gretchendz

Was just there in November. Here's a few suggestions:

For French Quarter reasonably priced (by FQ standards) and delicious food, Jimmy J's:

http://www.jimmyjscafe.com/

If you enjoy history, the WW2 museum is amazing. i forget the price but if you enjoy this sort of thing, you can easily spend a whole day there.

Live free jazz daily at the Musical legends park:
http://www.neworleansmusicallegends.com/

luna6

For fairly inexpensive cajun food in the French Quarter I recommend Coop's on Decatur Street (excellent jambalaya and gumbo). For upscale I'm partial to K-Paul's run by Paul Prudhomme. You should also try the Po-Boys sandwiches. They're sold at a lot of bars, diners, and delis. A favorite is sold out of the deli section at Verti Mart convenient store also on Decatur Street. Oddly enough, an indie rock band "The Twilight Singers" sings a song "Verti Mart" which is their ode to the convenient store/deli. Also seek out some Vietnamese restaurants as well for great quality and being easy on the wallet (quite a few nice ones have sprung up on Magazine St.).

Definitely worthwhile to take streetcar from canal street and see uptown area on St. Charles Ave. Also a note, during Mardi Gras parades a lot of stores on parade routes jack up prices so might want to prepare for that.

FederalFlyer

While technically an indie band, the Twilight Singers is Greg Dulli's not-so-new follow up to the Afghan Whigs, whose album 1965 was recorded largely in NoLa.

To the OP - NoLa is easy to do on the cheap. Frenchman Street is a must for Jazz/music lovers. If you're more into indie, look to one eyed jacks. Walk down Bourbon Street of course for the experience and where inexpensive drinks are a-plenty. Lafitte's is a great place to stop in for a drink while there (941 Bourbon). Check out a graveyard. Get out of the Quarter. For a splurge, I recommend La Petit Grocery, but if you want the name try Emril's.

WillTravel

Is it reasonable to visit New Orleans without a car (middle-aged woman)? Where would you stay on a budget if doing so?

KevinDTW

Wife and I just came back from our 5th trip to NO last weekend. Stayed at the Best Western St. Christopher on Magazine Street -- perhaps not the very cheapest hotel, but nice, quiet, strong wifi, and a decent buffet breakfast included with the price of the room.

Do you want to stay in or near the French Quarter (if you aren't familiar with NO, the FQ is where most of the things people want to see are located -- Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, Cafe DuMonde, moonwalk, etc.)? If so, and if you are flying in to MSY, you can get by just fine without a car -- in fact, you definitely don't want to drive around the FQ area. Private cab fare between the airport and the FQ is set at a flat $33 for up to two passengers (there's a shuttle bus as well which might make sense if you're traveling alone, but with 2 or more it's well worth it to get a cab and not have to wait to fill up the bus and wait while it makes 5 or 6 stops).

Once at your hotel you can easily walk to everything in the FQ, and even the Garden District. Or you can take the streetcar to the Garden District. If you want to visit the zoo or something else that's a little further, cabs are reasonable and readily available.

WillTravel

Thanks KevinDTW. I haven't been to NOLA, but I have been told to focus on the French Quarter. Safety is a big concern, of course.

Rosie7

Hi WillTravel, I think I remember you from other travel sites.

Anyway, I agree with Kevin. We have never rented a car. We use feet, public transit and taxi.

Our visits to NOLA always revolve around Voodoo Experience, but we get out to Frenchmen Street, Magazine, Garden District, and various cemeteries. (Bourbon St is pretty crazy for Halloween, but Frenchmen Street was more fun.)

We have stayed at a variety of places, from a bed and breakfast in Midtown to Drury's, which was close to everything and a good value.

toomanybooks

Agree on K-Paul's. Go for lunch and get there early. Sweet potato pecan pie with bourbon whipped cream was one of the best desserts I have ever had. And jalapeño-cheddar biscuits straight from the oven!

Central Market for a takeout muffelatta is classic.

KevinDTW

IME safety is no more of a problem in the FQ than in any other tourist area. There's usually a visible police presence cruising around, and major streets like Bourbon are packed with people at all hours. Biggest annoyance is minor scammers -- people come up to you and try to give you Mardi Gras beads or a rose or offer to take your picture or something else and then want money. Just keep walking, and always be very careful around distracting things in the street such as a street performer or even worse, a fight.

Oh, and if anyone approaches you and offers to bet you $5 they can tell you "where you got your shoes," just reply "I GOT my shoes on my feet" and keep walking.

chollie

OP, you mention you enjoy walking/running. Have you considered a race? There are several during February in NOLA, including (if you are adventurous) a 5K 'Muddy Gras' mud run.

I did the Crescent City Classic (March) a few years ago and it was, indeed, a classic. First time I ever saw beer at aid stations and some people ran in costume (including a couple in a full wedding gown and tux). It was a uniquely NOLA experience that I wouldn't have missed for the world.

Bohemiana

The National Park Service has free daily walking tours--really great for a bit of history of the area.

Take the trolley out to the garden district. We downloaded a free self-guided walking tour.http://www.scsh.com/pdfs/Garden-Dist-tour-2.pdf

We splurged at Commander's Palace for brunch and it was worth every penny. (I have really loved K-Paul in the past but the last time we went was a disappointment and not worth the expense.)

The Camellia Grill in the French Quarter is a step back in time and pretty good for a cheap breakfast or lunch. (Sandwiches $4-5!)

As others have said, Central Grocery is a MUST!!!! As a solo diner you only need a 1/4 muffalata.

I would do A LOT of research on any restaurant offering a Groupon. There are great places in NO that have been around for years (decades!) that aren't expensive but don't need the business by offering Groupons. I think Groupons might be better used for activities.

KevinDTW

+1 Wife and I went there last Sunday for jazz brunch and it was fantastic. Beautiful room (the garden room with balloons at the tables), excellent food and excellent service. Appetizer, main and dessert (we even ordered the two desserts with a supplemental charge, the bread pudding souffle and the strawberry shortcake), and two brandy milk punches and including tip it was about $120. We would have spent much more to eat dinner there, and on a beautiful Sunday afternoon it couldn't be beat. Highly recommended!

Anthonyf953

I was just in NOLA a couple weeks ago for the first time. My girlfriend and I stayed with her sister who lives down there so we had the benefit of going to some less touristy restaurants. Some of my favorites..

Cochon / Butcher - Located at 930 Tchoupitoulas St. If you like well prepared meats, this is the spot. Cochon is their sitdown restaurant, somewhat upscale from what I could tell. I did not go there but I went to butcher about 4 times in 7 days. It is a more casual sandwich shop with about 20 seats. Try the pork belly sandwich, you won't regret it.

Maurepas Foods - Located at 3200 Burgundy St, right in the Bywater where you are staying. This was the first place I ate while down there and while it doesn't have a NOLA feel, I think it is worth checking out. Its kind of a hipster spot, but you'll see a mix of people there. Many vegetarian options, one of my favorites was the fried cauliflower. I also got the goat tacos, which were amazing. Make sure to use the chimmichuri they give you. For the quality of food the prices were very cheap. My tacos were $9 bucks which I thought was a steal.

Jacques-Imos - This was the most New Orleans-y restaraunt I had gone to, and it was my favorite of all of the nicer spots we visited. Lots of locals, which is always a good sign. You can't make reservations unless you have a big party I think, but I'd call to check. The restaurant is located in what used to be two houses, which are now connected . You also have to walk through the kitchen to get to the dining area, which is a neat experience. Best app we got was the "Alligator cheesecake" , which was a quiche of sorts with alligator sausage. Delicious! I got the country fried venison for my entree and it was out of this world. Check the reviews online, you'll see this is a NOLA favorite for locals.

Adolfo's - This is what you get when you mix cajun and Italian. A very small restaurant and you may have to wait a little while, but I found it to be worth it. I didn't have it, but the ocean sauce looked delicious. It seemed to be a favorite amongst the people I was with. I got the rack of lamb special, which was very good. Its located on Frenchman Street, which is a great spot for live music. I didn't spend enough time there but it seemed much more interesting than Bourbon Street, which is overrated.

Unfortunately I don't have much advise on anything but food lol but the locals are friendly i'm sure you'll find out lots of good things. Enjoy NOLA!

igknighted

Just returned from NOLA for the first time... Wish I had seen this thread before hand, but I think we did OK. A few random thoughts and things we enjoyed:

1) We stayed downtown (just off Canal, near Bourbon). From here, there was really no need for a car. We used a taxi to get to and from the airport (apparently there is a city bus, but I couldn't find it at the airport), and for one trip further out, but walked almost everywhere. The trolley was a good option for those times we didn't want to walk ($1.25/trip or $3 for a day pass). In the end, while staying downtown was a little more expensive for the hotel, not having a car balanced that out, plus the convenience of being near everything made it worth it. Be aware the downtown hotels will charge a lot to park if you do have a car (I think ours would have been $25/night).

2) If you want to try good restaurants on a budget, go for lunch. Or, do a brunch.

3) Bourbon St. itself is like an undergrad spring break every night. If this is what you want, go there. If that's not you, just a block either side it changes quickly.

4) I'll second the recommendation of Cochon above... It isn't cheap in any way, but the food was incredible.

5) It's hard to believe not that long ago most of the city was underwater. Our cab driver from the airport pointed out some neighborhoods that were completely flooded (20+ ft of water in some cases), and while you still smell mustiness in some places, overall you can't tell as much as you might expect. Pretty incredible rebuilding.

swag

It's the E2 bus run by Jefferson Transit. At the airport, the bus stop is on the upper level, on the median, down near the Delta (D) concourse. Walk to the right as you exit the terminal, if arriving into the B or C concourses.



Buses run every 30 minutes or so most of the day, and once you leave the airport, it's a 40 minute ride. Fare to downtown New Orleans is $2.00. The termination point is at Tulane & Loyola.

The E-2 schedule and info is found at http://www.jeffersontransit.org/e2airport.php. Note that the last bus that goes Downtown leaves the airport around 6 p.m. weekdays. On evenings and weekends, the buses terminate at Carrolton & Tulane, where you would you have to transfer to the RTA bus #39 and pay $1.25 more.