New Orleans
Creole institutions, Frenchmen Street jazz, and oak-lined streetcar rides — our local guide to eating, exploring, and staying in New Orleans.
Browse New Orleans
Treme
Why it matters: This small Treme museum documents the living Black cultural traditions of New Orleans, from Mardi Gras Indian suits and second-line parades to jazz funerals, much of it collected by fo
Central City
Why it matters: Cafe Reconcile is a nonprofit that trains young people from underserved neighborhoods in restaurant and hospitality work, with your lunch tab supporting the program. The food is honest
Honey Island Swamp
For a taste of the wild wetlands outside the city, Cajun Encounters runs boat tours through the Honey Island Swamp, one of the least-altered river swamps in the country. Expect alligators, herons, tur
Uptown
Open since 1919 and still run by the founding family, Casamento’s is a tiled, old-school oyster house on Magazine Street. Sit at the marble bar for freshly shucked oysters or order the oyster loaf, fr
Garden District
The grand dame of Garden District dining, Commander’s Palace has served polished Creole cuisine from its turquoise Victorian since 1893 and launched chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme. Come
Marigny
Running out of the Marigny, this outfit leads relaxed bike tours on cruiser bikes along the flat back streets, well off the tourist crush. The signature Creole New Orleans ride covers the Marigny, Byw
Uptown / citywide
Why it matters: Run by the nonprofit Market Umbrella, these markets connect small regional farmers, fishers and food makers directly with the community and support local food access programs. Rotating
Bywater
This riverfront park stretches along the Mississippi through the Bywater and Marigny, offering some of the best unobstructed skyline and river views in the city. Locals come to jog, walk dogs and watc
Uptown
A homegrown shop selling t-shirts, prints and gifts designed around New Orleans in-jokes, neighborhoods and local pride. It is where locals buy shirts like the famous ‘Be a New Orleanian, Wherever You
French Quarter
Doctor Gumbo runs walking food tours that thread French Quarter history together with tastings of local staples like gumbo, jambalaya, muffulettas and beignets. Guides keep groups small and the storyt
Treme
Why it matters: This is one of the country’s most storied Black-owned restaurants, opened in 1941 and shaped for decades by Leah Chase, who fed civil rights leaders in the upstairs room when few other
Bywater
A two-story independent record store in the Bywater with deep bins of new and used vinyl, strong on local New Orleans jazz, funk and R&B. Crate-diggers can lose an afternoon here, and the shop hosts o
French Quarter
Tucked into Pirate’s Alley in the building where William Faulkner once lived and wrote, this tiny independent bookstore is a treasure for lovers of literature. It specializes in fine editions, Souther
French Quarter
A French Quarter fixture since 1886, the Monteleone has been owned by five generations of the same family, a rarity among grand hotels. Its famous Carousel Bar slowly revolves as you sip, and the lite
Marigny
Set in a restored 19th-century church, schoolhouse, rectory and convent in the Marigny, Hotel Peter and Paul is one of the city’s most atmospheric boutique stays. Rooms are individually styled with an
French Quarter
The heart of the French Quarter, Jackson Square is a landscaped park framed by the triple-spired St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously operating Catholic cathedral in the U.S. Around the fenced
Carrollton
A pressed-tin-ceilinged neighborhood music bar on Oak Street, the Maple Leaf is best known for the Rebirth Brass Band’s raucous late-night Tuesday residency, a New Orleans rite of passage. The rest of
Riverfront
This is the working warehouse of Kern Studios, which builds many of the giant floats you see roll during Carnival. Guided tours take you among towering sculptures and half-finished floats, with a look