Explore New Orleans’ Vibrant Culture in Just Two Days
Feel like you’re escaping the country with an artsy, tasty trip to the Big Easy
Locals like to say New Orleans is the only place in America you can live as an expat. It’s not due to one aspect in particular, but a handful. There’s the European aesthetic of this town, with its handsome, Creole townhouses and pristine gardens and commitment to antiquated illumination in flickering gas lanterns. Then, there are the Caribbean appeals. Hurricane-battered palm trees lean over pastel cottages, and Haitian influence is woven into the cultural cornerstones of art and spirituality.
Sometimes, the saying is a happy jab at the rather laissez faire attitude of the residents. When it comes to a strict 9-to-5 mentality, this city takes a more Spanish or Italian approach. Have a little gin at breakfast. Sit in a café for hours after lunch, people watching as the literary giants did before you. Take a nap. You’ll need the rest. The best stories are written once darkness falls.
While Americans won’t need a passport to visit, New Orleans certainly feels foreign. That’s particularly true when it comes to eating. From Creole and Cajun dishes that preserve Louisiana’s past and African ingredients carried by enslaved ancestors to Vietnamese recipes honoring refugees fleeing a war and fusions of Cantonese, Thai, Sicilian, and French cuisines—New Orleans is a port town for flavors.
Here’s how to experience the best of the city in just a couple of days.
Who Am I: I'm Jenny Adams, a writer and photographer now living in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, after six years of living in the French Quarter. I'm the author of two books on the city—the first, a cocktail/bar history of the town's most sainted establishments, and the second, a full history of the beautiful, century-plus Hotel Monteleone. I cover food and beverage stories in town for a number of publications, but also personality profiles, art exhibits and exciting hotel stays. I'm represented in photography by the Where Y'Art gallery, located in the Marigny.
Before you go
Know the seasons: With a sub-tropical climate, the weather can be quite… biblical. When it rains, flooding usually happens in low lying areas. (And, yes, even sections of the French Quarter flood.) When it’s hot, whoa mama. Nola can occasionally crest three digits. Pack rainboots, some indoor plans, and a breezy attitude June through September. The best times to visit are the mildest, driest months––late February to early May and October to early December. These months do include the high festival seasons like Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest, and certain weeks see increased crowds, as well as higher costs for hotels and flights.
Getting around: With flat streets and shady sidewalks, New Orleans is great for walking or biking, particularly the Garden and Lower Garden districts, the Bywater, the Marigny, Treme, and French Quarter neighborhoods. Ride shares are reasonably priced and easy to book, and in the French Quarter, you can hop in a rickshaw-style pedicab or a horse-drawn carriage. New Orleans does suffer higher crime rates than some American cities. Take precautions, guard valuables, and avoid walking alone at night.
Where to Stay
Two Culture-Filled Days in New Orleans
First thing to do when you land in town: Get some tunes, with a side of sustenance. Drop your bags and head to Bacchanal, for a backyard live-music party with wine and cheese; Frenchmen Street, for its two-block stretch of blues clubs and po-boy shops; or century-old places like Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace, or Arnaud’s for a sit-down weekend jazz brunch.
Day 1: Grits, gracious architecture, and tons of neon
Morning
- Rise and shine for Molly’s Rise and Shine. The interiors of this old corner store honor the 1980s, and the menu’s got a sense of whimsy, too. Collard greens and grits are topped with a salsa matcha, and the Grand Slam McMuffin is a cheeky combo nod to Denny’s and McDonald’s.
- Meet guide Christine Miller of Two Chicks Walking Tours a few blocks away. Her Garden District walks meld history with architecture. You’ll see the childhood home of NFL legend Peyton Manning and the 1856 Buckner Mansion––a favorite filming location, including for Brad Pitt’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Afternoon
- After working up an appetite, wander over to that sainted institution of impeccable service and haute Creole, Commander’s Palace, which opened in 1893. Try turtle soup, topped with egg and sherry, and a 25-cent martini, served at lunchtime Wednesdays to Fridays. (The menu notes: “Limit three per person 'cause that's enough.”)
- Walk off lunch (and those martinis) just a few blocks away at Lafayette Cemetery No. 2, which is open until 2 p.m. (Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is just across from the restaurant, but it’s generally closed to the public.) Beneath dripping Spanish moss, wander the rows of hauntingly beautiful mausoleums and tombs, many of them “society tombs,” built by unions and clubs and designed to serve as the final resting place for its members.
- Hop a five-minute Uber ride over to Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. At the Big Sexy Neon, a quirky emporium of neon art, shop for one-of-a-kind pieces that will (literally) light up any room. A half-block away is The Southern Food & Beverage Museum, where you can explore interactive exhibits celebrating the foodways of the American South. Be sure to check the schedule ahead of time, because they often have tasty demonstrations and classes as well.
Evening:
- A thriving immigrant population from Asia and Southeast Asia continue to boost the city’s food scene. Indelible and utterly delicious, Vietnamese Thai, Japanese, and Indian restaurants exist in nearly every neighborhood. In the mood for Cantonese? Dig into the shrimp har kow and the gingery chicken wings at Miss Shirley’s. Or if elevated Indian is more your speed, then you’d be wise to reserve a table at Saffron Nola. One bite of the tuna chaat crudo or pork-shoulder vindaloo and you’ll see why Arvinder Vilkhu and Ashwin Vilkhu were semifinalists for the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef, South.
- It’s a 10-minute walk to Tipitina’s, a true citadel for music nerds. Professor Longhair held court here back in the ’70s, and now rock, funk, hip-hop, bluegrass, and brass bands perform nearly nightly, and Fridays are always free. Grab a drink and soak up the vibe.
Day 2: Baked goods, books, and legendary dive bars
Morning
- Though the namesake breakfast pastries at Croissant D’Or Patisserie are delicious—and available filled with chocolate, almond, apple, raspberry, blueberry, or ham and cheese—do yourself a favor and order the quiche, either spinach or Lorraine. It’s a pillowy soft and savory revelation.
- From here, stroll further into the French Quarter to the Hermann-Grima house. Take a tour of the preserved 1831 Federalist, learning about the lives of the urban enslaved and the city’s Haitian influences, including blacksmithing and wrought iron design.
Afternoon
- Grab a Blue Bikes bikeshare and pedal the Marigny. Developed in the early 1800s, the neighborhood is famed for pastel-hued shotgun cottages. Along jazz-bar–lined Frenchmen Street, pause to tip a curbside sax player, ride through Washington Square Park, and then visit Baldwin & Co., a petite bookshop dedicated to Black authors and activism.
- Stop for a light lunch at Ayu Bakehouse, which Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss opened in 2022, gaining particular acclaim for their croissant-inspired King Cake, sold during Carnival season. Order a chai latte and a Boudin Boy––their twist on a sausage roll, with Louisiana’s spicy rice-and-pork filling.
- Wander over to Studio BE, a 36,000-square-foot gallery inside a compound of warehouses on the edge of the Marigny and Bywater that was developed by street artist Brandan “BMike” Odums. There are group shows and solo exhibitions housing towering artworks—portraits, murals, and mixed media pieces illuminating the struggles of the Black community, past and present, and highlighting hope for a better future.
- If it’s not too hot, then walk along Crescent Park, the elevated railroad-track greenway on the Mississippi, and then dip into Southern Rhoades Apothecary, an old-fashioned general store selling candles, candies, and herbal teas.
Evening
- Did New Orleans invent “dive” bars? Impossible to say, but it has perfected them. Marie’s Bar & Kitchen has cheap domestics, a battle-worn pool table, and a secret. The Original Slap Burger is hidden in a cell-sized back room. From a walk-up window and graffitied walls comes the prize––smash patties and pickles housed in buttery brioche, oozing American cheese and tangy sauce.
- Vaughn’s is another prized dive in the adjacent Bywater. Brass bands pack the house. Grab a beer and get shoulder-to-shoulder with the sweaty masses, enjoying the wee hours of a perfect New Orleans night.
If you have three days:
All the above, but add…
- ZipNola, in the Maurepas Swamp Reserve, is only 20 minutes from downtown by car. It’s one of the coolest ways to connect with wild Louisiana. From six tower platforms, you clip in, dive off, and whizz through live oak and cypress groves, past blooming hibiscus, and above feathery marsh grass, viewing egrets, herons, alligators, and turtles in their natural habitat.
- Peychaud’s Bitters is a necessary ingredient in dozens of famous drink recipes and stocked in every cocktail bar, everywhere. The recipe for those bitters was born at a pharmacy in the French Quarter in the 1830s, by creator Antoine Peychaud. He migrated from Haiti and his former house is now Peychaud’s bar. It’s transporting to sip a Sazerac by the courtyard fountain, where playwright Tennessee Williams was fond of writing.
- City Park is twice the size of Central Park and home to many of America’s oldest Live Oak trees and City Putt, a colorful mini golf course. Sink a ball into a faux bayou, and then visit the Train Garden. Painstakingly detailed vintage model trains chug along 1,300 feet of track around mini landmarks, including the Museum of Art, with a vast permanent collection and rotating exhibits, and a Café Du Monde outpost, for beignets and café au lait.
If you have four days, plus:
All of the above, but add…
- Porgy’s is reminiscent of a great roadside seafood stop in 1960s Key West, with sunny peach and seafoam-green accents. In a front case, fresh fish, crabs, and shrimp are piled high on ice. Porgy’s supports sustainable fisheries by buying bycatch––fish accidentally caught in nets meant for other species. The fresh selections, thus, change daily.
- It’s a five-minute drive to Floor13, a crazy airplane-hanger-sized flea market emporium of art and funky lamps, rattan divans and mid-century antiques. If you need a toilet seat decorated with a portrait of Elvis, they have you covered.
- From 1939 through 1970, the Dew Drop Inn was a wildly influential nightclub and hotel. James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Tina Turner all performed here, and this is where Little Richard improvised the song that later became his first big hit, “Tutti Frutti.” It was a safe stage for Black musicians and a safe hotel for people of color traveling across the Jim Crow-era South. Restored and reopened in 2024, the hotel offers artifacts, as well as music and comedy six nights a week.