36 Hours in New Orleans

Indulgent cuisine, rollicking live music and atmospheric street life have long made New Orleans an easy choice among fun-seeking travelers. But these elements are remixing in ways that warrant a fresh visit. Last year, the city received its first Michelin stars, and its distinctively local food scene continues to evolve and expand. The Mississippi River feels more accessible than it has in generations, thanks to a triumphant new riverfront park. While many people sync their visits to Mardi Gras or the springtime Jazz Fest, autumn is an unsung time to explore the Big Easy, with pleasant weather, festivals and the advent of spooky season. (This is, after all, a city of aboveground cemeteries and voodoo heritage.) Just check the forecast -- hurricane season lasts through November.Friday 2 p.m. | Get loud for a classic Cooler weather brings New Orleans' traditional oyster season, making autumn a good time to visit (or revisit) Galatoire's. With its mirrored walls, gilded decor and buttoned-up service, the 121-year-old restaurant feels like a step back into Jazz Age elegance. On occasion, musicians trumpet through the dining room, adding to the celebratory mood. That's especially true on Fridays once the French 75s, a New Orleans bubbly cocktail ($15), start flowing, sending the unlikely mix of lawyers, ladies-who-lunch and tourists into a cacophonous roar. Make a reservation and try your oysters en brochette and wrapped in bacon ($19), or Rockefeller, under spinach ($20). Have a feather fascinator or a seersucker suit? This is its moment to shine. 4 p.m. | Go on a Quarter quest Often overlooked amid the frenzy, locally owned boutiques in the French Quarter make for an excellent shopping adventure. Fifi's Custom Wigs is a riotous stop (ombre-pink chest-length wig, $60). Souvenirs like T-shirts emblazoned with local slang (from $30) can be found at Fleurty Girl, while Krewe showcases luxury eyewear favored by Beyoncé and Meghan Markle (bestselling St. Louis style, $375). Nola Kids has a wide variety of children's toys and local books, including "Scrim on the Run!" which tells the story of the town's favorite pup. 8 p.m. | Spoil yourself At $195, before tax, tip or alcohol, the tasting menu at Dakar NOLA carries one of the highest price points in town. But the extraordinary flavors offered by Serigne Mbaye, its Senegalese American chef -- whom this year the James Beard Foundation anointed the best in the South -- help soften the blow. Using local seafood and honoring Louisiana's love of spice, Mbaye taps the throughline between West Africa and Louisiana to reimagine traditional Senegalese food. Beautifully presented courses range from palm oil bread to delicately cured Gulf snapper. Though opened in 2022, this year the restaurant moved into a cottage, with creaky wooden floors that add to the intimate atmosphere. With just five tables, it's essential to reserve well in advance. 10 p.m. | Turn it up at Tip's There's something special in the sauce at Tipitina's. Named for a song by a former club regular, Professor Longhair, the 1970s-era music venue on Napoleon Avenue once housed the studios of the beloved radio station WWOZ; it would occasionally broadcast a show by lowering a microphone through a hole in the floor. Bought in 2018 by local musicians, the two-story, standing-room-mostly venue with three bars is a reliable stop for great music most nights. Cover charges can vary, from free to more than $100, and many shows sell out -- so plan ahead. Saturday 8:30 a.m. | Bike to the Bywater For a hearty breakfast with Gulf flavors, try Bearcat, a friendly cafe in the Central Business District. Then, burn off your tofu quesadilla ($14) or crab scramble ($28) on the best bike tour in town. Jeff Shyman, an anthropologist by training and the owner of A Street Tour Named Desire, offers a daily 10 a.m. tour of the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, crafted to match your interests. Architecture fans will relish his explanation of traditional shotgun houses, and history buffs will appreciate seeing the Press Street train station where the Plessy v. Ferguson racial segregation case originated. Those simply looking to experience a less-touristy New Orleans will love cruising the smaller streets of the Bywater. The 5-mile jaunt departs near Frenchmen Street, and bikes, helmets and water are all provided ($55 for a three-hour tour; kids welcome). 1 p.m. | Savor some soul food After Hurricane Katrina flooded its brick-and-mortar shop, Vaucresson's Creole Café & Deli reopened in 2022 in its former sausage factory on St. Bernard Avenue -- a second life for the 127-year-old family business. Vance Vaucresson, the restaurant's third-generation proprietor, is recognized as a "tradition bearer" by the Louisiana Folklife Commission for making traditional Creole sausages like andouille and spicy pork chaurice. Fans of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival may know the name from the popular stand at the city's springtime event. At the cafe, rich gumbo comes packed with seafood, with a crab leg dangling lusciously from the bowl ($14.95), and the sausage sampler includes crawfish, chicken and spicier Creole varieties ($21). 2 p.m. | Meander in museums You could spend whole days in the National WWII Museum, in the Central Business District -- and risk overlooking an array of smaller collections in the French Quarter. The Cabildo, the site of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies, offers an overview of Louisiana's history. The newly reopened Presbytère presents vintage Mardi Gras regalia and an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Jazz Museum celebrates the city's musical legacy. (Admission to each museum costs $15, but visit more than one and entry is discounted.) Nearby, the Historic New Orleans Collection conserves the city's history, and has an excellent gift shop. For something weirder, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum has a macabre collection of medical contraptions and potions ($10). 5 p.m. | Meet the Mississippi The Mississippi River, New Orleans's raison d'être, has long felt strangely out of reach for visitors and locals alike. There were few spots to see it, and fewer places to pleasantly walk or lounge alongside it. That changed this year with the opening of the Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park, a 16-acre stretch that is just steps from the French Quarter. There are green spaces, a playground and a grassy embankment with trees that makes for a perfect place to toss a blanket and watch the traffic of tankers and tow boats cruise by. Get closer to the water aboard the 10-minute Canal Street ferry to Algiers ($2 each way, wheelchair accessible), which takes you across the mighty Mississippi. 7:30 p.m. | Mix it up Mid-City The chef Sue Zemanick opened Zasu in 2019, after more than a decade at the helm of Gautreau's, a New Orleans staple. Zasu's location on an unglamorous stretch of Carrollton Avenue belies remarkable food, recently honored with a Michelin star. Zemanick's Slovak heritage and use of traditional Louisiana ingredients create unique flavor profiles. Marinated crab claws ($20), pimento cheese and potato pierogies ($35) and red snapper with gnocchi ($44), plus excellent service, make for a memorable evening. Although tempting, hold off on dessert and cross the street (carefully) to Angelo Brocato, a gelateria and pasticceria that opened in 1905 (cannoli, $3.95; spumoni, $4.25). 10 p.m. | Flit along Frenchmen For a rowdy weekend night, locals skip Bourbon Street and head to the excellent live music spots along Frenchmen Street. Most venues showcase multiple genres and don't require advance tickets; cover charges usually range from around $10 to $20. Expect jazz on the earlier side, and funk or brass after 10 p.m. Try the Spotted Cat Music Club for jazz, Bamboula's for Cajun and zydeco, DBA for brass bands, Cafe Negril for reggae and rock, and Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro for bigger names (and higher covers). Get the listings from WWOZ, or the Nola Show app, released last year. In the middle of it all is the charming, late-night Frenchmen Art Market with unique finds like cicada-adorned bolo ties ($25) and hand-printed bandannas ($40). Sunday 9:30 a.m. | Explore City Park In City Park, moss-dripping oak trees older than the city itself rustle with white ibis and great blue herons. Besides being a great place to jog or take photos, on Sunday mornings the year-round Crescent City Farmers Market pops up, showcasing the producers that are a key pillar of this food town. Grab a pecan croissant ($4.50) at Leo's Bread tent or, for sugar-dusted beignets ($4.50), take a seat at the less touristy outpost of Cafe du Monde, just in front of the market. Don't miss the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a free, 11-acre New Orleans Museum of Arts collection of around 100 pieces by artists ranging from heavy hitters like Auguste Rodin and Maya Lin to lesser-known names with works referring to the city's experience with natural disasters. 11:30 a.m. | Brunch and revelry The jazz brunch at Commander's Palace (three courses, from $44) is a festive way to toast a successful New Orleans weekend. The kitchen at the Garden District institution might just turn out the best gumbo in town, and its bread pudding soufflé is unforgettably decadent. Mind the dress code: This is a place to pull out your bow ties and pearls. If you prefer to clutch your pearls, however, try the vivacious drag brunch at the Country Club in the Bywater neighborhood. Reservations are essential at both. 1 p.m. | Loop the loop To stretch your legs -- and get a little peace and quiet -- consider boarding the streetcar ($1.25) to Audubon Park, across St. Charles Avenue from Tulane and Loyola Universities, where a wide, paved walking and biking path is almost entirely shaded by a canopy of live oak trees. Embedded among stately old homes, the park also has lagoons, a zoo, a golf course and an island where snowy egrets gather. Turn the volume back up at a second line parade, a freewheeling New Orleans experience that happens every Sunday afternoon starting around 1, except during the summer. The procession, led by the clamor of a brass band, grew out of Black social aid clubs of the 19th and early-20th centuries, which were often excluded from other city events. Hollis Burton of Treme Luxury Experience offers guided tours to the parade ($50).--Key StopsIn the heart of the French Quarter, Galatoire's is a reliable classic for boisterous Friday lunches.The Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park, a new 16-acre green space, gives the Mississippi River the spotlight it deserves.Frenchmen Street is a three-block melange of music venues, including the Spotted Cat Music Club, Bamboula's, DBA, Cafe Negril and Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro. On most days, it hosts the Frenchmen Art Market, a delightful late-night shopping experience under sparkly string lights.Where To EatAlong the Mississippi River levee, the Senegalese-Gulf Coast fusion restaurant Dakar NOLA is the star du jour of the New Orleans culinary scene.Find breakfasts both healthy and indulgent at Bearcat in the Central Business District.On St. Bernard Avenue, Vaucresson's Creole Café & Deli is a family-owned shop for gumbo and sausage.Enjoy friendly service and unpretentious, Michelin-starred dishes blending Slovak and Louisiana traditions at Zasu in Mid-City.Angelo Brocato is a longtime stop for cannolis and gelato.The Cafe du Monde in City Park serves famous beignets and chicory coffee, minus the French Quarter site's lines.Commander's Palace offers a jazz brunch perfect for special occasions.The Country Club in the Bywater neighborhood hosts a memorable Sunday drag brunch in a stylish setting.Where To StayThe 71-room Hotel Peter and Paul is built on a historic Catholic campus that includes a church, rectory, convent and schoolhouse. Rooms start at around $250 a night. (Like all accommodations across town, rates spike during events like Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.)A block from St. Charles Avenue in Uptown, the Garden District Hotel has a resort-style pool behind a historic mansion full of nooks and crannies. Across the street, its sister hotel, Blackbird, is just as stylish, albeit with a quieter, more low-key pool. Rooms start at around $220 a night.The Dew Drop Inn in Central City was once one of the foremost music venues in the South for Black musicians -- a stop on the so-called Chitlin' Circuit. It remains a music venue, but reopened in 2024 as a modern motel. Rooms start at around $111 a night.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.