SoloTraveler

“America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.”

-Tennessee Williams

Let’s just get it out of the way: New orleans is the greatest city in the world. To many, that’s just an inarguable fact. It’s beautiful, friendly, delicious. It’s cultured and casual all at once. It’s steeped in southern charm yet still accepting of everyone.

And often it does it all while just a little bit drunk.

Why New Orleans Solo?

The People

New Orleans is a service town. Many of the locals livelihood depends on tourist coming to the city and spending money. But it’s also a people town. The locals want to see you having a good time, they want you to come back. Almost everyone you meet is friendly and wants to help you have a good time (even if they don’t work in a service industry job). There are few other cities in the world that can compete with New Orleans for being so hospitable.

If you find yourself sitting at a table or bar at a slow time, ask your bartender or server what you should do next - leave it open ended. They’ll almost always provide some great ideas for what to do next. If you get into a conversation at a bar there’s also a real chance that someone will invite you on an ad hoc bar crawl because they’re so excited to share a few local gems with a new friend.

It also helps to know that the people of New Orleans can be a bit of a paradox, many of them have been in the city for generations, sometimes living in the same neighborhoods as distant relatives, but those relatives come from EVERYWHERE. Obviously the French roots run deep, but migrations from other parts of of the world have helped to make the city what it became. French, Spanish, Irish, German, Italians and Poles among others came from Europe. Slaves, largely from West Africa, were brought to North America. Later a large population of Vietnamese people came to the region.

There are many clever cliches about melting pots in America but when you visit New Orleans, learn a bit of its history, meet some residents, and eat some food those cliches make a bit more sense (and the local comparison that THIS melting pot is actually a gumbo)!

The History

There aren’t many older cities in the United States than New Orleans. It’s over 300 years old and you can feel the history as you wander the streets.

The city was founded on what is now the french quarter (the location was somewhat controversial as other locales were preferred by the powers that be across the Atlantic). A hint towards understanding the historical place of the city is that while being a major city in the American south, it also was (functionally) the northernmost point in the Caribbean. When France wanted to move goods to Port-au-Prince or the Spanish were hauling something from Havana New Orleans was on those same routes.

New Orleans has long been a crossroads of cultures. Native Americans were using the location long before Europeans came. African slaves brought culture and cuisine with them when they were brought to Louisiana. Everyone that came to the city brought their history with them and the aggregate is a city with a unique history that reaches across the globe.

The Food

Gumbo, Po Boys, BBQ Shrimp, Muffuletta, Jambalaya, Beignets. New Orleans has a distinct food culture unlike anywhere in the world. From its french and creole roots, to the southern staples that followed, eating in NOLA is a highlight of any trip.

The people and the history of the city means that there are strong influences from disparate parts of the world. You can get classic French fine dining in the same building as you can get jambalaya - a combination of African, Spanish, and French culinary traditions that is firmly Luisiana’s own.

A note about “Cajun” vs “Creole”

Of course - we all know Cajun food, and it’s undeniably from Louisiana, but technically it isn’t a New Orleans specialty. Cajun food is from Acadiana, west of this city (Cajun is the abbreviated pronunciation of “Acadian” - the group of people that came from Canada and settled Acadiana). In some uses this can be assumed to mean “country folks” and “country food”, particularly in comparison to their counterparts, Louisiana Creoles.

Creole food is the product of Creole culture, which largely came from France (without the Cajuns’ pit stop in Canada).

Confusingly both Cajun and Creole share several dishes, and sometimes a particular chef will draw from both traditions in a single dish! For the dish that are in both cuisines typically you’ll be eating the Creole version unless you’re in a Cajun restaurant, or it’s otherwise noted. The most common dishes that this might come up for are Gumbo and Jambalaya. The good news is that almost any version you get will be tasty and a jumping off point to learn more about the differences (hint: if the jambalaya has tomato in it, it’s Creole).

The Music

The birthplace of Jazz. Louis Armstrong, Dr. John, Jon Batiste, Lil Wayne. So many names are associated with New Orleans music, you can’t name them all. And the venues are just as historic.

As a solo visitor one of the best ways to merge into the fabric of a city is to walk into a music venue and lose yourself to the local rhythm. You don’t even need a venue for this in Nola. Just stroll through the French Quarter and find a corner with an amazing artist playing. No city in the world does this better than New Orleans. No matter what you want you can find it.

Visit Frenchman street for Jazz, Go to Tipitinas for one of the coolest venues in the country. Bourbon street, for all its warts has some amazing artists playing 7 nights a week. Walk down royal street or into Jackson Square to see some amazing buskers.

The Language (aka wtf is lagniappe?)

There is a (likely apocryphal) story about a frustrated French language teacher who after visiting New Orleans came to the conclusion:

“It’s like they all know French, they’re just too lazy to pronounce anything fully!”

And, tbh, it sort of makes sense. In the French Quarter, the street names alone can be a bit head scratching: Dauphine (locally pronounced daw-feen), Chartres (chart-ers), Burgundy (bur-gun-dee).

To get off on the right foot, here are a few tricky or unexpected ones:

Street names & Geography

Foods

Others

Luckily, nobody will mind if you mispronounce anything, and frequently will offer to help with the correct pronunciation. About the only way to get a local to roll their eyes at you is saying “N’awlins”. Also, in New Orleans, they’re “streetcars” not “Trolleys”.

When to visit New Orleans

Seasons

Spring and fall are the prime tourist seasons because the weather tends to be great. Think warm, but not too hot. Visitors can expect the city’s best between March and May in the spring and mid-September and Mid-November in the autumn. If you’re ok with crowds and paying a bit more for lodging these are great times to visit the city.

If avoiding crowds or extra expensive lodging are primary concerns non-festival summer and winter dates are a good bet. Bear in mind that winter is definitely more accessible though, as Louisiana’s hot & humid summers can be daunting.

December is a great time to visit as much of the city is decorated beautifully for the holidays and many restaurants have special reveillion menus. Be sure to check out the fancier hotels in the French Quarter and CBD to see their holiday themed lobbies.

Large parts of the summer and early fall also have daily seasonal rain. Luckily many days will get a mid-afternoon shower and nothing more. Experienced visitors try to time their routes to pass by a favorite bar as they expect the rain to start as there is no better place to wait out a rainstorm than a NOLA bar with a cold drink.

Festivals & Events

Spring, Fall, and Winter are packed with Festivals and Major events. (Summer is a bit less busy, due to the heat.) Depending on your travel style (and budget) you may want to visit during these times or you may want to avoid them.

The biggest event of the year is always Mardi Gras and the carnival season that precedes it. This comes in the winter, typically in late February or early March, with the date varying every year. Luckily the dates are easy to find. It will be crowded, it will be expensive, it will be life changing.

Other big annual events are: St. Patrick’s day (March), French Quarter Fest (April), Jazz Fest (April), Essence Fest (July), Halloween (October), New Years Eve & the Sugar bowl (December/January).

Also worth taking into account is when the local NFL team is playing as the city LOVES the Saints and visiting fans love use a road game as an excuse to visit the city, this can lead to bigger crowds and elevated hotel prices.

Navigating the City

Directions (why I keep hearing CBD not “downtown”)

Finding ones way around NOLA is a bit different than most cities. Locals don’t give directions by “north, south, east, west” - instead everything revolves around the river. The basics of it are: imagine you’re near the river by Jackson Square in the French Quarter; if you’re looking down river (towards where the Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico) you’re looking downtown. Turn around and look at the highrises in the city center - that’s uptown (this is also why they refer to that area as the CBD - central business district instead of “downtown”). That’s one axis, what about the other way? Well, it’s also river-centric. Let’s imagine you’re in the Quarter again, on Bourbon Street you can either go towards the river (front of town) or towards the lake (back of town).

Don’t get too concerned about the geography when someone says something is “on the west bank”, you’ll get a headache, just know that’s where Algiers is, across the river from most of the main tourist attractions.

Neighborhoods +todo+

French Quarter Marigny Bywater Mid City Garden District Irish Channel Uptown

Transit

As a visitor you almost certainly do not need a car. If you are planning on a plantation tour rent a car for just that day. Parking is expensive and a car will be more hassle than you want to deal with.

If you arrive via air at MSY, the best way to get into the city is regular old Taxi. There is a quick moving taxi stand at the airport and local cabs have set fees to transport travelers from the airport to most neighborhoods.

Most visitors walk a lot when they visit New Orleans. Most hotels are in or near the French Quarter, which is very walkable - at a typical pace a person can walk from one end to the other in around 20 minutes. In the CBD most hotels are less than a 20 minute walk to the French Quarter, so in 30 minutes give or take you can be at dozens of tourist attractions and restaurants from many popular hotels.

To get to other neighborhoods, the historic streetcar is a slow but reliable option. Popular lines run; up Canal street towards mid-city, along St. Charles through the Garden District uptown, and along Rampart connecting the Marigny and CBD.

To see Algiers point, a ferry runs from the base of Canal street and provides one of the most unique views of the city.

Visitors can purchase a “Jazzy Pass” for unlimited rides on the streetcars as well as ferries and busses.

How to dress

As you can probably guess from the “when to visit” section - it can be HOT in New Orleans. What might not be as apparent from the chart is that it can also be extremely humid. A good rule of thumb is to just assume you’ll be walking around a lot and sweating. Bring extra base layers. A good way to ration clothing is to wear one set in the morning and afternoon, then return to your hotel (nap), shower, change clothes, and then go back out for dinner and night life.

In the warmer months linen and light cotton (think seersucker) are solid bets. You’ll want to avoid overly tight clothes and make sure any breeze you can find can get to your skin.

When it cools down it becomes much easier to figure out what to wear. As long as you’re prepared for a cool breeze you’ll be ok. Layers are still important.

What to do when you’re there

Arts & Culture +todo+

Museums +todo+

Where to eat +todo+

Nightlife +todo+

A note about Bourbon street +todo+

Safety +todo+

Further reading

• The Accidental City by Lawrence Powell
• Eater Nola
• TripAdvisor Nola Forum