I need all your New Orleans recs! I love the city, I haven’t been in years, and I’m planning a 3 day, 4 night trip with my boyfriend in early November. Where should we stay? Neighborhoods and specific hotels welcome. My brief trip formula is l: something to move my body (long walks, hikes, maybe a walking tour?), something to move my spirit (museums, galleries, a walking tour could fit here too), and at least one truly excellent meal. So what should we do? Where must we eat? Thank you!

Question

Sophia You · Answer

Bar Redux: If you’re feeling ready to let loose after a couple glasses at Bacchanal head over to this low key spot just a few blocks away

dhblikes · Answer

Hotel Peter & Paul: Love the spot, decor, shop Sunday Best, the bar, the neighborhood.  N7 is a good nearby-ish restaurant. We were just there in January for New Years and LOVED.

Rob · Answer

N7: Delicious and beautiful. Vibes and flavor on point

Katharina · Answer

NOLA Recs: We can debate all the NOLA restaurants from now until the end of time, but what's on my list for next time is https://www.zasunola.com unassumingly in MidCity. And right around the corner from there is Angelo Brocato's, a Sicilian pastry and gelato shop that's been there since 1905.

As for a walk, they recently redid the Riverfront and there's a great trail right in the city that goes along the river.

Tami · Answer

Bar Pomona: the most magical spot. crudite with whipped tahini. a mortadella plate. clarified bloody marys. everything they do is just right.

Laurel · Answer

Chance in hell: Extremely good snoballs with cute little dogs hanging out if you’re lucky! Bonus that it’s right by sneaky pickle which is delicious for dinner & cocktails

Tony Paganelli · Answer

Hotel Monteleone: This is the quintessential Nola French Quarter hotel. Also rooftop pool!

Isabella · Answer

Hové Parfumeur: If you are into delightful fragrances at all, you must go to Hové Parfumeur.

The Heliotrope is my personal favorite scent and I bought the biggest lotion of it I could get. I now order it online but there’s nothing quite going in store and watching them prepare it!

Chiara · Answer

new orleans music box village: an interactive musical playground for all ages

Casson · Answer

Camellia Grill: Hopping old diner that could be a great part of a long walk. There are often lines but things move pretty fast.

Casson · Answer

Mister Mao: Tasty food and cocktails. great to go with friends and share

Vickie · Answer

New Orleans Athletic Club: Beautiful historic gym!! We came here to work out twice, they have a lot of equipment but also the space is truly special

Vickie · Answer

Hungry Eyes: Fun vibes!! I will be honest, I can’t fully remember what we ate here, BUT I do remember having a great time and loving the decor

Vickie · Answer

Guy’s Po Boys: Delicious and the size of a forearm

Ted · Answer

Elizabeth's New Orleans: Shrimp. Grits. Go.

AES · Answer

Dong Phuong: Well off the beaten path, but delicious Vietnamese pastries and a great king cake.

Also delicious: Acamaya, Dakar NOLA, Fritai, Heard Dat.

Juliana · Answer

treme’s petit jazz museum: tremes petit jazz museum is one of my more memorable and moving museum experiences

xdudx · Answer

Audubon Park: Great trees, great swan watching. This was the one place we could cool down thanks to the those trees.

xdudx · Answer

Couturie Forest: The whole park is packed with stuff to do but ya gotta go in the center for the treeeeez

xdudx · Answer

Jewel of the South: Best meal we had all week. They’re doing something really special here. Sit in the garden by the pretty tree.

Edit: I am specifically editing this rec to implore you to go to this restaurant.

Sophie Consults · Answer

Rockabye Karaoke: Best karaoke spot in NOLA! They have a big shared room and private rooms. BYOB. Best sound system in town. Owned by my friend Ben, who is my NOLA spirit guide <3

Ksteg · Answer

M.S. Rau Antiques, Fine Art and Jewelry: When you end up in the French Quarter, please go to MS Rau. It is a wonderland with exclusively the wildest, glitteriest and most eye-popping antiques. Napoleon’s foot bath, goose egg diamonds, Bavarian player pianos, a Turing machine, sloth bear skeletons,  Louis XIV bird boxes… this is literally the antique shop Nic Cage shops at. The staff is incredibly charismatic and very happy to pop open cases, show you their trick cane collection and give you a tour of their secret galleries. Nowhere else like it.

Hallie · Answer

Sunday Best: A very sweet jewel box of a shop in the Hotel Peter & Paul, stocked with the hotel’s signature linens, soaps, etc. AND great vintage finds and beautiful locally made jewelry, housewares, and more.

Hallie · Answer

Paladar 511: It’s excellent. Every single time. Snacks at the bar, a six person blowout, and everything in between. The Insalata Tre Colore and squid ink pasta are musts but, honestly, so are the arancini and whatever crudo is on the menu. Just go!

Noelle · Answer

Fatima Mbodj: I’ve talked to Fatima a number of times and she’s excellent and very accurate. I’ve sent a bunch of people to her and they’ve all had great experiences. She’s in New Orleans but does phone sessions.

Karen Fischer · Answer

Madame Aucoin Perfume: Okay so I lived in New Orleans in my early 20s and went back last year and thought it would be super magical, and I was actually a little disappointed. However, one of the biggest upsides of the trip was this shop in the Quarter. I'm a perfume head, and so is the owner - he has 300+ bottles in his personal collection. He has the cologne that Napolean Bonaparte used in this shop. He's got $500-$600 bottles that you can't even FIND normally in the U.S., and I only see in Europe on vacation. I still have a tuberose recommendation in my wallet for a perfume I didn't buy from here that was $400 that I still think about to this day, and I kick myself that I didn't just go for it. SO - my travel tip? Go here on your first day. Splurge on a perfume. Use it like crazy throughout the trip, and then when you go home, you'll have the scent lodged in your memories, and it'll make you happy when you're feeling down. You're welcome.

Aubrey Bergeron · Answer

French Quarter Gem & Lapidary: One of my favorite places for jewelry, it’s become a ritual stop for me when I’m in NOLA. Comb through glass cases of unique stones or stock up on crystals. A mix of price points so you can always find something. Last year I got a pair of moldavite earrings (moldavite was formed from a meteorite impact, very cool). They will also re-size and ship for you. Plan ahead, they have weird hours!

alie k. · Answer

willie mae’s fried chicken: bar none the best fried chicken i’ve ever eaten. expect to wait in line, but you’ll be glad you did.

alie k. · Answer

bacchanal wine bar: feels like you’re at a very fun, relaxed backyard party. amazing wine and snacks. i’ve hung out for hours just people watching and sipping on the great wine selection here.

Jessica Menda · Answer

5 Days in New Orleans: Where I stayed, ate, and shopped.

Emily · Answer

Mosquito Supper Club (New Orleans): I’ve been going to NOLA my whole life (was born in MS) and the meal I had at Mosquito in late 2023 was hands-down the best meal I’ve ever had in NOLA. They get the best seafood, cook it perfectly with flavors of the bayou, embody the best parts of Southern hospitality, give thoughtful credit to their fishermen and farmers, and communicate beautifully about what this food means to New Orleans. It’s a perfect place.

jennifer · Answer

Book a session with the *inimitable* Hallie Dietsch: @Hallie will not only offer you intuitive and spiritual lightening bolts of revelation & healing, but also design for you the dreamiest days-into-nights in the crescent city. HGD's precision, care, and expertise simply cannot be matched, and her vibrant enthusiasm: a universe unto itself!

Joy Fowlkes · Answer

NOLA Oracle & Tarot: Every year I live in Los Angeles, I get a little bit more woo… but this is the only place I go for tarot.

Gretta has always been my first stop when I travel home to the bayou. She shoots straight even when you don’t want to hear yourself get called out. She has 60+ decks.

Oh, she also does Spray tans 😅

Rebecca · Answer

Cochon: Every seasoned New Orleans lover we talked to told us to have a meal here, and THEY WERE RIGHT. Bonkers good.

(Do I realize I posted a rave about a pork palace right after one for a Jewish museum? I do!)

Rebecca · Answer

The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience: If you're interested (as I was), this museum is small and fascinating. I didn't know there WAS a Southern Jewish experience, so I learned a lot... and it made me feel much more welcome in this part of the country & world.

Molly · Answer

New Orleans Museum of Art sculpture garden: Perfect size for a stroll, and great sculptures!