NEW ORLEANS
Residence Inn New Orleans · French Quarter Area
United States
TRIP OVERVIEW
Day 1 – National WWII Museum · Ogden Museum of Southern Art · Mardi Gras World · Garden District
Day 2 – The Cabildo · Jackson Square · St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Day 3 – Oak Alley Plantation · Audubon Park
Day 4 – Honey Island Swamp · City Park & Besthoff Sculpture Garden · The Presbytère
Day 5 – Historic New Orleans Collection · St. Louis Cathedral · Bourbon Street · Frenchmen Street
Day 6 – Whitney Plantation · Algiers Point · Crescent Park
Day 1
1. National WWII Museum~3 hr
The most comprehensive World War II museum in the United States, located in New Orleans because the Higgins boat — the landing craft that made D-Day possible — was designed and built here. Its campus covers both fronts through immersive exhibits, original aircraft, and first-person accounts.
Daily 9:00am - 5:00pm
2. Ogden Museum of Southern Art~1 hr 30 min
The largest and most comprehensive collection of art by artists from the American South, spanning folk art, photography, and contemporary works across two connected buildings in the Warehouse Arts District.
Daily 10:00am - 5:00pm
3. Mardi Gras World~1 hr
A working 300,000-square-foot warehouse where Blaine Kern Studios builds the floats for New Orleans' Mardi Gras parades year-round. Guided tours walk through active float construction, storage of past-parade giants, and a den of Carnival props found nowhere else.
Daily 9:00am - 5:30pm
4. Garden District~1 hr
A self-guided walk through the best-preserved collection of antebellum mansions in the American South, developed on former plantation land between 1832 and 1900 for New Orleans' wealthy American newcomers. A National Historic Landmark district since 1974.
Day 2
1. The Cabildo~1 hr 30 min
The Louisiana Purchase was signed here in 1803. Now a Louisiana State Museum housing one of the most significant collections of Louisiana history and culture, from colonial-era artifacts to Mardi Gras memorabilia, in a building that predates the United States itself.
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00am - 4:30pm
Closed Monday
55 steps · no lift
2. Jackson Square~1 hr
Historic plaza at the heart of the French Quarter, anchored by St. Louis Cathedral and flanked by the Cabildo and the Presbytere. One of the most visited public spaces in the American South and the geographic and cultural center of old New Orleans.
Open 24/7
3. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1~1 hr
New Orleans' oldest surviving cemetery, established in 1789. Its above-ground whitewashed tombs form a dense marble city within a city. Entry requires a licensed guided tour; independent access has been prohibited since 2015 to prevent vandalism to the historic tombs.
Monday - Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm · Sunday 10:00am - 2:00pm
Entry only with a licensed guide — independent access prohibited since 2015.
Day 3
1. Oak Alley Plantation~2 hr
A restored 1839 Greek Revival mansion on the west bank of the Mississippi, named for the 800-foot avenue of live oaks planted nearly a century before the house itself. The tour covers the main house, the grounds, and the reconstructed slave quarters documenting the plantation's enslaved community.
Daily 9:00am - 5:00pm
2. Audubon Park~1 hr
A 350-acre riverside park laid out on the grounds of the 1884 World Cotton Centennial exposition, with a lagoon, live oak allées, and "The Fly" — a broad lawn overlooking a bend in the Mississippi. The green anchor of Uptown New Orleans.
Daily 5:00am - 10:00pm
Day 4
1. Honey Island Swamp~2 hr
A 70,000-acre wetland on the West Pearl River, more than half of it permanently protected wildlife — one of the least-altered river swamps in the country. A flat-boat tour with a local guide moves through cypress groves and a Cajun houseboat village, spotting alligators and herons along the way.
Daily 7:30am - 9:00pm
2. City Park & Besthoff Sculpture Garden~1 hr 30 min
A 1,300-acre park built around lagoons and mature live oaks draped in Spanish moss, home to the free Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden — more than 90 works by international artists set among the trees and water. New Orleans' largest green space, distinct in character from Uptown's Audubon Park.
Daily 10:00am - 5:00pm
3. The Presbytère~1 hr 30 min
Built in 1813 as an architectural twin to the Cabildo across St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytère now houses the Louisiana State Museum's two defining exhibits: "Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana" and "Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond."
Tuesday - Sunday 9:00am - 4:00pm
Closed Monday
Day 5
1. Historic New Orleans Collection~1 hr 15 min
A museum, research center and rare-book library spread across a restored 1792 Creole townhouse complex on Royal Street. Rotating exhibitions on the city's colonial, Creole and jazz-age history fill the Williams Gallery and the Merieult House, drawing on one of the deepest private archives of Louisiana history anywhere.
Tuesday - Saturday 9:30am - 4:30pm · Sunday 10:30am - 4:30pm
Closed Monday
2. St. Louis Cathedral~30 min
The oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States, its three steeples rising over Jackson Square since the current building's 1851 completion — a seat of Catholic worship on this site since 1718. Marble altars, painted ceiling murals and stained glass fill an interior open to visitors between services.
3. Bourbon Street~1 hr
Thirteen blocks of wrought-iron balconies, jazz clubs, and daiquiri bars running through the heart of the French Quarter — named for the French royal house, not the whiskey. By day, a stroll past 19th-century Creole townhouses; by night, the full sensory rush of live brass bands, neon and crowds the city is famous for.
Open 24/7
4. Frenchmen Street~1 hr 30 min
A three-block strip in the Faubourg Marigny, just past the Quarter's edge, packed with back-to-back live-music clubs — jazz, brass, funk and blues spilling from open doorways every night of the week. The Spotted Cat, d.b.a. and the Blue Nile anchor a scene locals call their own answer to Bourbon Street.
Open 24/7
Day 6
1. Whitney Plantation~2 hr
A former sugar and indigo plantation on the River Road, restored as the only Louisiana plantation museum narrated entirely from the perspective of the enslaved people who lived and worked here. Restored slave cabins, a memorial Wall of Honor naming more than 100,000 formerly enslaved Louisianans, and haunting statue installations make it the state's most direct reckoning with slavery's history.
Wednesday - Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Closed Tuesday
2. Algiers Point~1 hr
A quiet Victorian neighborhood on the Mississippi's West Bank, its gingerbread shotgun houses and oak-lined streets a world away from the French Quarter just across the water. The century-old Canal Street ferry — running since 1827 — makes the short river crossing on foot a highlight in itself, with the best skyline view of downtown New Orleans from the levee.
Open 24/7
3. Crescent Park~45 min
A 1.4-mile linear park along the Mississippi in the Bywater and Marigny, built on reclaimed wharf and rail land after Hurricane Katrina. A steel promenade runs the length of the levee, crossed at Piety Street by a rust-colored arched pedestrian bridge — nicknamed the Rusty Rainbow — designed by architect David Adjaye.
Daily 6:00am - 7:30pm
Weekly Closures
Louisiana State Museum · Closed Monday
Tours
Viator
Guided walking tour of the French Quarter covering its colonial history, architecture, and cultural landmarks from the Spanish colonial era to the present.
2 hr · Group
Small-group walking tour focused on the distinctive Creole and Spanish Colonial architecture of the French Quarter, including ironwork, courtyards, and building history.
2 hr · Small group
3. New Orleans City Tour: French Quarter · Garden District · Cemetery · Viator · 4.7 · 2565+ reviews
Comprehensive city tour covering the French Quarter, Garden District, and St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 by coach, providing an overview of the city's history and culture.
3 hr · Group
Licensed guide-led tour through the 1789 cemetery covering the above-ground tombs and their history. Entry requires this tour — independent access prohibited since 2015.
1 hr · Group
Small-group tour through the French Quarter exploring the history of Creole and Cajun cuisine, visiting legendary restaurants and iconic local spots.
3 hr · Small group
GetYourGuide
Walking tour through the French Quarter with local storytellers bringing the history and architecture to life through the neighborhood's most compelling characters and events.
2 hr · Group
Guided tour through the Garden District covering its antebellum mansions, historic churches, and the architectural contrast between the American sector and the older French Quarter.
2 hr · Group
Small-group tour through the Tremé neighborhood — the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States — exploring Creole culture, music history, and the community that shaped New Orleans.
2 hr · Small group
Small-group guided tour exploring the French Quarter's culinary past through its most celebrated restaurants and local institutions, tracing the origins of New Orleans' most distinctive food traditions.
3 hr · Small group
Full-day guided tour covering the city's key neighborhoods, history, and culture in a single itinerary including the French Quarter, Garden District, and notable landmarks.
8 hr · Group
TripAdvisor
Walking tour through the French Quarter covering the history and architecture of New Orleans' oldest district, with a guide who knows the neighborhood's colonial layers and hidden details.
2 hr · Group
Small-group tour exploring the French Quarter's past and present through its landmarks, architecture, and hidden stories spanning the colonial period to the modern era.
2 hr · Small group
Guided tour of the French Quarter with knowledgeable local guides covering history, culture, and architecture including sites not typically found in standard itineraries.
2 hr · Group
Guided tour of the Garden District's antebellum mansions and tree-lined streets, with context on the neighborhood's history as the home of New Orleans' American elite.
2 hr · Group
Guided tour of the National WWII Museum covering the Pacific and European theaters through original artifacts, oral histories, and immersive exhibits.
3 hr · Group
Cappuccino
French Truck Coffee — Canal St 4.1 · 200+ reviews
Monday - Friday 7:00am - 5:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
French Truck Coffee 4.1 · 644+ reviews
Monday - Friday 7:00am - 6:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 8:00am - 6:00pm
Café Fleur de Lis 4.5 · 4918+ reviews
Café Du Monde 4.6 · 4638+ reviews
Restaurants Near Hotel
Mr. B's Bistro 4.5 · 2742+ reviews
French Quarter institution known for barbecued shrimp and Gumbo Ya Ya.
Monday - Tuesday 5:00pm - 9:00pm · Wednesday - Saturday 11:30am - 9:00pm · Sunday 10:30am - 9:00pm
Criollo 4.0 · 412+ reviews
Contemporary Creole in the Hotel Monteleone, beside the rotating Carousel Bar.
Daily 6:30am - 2:00pm · Thursday - Monday 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Brennan's 4.4 · 2514+ reviews
New Orleans tradition since 1946; birthplace of Bananas Foster.
Daily 9:00am - 9:00pm · Friday - Saturday 9:00am - 10:00pm
Bayona 4.5 · 941+ reviews
James Beard award-winning bistro; American Creole in a Creole cottage.
Monday 11:30am - 9:00pm · Tuesday - Wednesday 5:00pm - 9:00pm · Thursday - Saturday 11:30am - 9:00pm
Closed Sunday
Tableau 4.3 · 1401+ reviews
Creole restaurant with a courtyard overlooking Jackson Square.
Wednesday - Thursday 5:00pm - 9:00pm · Friday - Sunday 11:00am - 9:00pm
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Downtown Restaurants
The Pelican Club 4.5 · 674+ reviews
Creative American Creole with Asian influences; Exchange Alley courtyard.
Wednesday - Thursday 5:00pm - 9:00pm · Friday - Saturday 5:00pm - 9:30pm · Sunday 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Galatoire's 4.3 · 3200+ reviews
Bourbon Street institution since 1905; French Creole in mirrored dining rooms.
Tuesday - Sunday 11:30am - 10:00pm
Closed Monday
Commander's Palace 4.4 · 4100+ reviews
Garden District landmark since 1893; Creole cuisine at its most refined.
Friday - Saturday 11:30am - 9:00pm · Sunday 10:30am - 9:00pm · Monday - Thursday 11:30am - 9:00pm
Dooky Chase's Restaurant 4.3 · 1800+ reviews
Historic Creole soul food in Tremé; Leah Chase cooked here for presidents.
Tuesday - Friday 11:00am - 3:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 11:00am - 3:00pm
Closed Monday
Cane & Table 4.4 · 1500+ reviews
Proto-tiki bar; Caribbean-influenced Creole in a low-lit 19th-century building.
Monday - Friday 5:00pm - 10:00pm · Saturday - Sunday 11:00am - 10:00pm
Local Tastes
Beignet
Fried dough square dusted heavily with powdered sugar, introduced to Louisiana by French colonists. The French Quarter version served hot from open fryers is one of the defining street foods of the American South.
Po-Boy
Louisiana sandwich on crusty French bread stuffed with fried shrimp, oysters, or roast beef. Originated in New Orleans in the 1920s during a streetcar workers' strike when vendors gave free sandwiches to the strikers.
Gumbo
Thick stew combining West African okra traditions with French roux technique and Choctaw filé powder. New Orleans gumbo is the direct ancestor of the dish served across Louisiana — no two versions are exactly alike.
Café au Lait with Chicory
New Orleans coffee tradition: dark-roasted coffee blended with dried chicory root, served with equal parts hot scalded milk. The chicory tradition dates to Civil War-era shortages and became the defining taste of the city's café culture.
Food Delivery
DoorDash
Foreign number: accepted — SMS delivery can be slower on a foreign number, but sign-up works.
Strong coverage across the French Quarter, Garden District, Warehouse District, and Mid-City; the widest restaurant selection of any app in New Orleans.
Uber Eats
Foreign number: accepted — the SMS verification code reaches most foreign carriers without issue.
Good variety across the French Quarter and central neighbourhoods; convenient if you already have an Uber account from Getting Around.
Shows, Performances & Concerts
Preservation Hall
Historic French Quarter venue presenting intimate, nightly traditional New Orleans jazz; reserve the official programme in advance.
Getting Around
Uber
Foreign number: accepted — the SMS verification code reaches most foreign carriers without issue.
Main ride option across New Orleans; covers the French Quarter, CBD, Garden District, and Marigny without issues, and generally has shorter wait times than Lyft in this market.
Lyft
Foreign number: not accepted — Lyft requires a US, Canadian or Puerto Rican phone number for registration.
Useful as a price-comparison option if you have access via a US number; coverage is good but driver supply is generally thinner than Uber here.
Train Stations Near Hotel
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal
Crescent · City of New Orleans · Sunset Limited → Chicago · New York · Los Angeles · Mobile.
Day Trips by Train
Bay St. Louis · MS · 1 hr
Gulf Coast arts community with independent galleries, beach access, and a walkable historic downtown on the Mardi Gras Service Amtrak line — a quieter and distinct stop than the casino resorts further east.
Biloxi · MS · 1 hr 30 min
Gulf Coast beach town with casino resorts, the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, and fresh Gulf seafood. The Amtrak Mardi Gras Service runs two round trips daily on this line.
Mobile · AL · 3 hr
Pickleball
The Exchange · Indoor
6 indoor courts with AC; open play daily, full bar on-site
Daily 8:00am - 9:00pm
Michelin Restaurants
Zasu
Saint-Germain
Tasting menu · New American · Chefs Trey Smith and Blake Aguillard.
Worth Knowing
Flood Lines
The Cabildo and Jackson Square sit at the same elevation they did in 1803 when the Louisiana Purchase was signed inside those walls. The land under the French Quarter is the highest ground in the city — a natural ridge left by the Mississippi River — which is why it was settled first and why it survived Hurricane Katrina without flooding. Most of the rest of New Orleans was built on drained swampland and sits below sea level. This geographical accident is the reason there is a French Quarter at all.
The above-ground tombs at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 are often explained by the high water table making underground burial impractical. That is partly true. But the design also reflects the French and Spanish Catholic traditions the city's founders brought with them, where above-ground burial in family vaults was already the cultural norm. The water table confirmed what the culture already preferred.
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