New Orleans, or N’awlins as the locals call it, is a zesty and vivacious city– a sensory explosion for visitors. Resilient and welcoming as ever, New Orleans has weathered some intense tragedies in the past several years, yet residents have managed to keep their strong sense of community and local spirit afloat throughout it all. If you take a trip to Louisiana’s largest city, let the hometown spirit sweep you up and take you on a wild Loozie Anna ride.
Around Town
To walk around and become acquainted with the city, students from the city recommend heading to Frenchman Street rather than Bourbon Street, a name that has become synonymous with New Orleans.
“Frenchman Street is where a lot of locals go to see live music, a lot of the time for free,” said Bobby Burvant ’13, a New Orleans native. “Bourbon Street is all tourists now. It’s kind of silly. And Frenchman Street is like a smaller version with more interesting bars.”
Burvant also suggested walking uptown to Magazine Street to check out the shopping scene.
“It’s filled with cool clothing stores, antique stores, every kind of shop you can imagine,” he said.
The French Market is also a good spot for shopping.
“It is like a flea market but it’s in the French Quarter, and you can buy jewelry, posters, clothes and it’s usually pretty cheap,” said Simone Greene ’13, another New Orleans native.
Getting around by car might be easiest, but a streetcar is an inexpensive way to travel that also allows you to admire the city while giving your feet a rest.
“Down St. Charles and Canal are the streetcars, which is $1.25 to get on, and they will take you cross-town in about twenty or thirty minutes until about three in the morning on weekends,” said Eli Timm ’13.
If you’re seeking solace from NoLa’s occasionally overwhelming hubbub, visit Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, bordered on one side by the Mississippi River and on the other by St. Charles Avenue.
On a somber note, Timm described his old neighborhood, Broadmoor, which was submerged under water after the hurricane devastated the city.
“Some people like to go see the damage, which is an important part of what the city is, but it shouldn’t be the purpose of your stay,” Timm said. “Your purpose for going to New Orleans should be to have a good time and see the culture, the architecture, and the food. But it is important to know what we’ve been going through for the past few years.”
Restaurants
The flavors of New Orleans are a unique blend of French, African, Spanish, Italian and German influences and reflect the multicultural origins of the city and its populace. Jambalaya crawfish and po-boys are the celebrated local dishes, but you might also want to give the pizza a chance.
“The pizza’s really good here,” Burvant said. “Uptown on Magazine Street there are a lot of good local pizza places. It’s worth trying.”
He also recommended The Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter for more traditional New Orleans food and The Parkway Bakery for a delicious po-boy or sandwich.
“There’s really good soul food you can find in any grocery store that has a deli in the back that usually sells jambalaya that’s about three dollars and delicious,” Timm said.
For scrumptious and cheap po-boys and crawfish, Timm cited Franky and Johnny’s as one of his favorite places.
“It’s a cheap hole-in-the-wall but it’s delicious,” he said.
If you’re looking for something more upscale, Timm recommended Commander’s Palace, which he called one of the nicest restaurants in the country.
To satisfy your sweet tooth, head to Café Du Monde in the French Market, which has been a NoLa staple since 1864. Open 24/7, the café serves chicory coffee and beignets, as well as a smattering of other beverages, but its popularity is a testament to its consistent quality.
“Lots of people go to Café Du Monde in the French Quarter, but what they don’t know is that you can go to any of the malls and get Café Du Monde and there won’t be a whole lot of people there,” Greene said.
Another uniquely NoLa dessert is the sno-ball, available in the spring and summer.
“It’s a dessert like sno-cone except it’s thinner ice and has a different syrup,” said New Orleans native Ryan Wainwright ’14.
Music and Nightlife
For jazz, Preservation Hall in the French Quarter is the best place to go, known for great inexpensive music in a historic, albeit cramped and sweaty building.
“There’s a group of jazz musicians that come out – there are five or six of them – and they just start playing,” Wainwright said. “They take requests for a dollar and there’ll be fifty people in this little room that hasn’t been renovated since the early 1900’s.”
Alternatively, head to Snug Harbor on Frenchman Street, which according to Burvant is the best-known jazz club in the city.
Frenchman Street is also lined with plenty of music bars. Timm again recommended Snug Harbor, as well as La Maison and The Dragon’s Den.
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