High Culture, Lowdown Music, and Divine Food

More of Our Favorite New Orleans Hotels

You’ll see the silhouette of St. Louis Cathedral, the elegant centerpiece of the city, reproduced everywhere. The basilica is notable for being the mother church of historically Catholic New Orleans (originally built in 1727, it’s the oldest continually active cathedral in the country), and for its prime location in the French Quarter. Head inside its candle-wax-scented interior for a self-guided tour to learn about its history and design, and linger in the blessedly cool air. 

Across from the French Market, Central Grocery, an Italian market dating to 1906, often has a line out the door and down Decatur Street (centralgrocery.com). But it moves quickly and snakes past shelves of specialty foods that make the wait more interesting. The main draw is the muffuletta, a massive 9”-round sandwich of stacked meats and cheeses with a sloppy chopped pickled olive relish. Order a quarter- or half-sandwich to eat at the counter with Barq’s Root Beer and Zapp’s chips – and, if you’re checking your luggage on the flight home, consider a jar of the olive relish as a souvenir.

Today’s your day to focus on the Quarter and you can begin in Jackson Square, the lovely small park between St. Louis Cathedral and the Mississippi River. If you face the Cathedral, a cobbled pedestrian street called Pirates Alley runs along its left, western flank. On the alley, Faulkner House Books, once the home of writer William Faulkner, stocks curated Southern literature (faulknerhousebooks.com).

The family-friendly Pharmacy Museum, where the first licensed pharmacist in the U.S. set up business in 1822, may sound as dry as swallowing a pill without water (pharmacymuseum.org). The collection, however, is eccentric and engaging (leeches in jars, antique scoops, surgical instruments, and scales, ornately labeled medicine bottles) and the upstairs living quarters give a glimpse into 19th-century New Orleans.

In a city known for pirates, blended cultures, and offbeat tastes, shopping can be an adventure. The merch at Dirty Coast — clever New Orleans-themed T-shirts, tea towels, stationery items, coasters— is hard to resist (dirtycoast.com). At the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Shop at the Collection sells books, jewelry, and housewares, many made by locals (shophnoc.com). Along Royal Street between St. Louis and Iberville Streets, antique stores differentiate themselves by areas of focus, be it old coins, military paraphernalia, or Asian furniture.

Cross Rampart Street, the boundary between the French Quarter and Treme, to spend a moment in Congo Square. This paved plaza, surrounded by benches and trees, was where enslaved people and free people of color in pre-Civil War New Orleans gathered on Sundays to socialize, trade information, dance, and play the music from which jazz eventually evolved. Loose groups still form to make music on weekends and several festivals are held here annually.

Book the New Orleans: French Quarter Food History Walking Tour via GetYourGuide.com

For a classic cocktail in a classic New Orleans setting, take a seat at the Carousel Bar in the Monteleone Hotel. Since 1949, this fantastic merry-go-round-themed 25-seat bar has slowly turned (one revolution every 25 minutes) under a carnival-painted and mirrored canopy. It's a few minutes' walk to the even longer-standing Galatoire's on Bourbon Street, your clue to the spirit used in its Galatoire Special Cocktail, an inspired twist on the typical Sazerac.

There’s a burning flame being tended inside Preservation Hall (preservationhall.com). Four times a night, a high-energy band of jazz musicians plays 45-minute sets of undiluted New Orleans music to a packed house. Fans sit on benches or lean against brick walls of the small, dark space, and children are welcome. The musicians may tell corny jokes they’ve told a hundred times, but when they pick up their instruments you’ll have no doubt about the wisdom of buying that ticket.

Over in the Warehouse/Arts District, in a repurposed 1889 brick library with a modern glass-and-stone addition, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art showcases the largest collection of Southern art in the U.S. (ogdenmuseum.org). Galleries gracefully weave together formal 17th-century portraits, striking photography, George Ohr’s whimsical and surreal pottery, and funky, sequined modern sculpture. Leave time for the gift shop, which features artist-made works for sale.

The term “bakery restaurant” could make a person a little nervous about whether a meal will be substantial enough or overly sweet. Not to worry at Willa Jean, where a bacon, egg, and pimento cheese biscuit scratches the bakery and the savory itch (willajean.com). Biscuits turn up repeatedly on the menu, which covers shrimp and grits, housemade granola, and diner standards. Take your pick of cocktails and/or strong coffee – and remember to grab a cookie on the way out.

While riding uptown on the St. Charles streetcar, the green-painted wooden cars, with windows lowered to admit the breeze, rattle and clang down the median (called the ‘neutral ground’ here), stopping at street lights and scraping by low-hanging tree branches. The streetcar is public transportation slowed to New Orleans speed. Step aboard, pay $1.25 at the farebox, find a seat on the wooden benches, and watch the city go by on your way to the Garden District.

Some of the biggest names associated with New Orleans cuisine did time in the kitchen at Commander’s Palace. While there’s a theme-park look about the light blue exterior – tricked out with a turret, Victorian gingerbread flourishes, and balconies – inside you’ll find a formal institution, with uniformed staff, gleaming chandeliers, and stiffly starched tablecloths. Dinner is served daily; brunch is on the weekends with live music; and lunch is a Thursday and Friday affair, with 25-cent martinis. Among the Creole classics, pecan-crusted fish topped with lump crabmeat is a highlight.

While you can always hit the sidewalks of the Garden District on your own and find a mansion or two to love, Two Chicks Walking Tours have the inside scoop on the historic gossip, the architectural details, the lush, tended gardens, and the best blocks to explore (twochickswalkingtours.com). Their two-hour, small-group tours give you a sense of this historically American quarter of New Orleans.

In the mostly residential uptown area, the most commercial strip runs along Magazine Street, featuring coffee joints, dress shops, and vintage and antique stores. The mile-long stretch between Jackson and Napoleon Streets offers great options for souvenirs and even a possible Mardi Gras costume or wig. From Magpie at the uptown end to Miss Claudia’s and all the way to Peony near Jackson Street, retail distractions abound.

Head back down to the Quarter and the bottom of Canal Street to hop a ferry to Algiers Point (norta.com). It’s a short ride but long enough to educate you on the power of the seemingly slow-moving Mississippi River. The little ferry backs away from the dock on the New Orleans side and is immediately swept into the mighty current and has to chug back to equilibrium to steer straight across. Disembark at Algiers Point and walk along the levee to take in the view of St. Louis Cathedral’s magnificent profile above the French Quarter.