New Orleans is Always a Good Idea

Have you ever thought about visiting NOLA outside of Mardi Gras? The one place in America where you can drink publicly, legally! It’s a great spot to visit all year round, and it stays blazing hot, even in November. The temperatures almost reached 100 while I was there, so make sure you pack for the weather.

To get here, I drove across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which is the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. I got to go 23 miles at sunset, so it was a beautiful sight. If you’re driving, you can’t miss this opportunity.

NOLA conveniently has decent public transportation. You can take the trolley from most parts of the city, and it even runs late at night which was quite helpful.

Accommodation Ideas

I arrived at Madame Isabelle’s Hostel where I was greeted by a quick and easy parking job as well as swift check in. I was immediately asked by a group of guests to join them downtown to Frenchman street, which was a few blocks away, so it was quite the welcoming start. This was a good place to get work done, and they offered free breakfast items like bagels, cereal, and toast. This spot was close to Frenchman street, so it’s a good place to stay to explore a different part of the city.

I checked out the river before heading back to check into my next hostel, Auberge NOLA, which was in a different part of town. If one thing I say here sticks, let it be that if you’re going to New Orleans, you HAVE to stay at Auberge NOLA, best experience I’ve ever had.

The vibes were immaculate. We drank through the night and played some drinking games that didn’t go quite as planned in the outdoor section of the hostel. Every night there, the hostel employees play music and have fun out back with everyone staying at the hostel. The coolest part of this hostel was that you can’t tell the difference between hostel employees and guests, because everyone goes out together and has fun. Part of the job of the hostel employees is to go out and party with the guests, so that gets a huge props in my book.

I also stayed at NOLA’s sister hostel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, which was also clean and well-worth the price. Even with all the festivities, I have been able to get work done at all of these hostels on my trip, even after I checked out which was very nice of them.

Out and About… Dinner and Drinks

Every bar played different variations of jazz and blues, but what took the cake was the street performers. We stopped at Blue Nile and hopped in and out of a couple different spots, but I definitely can’t remember any names. Just know, Frenchman street is a spot you can’t miss, just listen to decide where to go. My only regret was not bringing cash so I could tip the performers, both inside and on the streets. I had an amazing time dancing in the streets with a whole group of people from my hostel after we stopped in at a few different bars.

I also checked out the French Market and got some amazing Mexican Street Corn and custom Grilled Cheese. For dinner later, I went out with some hostel mates at Coop’s Place which had very good gumbo (although definitely spicy). Decatur St. is an amazing spot for dive bars, if you’re looking for some affordable drinks or want to watch a sports game, check out that street.

Santos in particular is great with a balcony overlooking the tourists walking the street. I ended the night back on Frenchman street at 30/90 which was a bar downtown that had some of the best performers I had seen thus far. The street performers that night weren’t as memorable, but they were still interesting to see.

Later I checked out the infamous Bourbon street to grab some dinner and I saw plenty of street performers on the way. That was certainly the loudest street I’d ever been on. I certainly wouldn’t go back to Bourbon street for food, mostly because it’s hard to find somewhere to eat, much less somewhere affordable. 10/10 perfect for drinking though, I mean it’s Bourbon st…

The cool thing about New Orleans is that you can walk around with drinks, and you don’t even get stopped for walking into another bar with them. I wouldn’t exactly recommend, but that’s a crazy concept to me. I grabbed a slushy at Fat Tuesday before walking the 1.5 miles back to the hostel (should’ve taken the trolley).

When I went out with my hostel, we headed to Beach on Bourbon which boasts the largest dance floor and has some immaculate vibes. It was super busy, but not too busy that we wouldn’t be let in, but expect long lines for drinks and to spend a hefty price on that bud light. Some other bars worth checking out are Razzoos (on Frenchmen & oddl doesn’t have a website), and Boot Scootin Rodeo (very country), and then Tropical Isle was another cool spot to check out. We took the trolley there and walked back a little over 30 minutes.

Things You Can Do Besides Drinking

I highly recommend taking the trolley. Walking the streets of New Orleans is like no other, with balconies on every other building, and music from all directions. I also stopped in a bookshop for some much needed air conditioning to reprieve from the steamy weather.

Jackson Square is a spot you can’t miss. There are tons of really interesting street performers, lots of artists whose paintings you can buy or just look at in passing. The park itself is also really nice to look at. A few steps away is the water too, so that’s a good area to check out as well. It’s the second busiest area (after Bourbon St.), but I found some of the best street performers there in my opinion.

I spent the night hanging out with my hostel mates, half of which were living in the same room as me. The variety of people here was insane. There were some awesome guys from the Netherlands, some peeps from Australia, a girl from France, another from Montreal, and a bunch of other incredibly people from all over the country. I had so much fun hanging out and singing along with everyone with a variety of accents from everywhere. We danced the night away down Bourbon street and definitely got pretty intoxicated along the way.

I went out with a few of my hostel mates from the Netherlands on a Brunch Steamboat River Cruise for less than $50. While the food was pretty awful, I had a great time picking my friends’ brains about the cultural differences of America and the Netherlands, and other parts of the world in general. The 2 hour cruise was beautiful, and I’m glad we had the chance to take one.

The next day I spent walking the streets of New Orleans to check out the town and took a longer look at Bourbon street in daylight, finding trinkets in different tourists shops. If you’re looking to grab some tourist items, just walk up and down Bourbon street, and you will find tons of souvenirs. Be warned though, almost every tourist shop has the same things. Some have good t-shirt deals though, and those are well advertised!

Then I went out with a few hostel mates to find a place to watch the college football game that night. On the way, we ran into a Jazz wedding progression that was incredible to see marching along the street. I got some pictures with my new friends, and a couple drinks at the bar to watch the game, then we headed back with the trolley to meet up with the rest of the hostel for some more drinks.

We all hung out dancing and singing along, until we went back downtown to Frenchman street where we hung out before taking a very late trolley back. We ran into another hostel mate on the trolley, and played around with his guitar on the empty vehicle. That’s just the kind of vibes that New Orleans inspired.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Auberge NOLA
• Madame Isabelle’s Hostel
• 30/90 on Frenchman St. ($$)
• Beach on Bourbon ($$)
• French Market ($-$$)
• Auberge NOLA ($)
• Decatur St. ($)
• Jackson Square (FREE/tipped Street Performers)