New Orleans Holidays

New Orleans is the most distinct city in America. French Quarter wrought-iron balconies, the world's birthplace of jazz, gumbo and beignets. Cajun seafood that defies anywhere else, and a rhythm that blurs the line between street life and party life. It has to be experienced to be understood.

✨ Highlights of your Holidays to New Orleans

• 🏛️ The French Quarter: The 13-block grid at the heart of the old city, with wrought-iron balconies, Spanish colonial courtyards and Bourbon Street's late-night chaos. Walkable, photogenic, and incredibly charming.

• 🎷 Jazz on Frenchmen Street: New Orleans is jazz's birthplace, and Frenchmen Street (just east of the Quarter) is where locals go for live music. Six or seven venues on a single block, and incredible live music every night of the week.

• 🍽️ Creole and Cajun cooking: Gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée, po'boys, beignets, charbroiled oysters and crawfish boils. The two distinct food traditions of southern Louisiana, plus modern fine dining at the likes of Commander's Palace.

• 🎭 Mardi Gras and the Carnival season: The pre-Lent carnival runs from Twelfth Night (6 January) to Mardi Gras Tuesday itself (17 February in 2026). Even outside that window, the costume shops, parade traditions and party energy are baked into the city.

• 🚢 Riverboats on the Mississippi: The Steamboat Natchez is the last working steam-powered sternwheeler on the Mississippi, with two-hour cruises that include live jazz and Creole lunch buffets. Properly old-school.

• ⚰️ The above-ground cemeteries: New Orleans sits below sea level so burials happen in elaborate above-ground tombs. St Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the most famous (guided tours required to enter), with marble vaults dating back to the 1780s.

💡 Good to Know - New Orleans Holidays 2026 / 2027

• ☀️ Weather: Hot and properly humid from May to September (28 to 32°C with serious humidity), mild and pleasant the rest of the year (13 to 22°C). Hurricane season runs June to November but the peak risk months are August and September. October and March are the standout times for comfortable weather.

• 💷 Money: The US Dollar (USD), but in sterling, New Orleans sits at standard US-city pricing: a casual restaurant meal £15 to £25 a head, a craft cocktail on Bourbon Street around £8 to £12, a streetcar ride about £1. Restaurant tipping is mandatory at 18 to 22 per cent.

• 🎺 Fun fact: The city is the birthplace of jazz, with Louis Armstrong learning to play in the brass bands of Storyville before he was 20. The genre's origin can be traced to Congo Square (now in Louis Armstrong Park) where enslaved Africans gathered on Sundays from the 1700s and developed the rhythms that became jazz a century later.

🏨 New Orleans Hotels

See all New Orleans hotels or browse our top picks below...

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 New Orleans hotels for families

• Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Downtown (French Quarter Area). Two blocks from the French Quarter with a free hot breakfast, fitness centre, and family-friendly rooms. Big plus for parents: the rate covers breakfast, which keeps morning logistics simple in a city where eating out costs add up fast.

• Crowne Plaza New Orleans French Quarter. On Canal Street with an outdoor pool, gym and on-site casino. Walking distance to Bourbon Street nightlife but far enough out that the kids can sleep. The streetcar stops nearby for easy days out to City Park or Audubon Zoo.

• Wyndham New Orleans - French Quarter. Reliable mid-range spot just 300 metres from the city centre, with Mr. Ed's Southern Creole Kitchen on site for casual family meals. Public transport on the doorstep.

❤️ New Orleans hotels for couples

• The Royal Sonesta New Orleans. The historic landmark on Bourbon Street itself, with a French Quarter courtyard, indoor and outdoor pools, and the legendary Desire Oyster Bar attached. Resort fee of around £23 per room per night charged at check-in, on top of your booking.

• Hotel St. Marie French Quarter Hotel. Period-decor rooms with French Quarter charm, a tropical courtyard pool, and the on-site Vacherie Restaurant for Cajun cooking and craft cocktails. Walkable to Bourbon Street and Jackson Square. The romantic-base French Quarter pick.

• French Market Inn. Antique-styled rooms with original 19th-century exposed brick walls on Decatur Street, six blocks from Jackson Square. Some rooms have balconies with Mississippi River views. Properly atmospheric for couples.

✨ Best luxury hotels in New Orleans

• Hyatt Centric French Quarter New Orleans. Spacious modern luxury rooms with 12-foot ceilings and sleek interiors, in the middle of the French Quarter. Red Fish Grill on the lobby level for top-tier seafood, walking distance to Jackson Square and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

• Canopy by Hilton New Orleans Downtown. Boutique-style stay with on-site Creole-Cantonese restaurant, complimentary Canopy bikes, and ten minutes' walk to Bourbon Street. Resort fee of 1.75% of total stay charged at check-in, on top of your booking.

🎉 New Orleans hotels for groups

• Wyndham New Orleans - French Quarter. Spread across 20 floors with Mr. Ed's Southern Creole Kitchen on site, indoor pool and gym, and Bourbon Street's nightlife 50 metres from the door. Solid central group base.

• The Royal Sonesta New Orleans. Big enough to host a full mate's-trip across multiple rooms, with two pools, a nightclub on site, and the courtyard for late-night gatherings. Resort fee charged separately at the property.

• Hyatt Centric French Quarter New Orleans. Roomy stylish rooms suit groups who want quality alongside the central location. Lobby restaurant works for joint dinners, the French Quarter is on the doorstep.

💰 Best value hotels in New Orleans

• La Quinta Inn & Suites New Orleans Downtown. On the edge of the French Quarter and within easy walking distance of Bourbon Street, with an outdoor pool, gym, and 24-hour reception. Resort fee of around £14 per room per night charged at check-in.

• Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Downtown (French Quarter Area). Free hot breakfast included, two blocks from the Quarter, comfortable rooms at a sensible price point.

• Crowne Plaza New Orleans French Quarter. Mid-range four-star on Canal Street with full amenities, decent value for what you get.

👉 All hotels in New Orleans

🗣️ Local Lingo

English is the language but New Orleans has its own dialect ("Yat" English) and a handful of French-creole loanwords that sound nothing like they look. Five to know:

• Y'all, YAWL, You all (the universal Louisiana plural; you'll hear it constantly)

• Lagniappe, LAN-yap, A little something extra (a bonus, the equivalent of "baker's dozen")

• Beignet, BEN-yay, The square fried dough at Café du Monde, dusted with powdered sugar

• Po'boy, POH-boy, The classic New Orleans sandwich on French bread (fried shrimp, oyster, or roast beef)

• Where y'at?, WHARE-yat, How's it going? (the local greeting; the answer is also "where y'at?")

🧳 New Orleans Travel Guide 2026 / 2027

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Things to do in New Orleans for families

• 🦁 Audubon Zoo: One of America's better city zoos, with the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit (alligators, native species, proper local twist), elephant house, and wide grounds for a half-day with younger kids. About 15 minutes by streetcar from the Quarter.

• 🌳 City Park: Bigger than New York's Central Park, with the Carousel Gardens amusement park, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Storyland for younger kids, and rentable paddle boats on the lagoon. A full day's worth.

• 🐠 Audubon Aquarium of the Americas: Recently renovated, near the riverfront with sharks, sea otters, a Mississippi River exhibit and an attached Insectarium. Easy half-day.

• 🚂 St Charles Avenue Streetcar: The oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world (since 1835). The Garden District route is a sightseeing tour in itself, riding past mansions, oak-lined streets and Audubon Park. About £1 a ride.

• 🦟 Bayou swamp tour: A 30-minute drive out to the Honey Island or Jean Lafitte swamps for a flat-bottom boat trip, alligator spotting and a glimpse of the Louisiana wilderness most visitors never see. Big-kid favourite.

❤️ Things to do in New Orleans for couples

• ☕ Lazy brunch at Café du Monde: Beignets and café au lait at the original Decatur Street location, open 24/7 since 1862. Pure New Orleans, free of admission.

• ⛵ Steamboat Natchez Mississippi cruise: Two-hour daytime or evening jazz cruises on the last working steam-powered sternwheeler on the river. Live jazz band, optional Creole lunch buffet. Properly old-fashioned.

• 🏚️ Stroll the Garden District: Take the St Charles streetcar out and wander the oak-shaded streets of mansions, including Anne Rice's old home, Sandra Bullock's house and the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 (currently closed for restoration but worth seeing the wall from the outside).

• 🎷 Live jazz on Frenchmen Street: Six or seven venues on a single block (The Spotted Cat, Snug Harbor, Three Muses, d.b.a.), no cover charge at most. The locals' alternative to Bourbon Street.

• 🍷 Dinner at Commander's Palace: Garden District institution since 1893, seven James Beard awards, the Friday lunch with 25¢ martinis is the bookable highlight. Dress code applies, so plan ahead.

🎉 Things to do in New Orleans for groups

• 🍸 Bourbon Street bar crawl: The Quarter's main party strip, with frozen daiquiris, hand grenades, and live cover bands every fifty metres. Touristy but the kind of touristy New Orleans is built for. Pat O'Brien's for Hurricanes, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop for an 18th-century blacksmith bar, the Carousel Bar for a rotating cocktail spot.

• 👻 Ghost or vampire tour: A two-hour evening walk through the Quarter covering the city's haunted history, Marie Laveau's voodoo legacy, and the famous LaLaurie Mansion. Several operators run them, around £20 a head.

• 🍳 Cooking class with Cookin' Cajun or New Orleans School of Cooking: Half-day classes covering gumbo, jambalaya and étouffée, with the meal you cook for lunch afterwards. Group-friendly hands-on activity, great Day 2 of a trip.

• 🦞 Sunday charbroiled oysters at Drago's: Legendary spot in the Hilton Riverside (and Metairie), where the cheese-and-garlic-grilled oysters are properly worth the trip. Drinks flow, group format works.

• 🎺 Preservation Hall jazz session: The Quarter's most famous jazz venue runs short 45-minute sets multiple times a night. Properly traditional Dixieland jazz, no booking, queue early for the early shows.

🚂 Day Trips from New Orleans

• 🌳 Oak Alley Plantation (1 hour by car): The most photographed plantation in Louisiana, with a quarter-mile avenue of 300-year-old oak trees leading to the antebellum mansion. Now a museum that confronts the history of slavery alongside the architecture. Half-day round trip.

• 🐊 Bayou swamp tour (45 minutes by car): Jean Lafitte National Historical Park or Honey Island Swamp, both under an hour from the city. Flat-bottom boat through the cypress swamps with a guide pointing out alligators, herons and turtles. Easy half-day with hotel pickups available from most operators.

• 🏖️ Gulf Coast beaches (1.5 hours by car): The Mississippi Gulf Coast (Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St Louis) has white-sand beaches, casinos, and a different pace from the city. Worth a day if you're staying a week.

• 🏛️ Whitney Plantation (1 hour by car): The first plantation in Louisiana focused entirely on telling the story of slavery from the perspective of the enslaved. Powerful, essential, very different in tone from the architecture-led plantation tours.

• 🎵 Lafayette and Cajun country (2 hours by car): The heart of Cajun Louisiana, with traditional Cajun and zydeco music, dancing halls, and the proper rural French-Acadian culture. Long day trip but a different Louisiana from the city.

🌍 More US City Breaks

• 🇺🇸 America: The hub for all your amazing USA breaks.

• 🗽 New York: The other obvious US city break, completely different rhythm to New Orleans but works as a twin-centre trip if you've got the time.

• 🎰 Las Vegas: Direct flights from London, three to four nights of headline experience, brilliant if you want maximum US-spectacle in a short window.

• 🌴 Florida: Family-friendly long-haul beach option, with Orlando theme parks and Miami's Cuban-American food scene as the headline pulls.