It’s a city known to cast a spell over couples with its Victorian architecture, European feel and sultry jazz clubs. A trip to New Orleans means enjoying some of the best creative cuisines in the world, sipping cocktails on wrought-iron balconies and dancing to live music all night long. Below are some recommended stops for a vacation as spicy as a Creole dish.
Explore Jackson Square
The heart of city faces the Mississippi River across from St. Louis Cathedral, and it’s where you can walk by street artists and musicians applying their trade, learn your fortune and shop the rows of eclectic shops. Directly across from Jackson Square is Café du Monde, where you can sit and enjoy café au lait and the best beignets in the country.
Take a Street Car to the Garden District
Hop on the historic St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, which will take you on a 45-minute ride from the French Quarter to the Garden District. Hold hands as your stroll under the enveloping canopies of towering oaks along Victorian mansions and peak inside the district’s charming boutiques and specialty shops.
Tour the City on a Carriage Ride
You can catch a variety of mule-drawn carriages in Jackson Square, where you’ll find all sorts of different tours from catching the sites of the French Quarter to ghost tours. Seeing the city by carriage is a relaxing way to explore New Orleans. Royal Carriages offer private carriages perfect for a cozy, romantic experience. neworleanscarriages.com
Step Out with Creole Cuisine
New Orleans is home to one of the few indigenous cuisines in the country – Creole, which blends French, Spanish, West African, Haitian, German, Italian, British, Irish and southern Influences into a delectable dining experience. One of the more romantic spots in the French Quarter with amazing food is Boyona. You can dine atop white table clothes in a 200-year-old cottage or outside on its beautiful brick courtyard. bayona.com
Live it Up with Live Music
Start off at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, one of the oldest bars in the country and lit only by candles at night, and listen to the piano man as you sip on your libations. After, make your way down Bourbon Street to The Spotted Cat Music Club, the quintessential jazz club of New Orleans, where you can swing the night away at this laid-back, spirited lounge. Shows begin daily around 3 p.m. For more information on Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, go here. For more information on The Spotted Cat Music Club, go here.
Ready for a romantic vacation? Plan your trip to New Orleans today at allegiant.com.
