How to Get Around
As a nice little tip definitely download Lyft and the RTAGoMobile App. To leave the airport it was easier and quicker to get a Lyft than to take the bus. Sorry, after flying I didn't want to spend two hours on public transit when I could just take less than a 30 minute car ride. If you don't have Lyft shoot me a message on Twitter and I'll give you a referral code. I had it so I got 25% off my next few rides so getting myself and two other people around became a lot cheaper! The RTAGoMobile app is for the public transportation and is super easy to use. You can buy tickets for a single fare or even get passes for 1, 3, 5, or 31 days. You can even specialize what you need. For my trip I did the bus and streetcar for 5 days since I didn't need the ferry. It was only $15 so talk about a steal!
With the app you can see when the bus or streetcar is due to arrive. It works with Google Maps so you can just put in your location, where you're trying to go, and then get directions for different routes you can take! Having the pass on your phone is super easy so you aren't carrying around cash to try and pay for the streetcar or bus when you get on it. I watched a couple get on and hold out a $100 bill, as if the operator even had change for that because the machine certainly wouldn't take it. With your pass you just open it up on your app, show it to the driver, and you're good to get on.
Bourbon Street
If you want a tourist trap then head down to Bourbon Street. I honestly do not understand the hype. Maybe it is because I am from Vegas and I know you can head down to the strip, drink a ton, and have an enjoyable time. I just walked through Bourbon Street and it absolutely reeked! I mean, the smells were terrible enough that I wanted to puke. I went both during the day and at night and the people there were definitely looking like a mess or something that you'd see on tv and mock. I just don't get the hype but to each their own I suppose. I'd recommend using your time going to a local place so then you're not wasting a ton of money because there are multiple taxes in the areas that are tourist traps. Just a warning.
Food
This is going to go back to eating at places that aren't the tourist trap. My best friend who had planned all our food spots chose the ones with the best ratings in the French Quarter. I was very disappointed by each spot. The prices were outrageous and the food was bland at best. I have decided that people only thought the food was good because they were completely inebriated. The best spots I found were:
- Kilwin's (ice cream, fudge, chocolates, everything is delicious)
- Juan's Flying Burrito (Mexican food be sure to try the chips and queso and you won't regret it)
- Mona's Cafe (Greek food where the gyro was worth it and all delicious)
- Cafe Du Monde (get your beignets and enjoy!)
Things to Do
Groupon is your friend! Trust me on this. I booked a bunch of fun things using Groupon when they also had an additional discount code so I saved money and had a great time! I highly recommend going on a swamp tour! I'm not going to say a certain company or anything like that because there really are so many different ones. Going out there it is just beautiful and the one I took led us to a location that they took the Disney team when working on Princess and the Frog.
Find a Mardi Gras museum! This is another thing that there are plenty of but the one I found let you actually try on costumes so it was super fun to play dress up and take pictures with my friends. There were even documentaries talking about making the costumes and different traditions.
Take a walking tour! All the guides are very knowledgable from what I could tell, considering there were so many different tours. They also all seem to his the same spots, so clearly they know the important ones. I can only assume that all the companies work with each other so they don't overlap and run into each other too much. It's all about finding the best price though in my opnion.
Voodoo Authentica is the place to go if you're at all interested in voodoo. All the locals advised my friends and I that it was the best and only place to go to, considering the others were a bust. There was a lot to see and the building itself doesn't stand out a lot so you will need to look it up.
New Orleans Museum of Art is definitely worth a visit. They had an exhibit when I went by young artists around the world in regards to race, identity, and current events. It was all super well done. My favorite was the bookcase full of blank white books. You could buy a book from the gift shop to then trade out with one of the blank white books that would be sent to the University of Baghdad to help replace their library that was lost to the bombings at the end of the exhibit. It was all intriguing so I don't want to just spoil all of it for you. Instead I'll share a picture I captioned just to be funny. Enjoy.
All in all just go have fun in New Orleans! Don't be afraid to walk into any shops that intrigue you because there's so much to see. There's a lot of art galleries as well, which was surprising to me, but the mediums vary so it's worth seeing. Be prepared to deal with random weather. One day it just rained all day but my friends and I made the best of it. Don't be afraid to try new things and just have fun!
Have any of you been to New Orleans? What did you enjoy the most? If you haven't gone what would you like to do if you get to visit? Let me know in the comments down below. (:
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