feature of the hotel, and we took advantage of it.  We walked heading towards east from our hotel.

We passed Harrah’s Casino right across the street from our hotel, walked along N. Peters Street, then onto Decatur Street.  We saw familiar sights along the way, of beautiful buildings with iron balconies, people enjoying coffee at many cafes, and the busy, bustling downtown that is French Quarter.

We wanted to know where our lunch destination would be, as we had reservations at the New Orleans Creole Cookery.  The restaurant is located on Toulouse Street and we wanted to make sure we knew where it was.

New Orleans Creole Cookery

Luckily, it was easy to find.  As soon as we found Toulouse St., we turned left from Decatur Street, and found it about 200 steps up the street.  From the outside, it looked like an old building converted to a restaurant.  We liked the character of the place!

Afterwards, we backtracked onto Decatur St., then continued for couple of blocks to the famous Jackson Square, quite possibly the heart of French Quarter.  It was exactly how we remembered it!  It was full of people, both visitors and locals alike, people watching, music listening, and just relaxing.

The scenery took us back to 19 years ago, our last trip to the city.  It was both nostalgic and exhilarating to be back…And with that, our exploration of the city began, appropriately starting from Jackson Square.  

Here are our list of fun things to do while visiting the French Quarter:

• Jackson Square, of course!

Jackson Square, was renamed from ‘Place d’Armes’ to its current name in honor of Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans (and the 7th President of the US).  Jackson Square is centrally located, and it is a must visit place in the French Quarter.

Jackson Square is surrounded by historic buildings including: St. Louis Cathedral, Presbytere and Cabildo (Louisiana State Museums), and the Lower and Upper Pontalba Apartments, the oldest apartment buildings in the United States.  

Besides the historic buildings, it’s simply the go to place for almost everyone.  There are musicians busking, tourists walking through the park, and/or tourists taking short breaks to listen to live music.  We were drawn into the square on our first visit, as it was busy!  Our second visit there was no different, even though it was early December.

We recommend every visitor to grab a seat at a bench to listen to the sounds of New Orleans, and to sniff the air, for foods of New Orleans.  It is very unique and it’ll stay with you for a long time…

Jackson Square, French Quarter 

• Washington Artillery Park/Riverfront Park 

We highly recommend walking across the street to check out the Washington Artillery Park, then sit down on one of its many marble steps, overlooking the square.  The views of the front of Jackson Square is simply unmatched from that vantage point.

Watch horse-drawn carriages standing by in front of Jackson Square, watch people, and watch cars.  Listen to live music from buskers playing a harp, a saxophone, and/or someone singing.  It’s one of those things that makes New Orleans awesome.

Be sure to walk along the promenade at the Riverfront Park to view the mighty Mississippi River, and to view New Orleans’ waterfront.  There are plenty of shops and vendors to keep busy, not to mention the views of cargo ships/cruise ships going to and fro on the river.

• Cafe du Monde

Cafe du Monde has been in business since 1862 in the New Orleans French Market.  Drinking a coffee and eating beignets (doughnuts with powder sugar or without) should be on top of everyone’s list of things to do while visiting the French Quarter.  

Like our first visit, we had to stop by for some coffee and beignets after lunch to chase away our food coma.  We grabbed an empty table with two chairs and ordered an iced coffee, a hot coffee, and beignets without powder sugar, and savored every bite of those beignets!

There’s just something magical about sitting in a place with so much history, drinking coffee and eating beignets like millions of others who came before me.  Be sure to take in the great ambience of the place:  the crowd noise, the live music nearby, the smell of coffee, the smell of beignets, etc…

Iced coffee, hot coffee, beignets!

Cafe du Monde, French Quarter

• New Orleans Creole Cookery

I had found a discounted voucher on Groupon, where a $40 dining voucher was selling for only $17!  With Groupon giving me another $10 in refund, I got a dining voucher worth $40 for mere $7!  

I wasn’t sure how good (or bad) the restaurant would be considering the extremely discounted nature of the voucher, but we needed to eat something, so we took a chance.  We arrived at the restaurant before 12 p.m. and noticed we were the only patrons at the place.  

That didn’t bode well for our dining adventure, but we had already bought these, and there was no turning back.  We were still very skeptical of our restaurant choice after ordering our foods, but it turned out to be a non-issue, as food was just incredible!

Our server’s recommendation of Cajun fries, gumbo, and Taste of New Orleans (shrimp Creole, crawfish etoufee, jambalaya, red beans & rice) were right on.  The Cajun fries came first, and they were just delicious.  We gulped them down savoring all its spicy Cajun seasonings and perfectly crispy fries.

Next were the gumbo and the Cajun sampler.  The jambalaya was easily the top 3 we’ve had anywhere, and the etoufee was just right, without it being overly creamy.  We prefer the tomato based etoufee rather than the cream based etoufee, and this one was tomato based!  All the dishes in the sampler were top notch, and we absolutely devoured them.

Despite our initial lack of confidence in our dining choice, it turned out great.  We loved their foods, and we highly recommend it!

New Orleans Creole Cookery 

• Walk around the French Quarter!

We love the old French/Spanish style homes in the French Quarter.  Their iron wrought balconies are incredibly unique and so are the bright, happy colors of each homes.  Be sure to walk around the French Quarter to view historic homes and historic streets!

Be sure to walk through the historic French Market and get a sense of its history as one of the oldest markets in the United States, in business since 1791.  Check out local eateries, browse local arts/crafts, or buy souvenirs. 

Entrance to the French Market

Don’t forget to walk along the famous Bourbon Street, home of incredible music scene and tons of bars/restaurants/shops.  Bourbon Street is unlike any street we’ve experienced in the United States, as it feels European in style.  If it wasn’t for English being spoken, we could mistake it for a historic district in any European city.  

In conclusion:

We were so glad we got to revisit one of our favorite cities in the United States after all these years.  It was just great and nostalgic to experience Cafe du Monde, Jackson Square, Bourbon Street, and others again…

To take a bite of a hot beignet with a coffee, and to eat delicious Cajun food, was a dream come true.  As a foodie, we will never get sick of good Cajun/Creole food!  We recommend you try these when planning a trip to New Orleans.

Thank you all for reading and happy trails!  Keep up with us on our cross country adventures to other destinations on the west coast!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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