Things to do in New Orleans (other than eat beignets)
If you read last weeks’ post on New Orleans, then you know I love beignets. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I thought you might want to hear about what you can do in between beignet tastings. I didn’t get to explore the Big Easy as much as I would have liked to but I was really inspired by my trip and I can’t wait to go back.
Culture
One of my absolute favorite moments of this trip was the time I spent in French Quarter. It’s a great place to explore as you are bound to run into all kinds of fascinating things (see photo of unicorn below).
I learned a couple of things at the French Market, one is that Tabasco is made in Louisiana and that you can get all sorts of random Tabasco flavored things like chocolate and candy, the second is that you can taste all sorts of hot sauces for free in Nola, every couple of stores has a large table with various levels of hot sauce for you to try to your hearts content.
From there, I went into a really old-school bookstore where every breath of the air was filled with the enchanting aroma of the printed page. If you’re a book lover, you know exactly what I’m talking about! I then spent some time browsing some of the many art galleries in the area. Although the quarter is busy and filled with tourists, the street entertainment around the City Park is a lot of fun and its where musicians go to play their music and tap dancers wow crowds with their fast moves, there are even some gypsies and mystics there if you’re looking to put the voodoo on someone.
History
You can’t escape history in Nola but if you really want to jump in, I would highly recommend The National WWII Museum. The exhibits are interactive and well designed so it feels more like you are experiencing the war than just walking around a museum. I found the Asian path especially interesting, as I am less familiar with that history.
For some true local culture, I would suggest a visit to the famous Commander’s Palace, where my meal was delicious and Ken, the older gentleman who served us, was extremely pleasant and adamant about refilling our drinks, charmingly stating "don't want y'all to go thirsty while you're here". If you want to save some money, book a lunch instead of a dinner but make sure you abide by the dress code. The chef was highly accommodating to my dietary requirements and the food was really good.
Nature
Nola is a stunning city that has an indescribable but very palpable classic feel. One of it’s greatest natural features is Audubon Nature Institute, where I found myself surrounded by trees older than time; Audobon also has a zoo and aquarium if you’re interested but I enjoyed just walking around the park.
If you can manage to get a spot on the streetcar to get to the park then I would recommend it as it is a historical monument, otherwise, Uber is alive and well in Louisiana. I happened to be in LA on a touristy weekend and the streetcar was way to busy for me to use as a reliable form of transportation.
Shopping
I did some shopping on Magazine street and it was amazing! Boutique stores with beautiful clothing would sit side-by-side with antique stores and random specialty stores like the Bella Umbrella store, which as the name suggests is all about umbrellas. If you’re looking a relaxed day of shopping, this is where you should be.
One must do if you’re in the Louisiana area is a drive by Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers for the best chicken fingers of your life. By now I am sure you know I love all things fried but I can’t even begin to describe how delicious these chicken fingers are. And if you don’t like fried food, you should go for it’s origin story, apparently, the founder came up with the idea of a chicken fingers restaurant in business school but the school and banks all thought it was a bad idea so he had to raise the money on his own and he hasn’t looked back since, and neither will you.
