New Orleans is a perfect weekend destination. A three-day weekend gives you enough time to explore the city while still taking it slow. How much you get done depends on how much partying you plan on doing.
This three-day weekend itinerary is a framework that can act as your starting point to plan your trip to New Orleans. It assumes you arrive Thursday night or early Friday morning for a jampacked first full day. It also assumes you’ll leave sometime Sunday afternoon after sleeping in from a night of partying on Bourbon St.
Let’s get into it.
Friday: The Must-Dos
Breakfast at Cafe du Monde
Cafe du Monde is an institution in New Orleans. It’s a cafe that serves famous beignets, which are pillows of fried dough that taste like funnel cake. They’re covered in a mountain of powdered sugar and served in a set of three. Start your day by going straight to Cafe du Monde for breakfast. Two beignets will do the trick to keep you satisfied until lunch.
If you’re the kind of person who needs coffee before breakfast to get your day started, check out Backatown coffee shop on the outskirts of the French Quarter. It’s local, simple, and tasty with pastries and specialty coffee drinks.
Check out Jackson Square
In front of Cafe du Monde is Jackson Square, an open-air plaza with street performers and art. When you type “New Orleans” into Google, this is the image that pops up. The backdrop of the square is a white cathedral known as St. Louis Cathedral. Along the fence of the square, artists set up shop to display their art for sale.
Stroll through the French Market
After checking out Jackson Square, walk down Decatur and N Peters St. to discover the French Market. Here there are shops and stalls with souvenirs. Historically, this shopping area was a trading post for Native Americans along the Mississippi River. If you cross the cable car tracks behind the French Market, you’ll be face to face with the Mississippi River, the longest in the United States.
Stop by the Disco Warehouse Artist Market
Down Decatur St. is the Disco Warehouse Artist Market. Disco Warehouse has been voted one of the best furniture stores in New Orleans but it’s better known for its homewares, art, and decorations. In front of their warehouse, they host an artist market where vendors set up shop. Their vendors include vintage resellers, handmade jewelry designers, and candle makers.
Wander around the French Quarter
Once you reach Esplanade Ave, make your way up and around by turning left to walk through the French Quarter. As you walk through this historic neighborhood you’ll notice colorful houses and iron-clad balconies. The closer you get to the center of the French Quarter, the more bars, restaurants, and shops will pop up, so it’s nice to take the time to walk through its quiet residential streets first.
Lunch at Napoleon House
Once you’ve worked up an appetite, go to Napoleon House for a special New Orleans sandwich: the Muffuletta. It’s a classic Italian sandwich with an addition of olives. It was pioneered by Siclian-immigrants in New Orleans. Napoleon House has other great classic New Orleans lunch items like po’boys and red beans and rice.
If you’re feeling a cocktail, Napoleon House is also famous for its Pimm’s Cup, which is a refreshing English drink made with Pimm’s No. 1 and lemonade. Pimm’s No. 1 is a gin-based liqueur and a Pimm’s Cup is considered low abv since it only includes this liqueur and no other hard liquor.
Go on a cable car ride through the Garden District
Walk to Canal St. to catch a cable car on New Orleans’ historic cable car route. Catch the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line to be taken on a ride through the oak-lined Garden District. Buy a $3 day pass, affectionately named the “jazzy pass,” on the RTA app to hop on and off the cable car.
Note: The cable car won’t run during Mardi Gras due to parades. Check the RTA app for cable car updates.
Drinks at Manolito
Before dinner, go to Manolito, a Cuban daiquiri bar in the French Quarter. In bar culture, a daiquiri is one drink bartenders order from other bartenders in the business to test their skills. If you can master a simple daiquiri, you can make any good cocktail.
A traditional daiquiri isn’t frozen like what you’d order on a beach in Mexico. It’s shaken and, at Manolito, served in a cocktail glass. Manolito’s roots are in Cuba where rum runs rampant. It’s the perfect pre-dinner drinks place to warm you up for another Cuban spot.
Dinner at Cane + Table
Cane + Table is an upscale Cuban restaurant that consistently tops New Orleans’ best restaurant lists. It’s the kind of place where you order multiple shareable plates and taste a little bit of everything with friends. They serve a delicious pina colada in a coconut and flavorful appetizers like croquetas and tostones. The star of the show for us was the arroz con pollo (chicken and rice).
Cane + Table has a surprisingly small indoor space but it opens up to a larger patio in the back. If you’re traveling with a larger party, I recommend making reservations ahead of time. And, if you plan to grab dinner at a peak time, put your name down at Cane + Table and sit at the bar or go to Manolito.
Live music on Frenchmen St.
After dinner, it’s less than a 10-minute walk to Frenchmen St., New Orleans’ live music destination. On Frenchmen St., live music can be heard from every bar. Musicians play jazz renditions of popular hits that will have you dancing along to the beat.
The Spotted Cat Music Club is the famous place to go see live music but it charges cover on the weekends. To avoid cover while still hearing great live music, go to Apple Barrel Bar or 30°/-90° instead.
Also, the Frenchmen Art Bazaar, a market with handmade goods, is open until midnight next to The Spotted Cat Music Club if you want to do some more shopping.
Saturday: Parks and Parades
Brunch at Two Chicks Cafe
Rise and shine for brunch at Two Chicks Cafe in the Central Business District or CBD. Two Chicks Cafe is a laid-back breakfast and brunch spot with reasonable prices and lots of options. Order the shrimp and grits or a breakfast po’boy to fill you up for your next adventure.
Explore City Park
New Orleans’ City Park has it all: museums, a sculpture garden, and endless picturesque oak trees with Spanish moss draped over them. It’s a great place to spend a sunny Saturday and unwind.
City Park sits northeast of the French Quarter. If it’s a nice day, you can bike to City Park up Esplanade Ave on a Blue Bike. Find a Blue Bike station to rent a bike for $9 per hour (15 cents per minute).
Note: If you’re visiting during Mardi Gras, Saturday should be your big parade day. Read this Mardi Gras guide to find out where to watch parades.
Dinner at Cochon
Cochon is a Cajun and Southern restaurant in the Central Business District. It elevates Southern cuisine to another level. Every bite is a journey for your palate. Each night they have a “Cochon” on the menu which is a different style of pork dish. Their menu is locally inspired with ingredients sourced from around the Gulf and Bayou. I can’t recommend this place enough.
Grab martinis at Fives
The French Quarter is known for its dive-y and lively bars. Fives is an anomaly. It transports you to an elegant raw bar with expertly crafted martinis. It’s a good pre- or post-dinner spot, but if you know you’ll want to try local oysters, plan to come before dinner instead.
Fives is known for its martinis. They have great options on their menu but I recommend their classic dirty martini. The olives were so good we asked the bartender what they were. (Hint: they were Gordal.)
Party on Bourbon St.
For your final night in New Orleans, you have to go all out on Bourbon St. Start your adventure on the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip St. at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar and work your way down. Make sure to hit Tropical Isle and Pat O’Brien’s for classic New Orleans sugar-filled drinks. If you want to dance, go to Razzou’s or The Beach. For live music, hit up Tin Roof.
Sunday: Brunch O’clock
Brunch at Stanley
After a night out on Bourbon St., you’ll be craving a big hearty brunch. New Orleans is known for brunching and there are plenty of classic options in the French Quarter. Famous spots like Antione’s and Brennan’s will need to be booked in advance. So, if you’re looking for a delicious brunch spot that you can easily walk into at any hour, look no further than Stanley next to Jackson Square. Stanely serves breakfast all day with delicious lunch items, too. Try the bananas foster french toast which was invented in New Orleans.
Visit the birthplace of jazz
Walk off your brunch by going straight up St. Ann St. to Louis Armstrong Park. This park is considered the birthplace of jazz. It has a network of bridges that take you across lagoons. In the park, there are historic landmarks and spaces to lay out and relax.
After a relaxing afternoon, you’ll be on your way to the airport and counting down the days until your next New Orleans trip.
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