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New Orleans

New Orleans Travel Guide

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The wrought iron lace of a French Quarter Balcony in New Orleans.

© Peter Unger/Getty Images

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Overview

With a vivacious community spirit and deep-rooted cultural fusion, New Orleans breathes the things that make life worth living: eating, drinking and celebrating.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • City Park, New Orleans

    City Park

    New Orleans

    Live oaks, Spanish moss and lazy bayous frame this masterpiece of urban planning. Three miles long and 1 mile wide, dotted with gardens, waterways and…

  • Old above-ground graves in Lafayette Cemetery Number 1, Garden District.

    Lafayette Cemetery No 1

    New Orleans

    Of all the cemeteries in New Orleans, Lafayette exudes the strongest sense of subtropical Southern Gothic. The stark contrast of moldering crypts and…

  • Civil War Museum & Ogden Museum of Southern Art

    Ogden Museum of Southern Art

    New Orleans

    The South has one of the most distinctive aesthetic cultures in the US artistic universe, a creative vision indelibly influenced by the region's…

  • "The Sun" sculpture by Ugo Rondinone, located in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in New Orleans.

    Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

    New Orleans

    The sculpture garden that sits just outside the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park is a wooded quilt of streams, pathways, lovers' benches and, of…

  • Douglas C-47 Dakota, transport glidertowning aircraft in D-Day markings at the National WWII Museum.

    National WWII Museum

    New Orleans

    One of New Orleans’ most distinctive tourism attractions has nothing to do with food, music, or having a good time. Rather, it is a museum dedicated to the…

  • Giant head statues at Mardi Gras World. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World

    New Orleans

    Mardi Gras World offers a behind the scenes peek into the weird, wonderful backstage of carnival season float making.

  • Entrance to Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University.

    Newcomb Art Museum

    New Orleans

    Part of Tulane University and flanked by beautiful Tiffany stained-glass triptychs, the Newcomb Art Museum is a great spot to soak up some art, with works…

  • Tulane University

    Tulane University

    New Orleans

    The campus of Tulane, a premier Southern university, is an attractive tableau of live oaks, red-brick buildings and green quads spread across 110 acres…

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Planning Tools

Expert guidance to help you plan your trip

Best Things to Do

Every corner of the city treats visitors to a new sensation – these are all the best things to do in New Orleans.

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Best Time to Visit

New Orleans manufactures good times in overdrive, but you probably want to arrive at the fun factory when the weather is pleasant. 

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Transportation

Some visit New Orleans's French Quarter and never leave. But those that want to go beyond will need some public transportation.

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Free Things to Do

New Orleans is a good value-for-money city, and not just because the drinks are cheap. Here are the 20 free things to do there.

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Best Neighborhoods

There is nowhere quite like New Orleans, a unique a city that offers something special at every turn.

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Day Trips

A world of low prairies, deep swamps, good music and delicious meals awaits you just outside New Orleans.

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Traveling with Kids

Be entertained in NOLA no matter your age with our guide to visiting as a family.

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