Trip Summary

Favorite Experiences

What I Wish I Knew

Trip Summary

Ah, La Nouvelle-Orléans, the home of Bourbon Street, Creole and Cajun food, Voodoo museums, and jazz music! It’s a place like no other with balmy winter weather, streets packed with history, and a vibe that can only be felt in NOLA. It’s New Orleans!

My husband and I had each gone to New Orleans once before, but never together, so for Halloween, we decided to visit, and we had so much fun that we already have another future visit planned (so stay tuned for updates)! Halloween is an amazing time to visit (other than Mardi Gras), because the weather is nice, the city already has a spooky vibe, and what better place to celebrate the holiday?

Knowing that we wanted to splurge and get a hotel with a balcony on Bourbon Street, we booked a hotel before we even looked at flights (because those hotels book up early, so definitely plan ahead)! One thing that I noticed when looking at hotels is that many offer a balcony of different kinds–as some are on the street while others overlook an interior garden–however, they are all the same price and you cannot pick which one you want when booking the hotel. The street view ones on Bourbon Street are FAR more valuable than ones overlooking an interior garden, because the street view allows you to people watch and enjoy the craziness of Bourbon Street without actually being in the middle of it (a safer thing to consider for late at night). However, every time I called a hotel to book this type of room, they just said that they couldn’t guarantee it being a street-view and that I would be stuck with whatever they had available no matter how early I booked. So this drove me to one of the only hotels in New Orleans where you CAN guarantee a street-view room…the Royal Sonesta.

Honestly, it’s WILD at how much hotels charge for the location, because the room and the amenities at this hotel reminded me of a Motel 6, but the prices suggested an all-inclusive in the Caribbean or something. If you go during Mardi Gras, you can pay almost $2,000 a night, and it seriously boggled my mind. To get a guaranteed view of Bourbon Street (on a shared balcony), you have to book one of their nicest rooms, but the room was worn and tattered, the service was awful (and our room wasn’t ready even hours after the posted check-in time), and the towels and blankets were super thread-bare. Not luxurious at all, but again, it’s the location you pay for, and we did enjoy Bourbon Street from our balcony (though, they have two floors of balconies, and you want to try to get one on the lower level as the higher level ones are too high and the railings have an additional panel over the top to make them taller and more sturdy (but that obscures your view of the street below). I know these are there for safety (especially needed in a place where people drink and party), but it did necessitate having to stand at the railing and lean over to see everything, so that is something to think about when booking, too.

One of the things I found hilarious was that the hotel was so concerned about the safety of the railings that it completely ignored the safety of the room itself. For example, the toilet seat was broken and bent to the side and it had what my husband and I called “the death stair” right outside the double-doors that opened up to the balcony. The carpet was all the same dark color, and the step was fairly steep, but my goodness, if you ever forgot that step coming in from the balcony or were drunk and didn’t see it, you would be an absolute goner. Some glow tape or something would be good on that thing, because even though we were extremely careful stepping up and down, I could see it turning into a bad injury if you missed it!

So for its silly prices and extremely worn down room, this place loses a lot of points for me. The location was good, though, and it was fun just watching people walk by in their costumes, have twerk contests with one another to the loud music outside, or drunkenly sing as they passed by below. This went on until the early morning, and at some points, my husband and I would go to bed then come back out in our pajamas at 2 or 3 in the morning and just watch as the party continued. So for our next trip here, I’m a bit torn–I like the balcony view, but for the exorbitant prices, you should get a room a bit nicer. I know that several restaurants had balconies that overlooked the street, but a lot of them were reserved for company parties, and many of them closed around 9 before a lot of the wild partying began. So maybe we’ll just be in the craziness and walk/Uber back to a better hotel next time? Not sure.

The Royal Sonesta New Orleans: C

So while the hotel wasn’t my favorite, there were a lot of favorites here! Like the food! The drinks! The music! The fortune-telling! The vibes! SO much to love here, so I will start with our best meal there, and that is GW Fins. A fine dining seafood place, it was right next to our hotel, so an easy walk once you are dressed up and ready to enjoy a fancy dinner reservation! And what fanciness was there! We tried a delicious tartare there as well as fried oysters and enjoyed a delicious assortment of entrees. Their portions are generous, their servers very sweet and attentive, and the interior is quiet and a nice respite from all the happenings outside.

My husband enjoyed the tuna, and I loved the roast chicken. The sides are delicious whether you get the sweet potatoes, wild rice, or vegetables. They had more on the menu, including some amazing desserts, but we were so full by the end of it and still took leftovers back to the room. So, so delicious, and if you are wanting a fancy night to celebrate something, this is your place!

GW Fins: A+ 

However, when in New Orleans, you need to experience more than just fine dining…like brunch (and the beignets!), Po’ boys, Gumbo, Jambalaya, crawfish, and the famous Mufuletta sandwich! But first…brunch. So for breakfast, my husband and I headed down to the original location of Ruby Slipper! And oh, the way our brunch lives changed! From their drink flights to their chicken and waffles to their French toast bites to their bourbon milk punch (pictured below), everything is absolutely, positively sublime. With such an amazing place, you are going to have quite a wait when you go, but it is so worth it, and the restaurant will let you order drinks at the bar and drink them outside while you wait (New Orleans is also a place that lets you have open containers on the street without any worry).

Their sauces and condiments are also lovely as the cream cheese icing, candy glaze, and praline sauce on everything were just a bow on top of an already delightful meal. Definitely a New Orleans staple, so don’t miss it! Worth your time and then some!

Ruby Slipper: A+

Another breakfast place that was pretty good was Daisy Dukes. While not near the same calibre as Ruby Slipper, it had a lot of great breakfast options, was plentiful, and the service was good. The wait also wasn’t long, and for the price, you got a lot of food…so much that I wish we split meals here!

While they didn’t have the grandeur of Ruby Slipper’s drinks and sweet options, they did have a lot of savory options, including some Creole breakfast items, so it’s a New Orleans staple as well! Good food, good service, good prices, a solid place!

Daisy Dukes: A

Of course, while you are roaming New Orleans during the day, sometimes you just need something quick and easy, and this is where we found a surprise favorite! Hungry after a day of traveling, we stopped at Willie’s Chicken Shack for their fried chicken and were absolutely blown away! Such generous portions (we shared a meal and still couldn’t eat all of it!), such juicy meat, and such flavorful breading, it was just delicious!

We honestly weren’t expecting much as we picked the place on a whim as we were walking by it without reading any reviews or anything first, and it’s still a memory that stays with us…if you mention “the chicken place” to my husband, he’ll perk up and say, hey, yeah, that place was awesome! So there, do you need a better recommendation than that?

Willie’s Chicken Shack: A+

We also stopped in a lot of bars to people-watch and enjoy music, but the place we enjoyed the absolute most was Fritz’s European Jazz Pub. The performers were great, the music wasn’t so loud that it hurt your ears (unlike some similar places that liked to just blast their music), and the drinks were top tier (pricey, but good).

The inside was also very cool with lights, cool decor, and lots of seating for people to sit and enjoy the live music. This will definitely be a place we come back to next time we are in town, so be sure to check it out!

Fritz’s European Jazz Pub: A+

But you know you have to do more than eat and drink in New Orleans! You have to explore and see the sights! And one of those sights is the Marie Laveaus House of Voodoo for not only their trinkets, but their palm and tarot readings! You will get the best ones in the city here (my husband got a palm and tarot reading later in Jackson Square, and it was an absolute joke as the lady didn’t even look at his hand and rattled off a rehearsed reading and then it was over almost as soon as it began). Not so here! At the House of Voodoo, you get someone who has devoted decades of their life to their craft and who actually spends time with you to interpret your readings. So even if you don’t put a lot of stock into things like readings, it’s still good fun (and could even reveal some things!). I found a lot in my reading that was true as the lady accurately said that I was in a time of transition (I was as I was in the middle of a lot of health struggles and was dealing with a very stressful situation with my family that weekend in New Orleans), and she had some great advice that I still take to heart. So definitely go here! If anything, it’s a part of the New Orleans experience, and you can say that you got your palm/fortune read by a legit expert.

One thing I will say is that the “reading room” is in the main shop and only separated from the rest of the store by a wall of beads, so noise from the shop carries inside, and when the reader is very soft-spoken, that made it difficult to hear her over the din of the shop. But maybe that is intentional to make you listen harder? In any case, bring your listening ears!

Marie Laveaus House of Voodoo: A+ 

If you go to New Orleans during Halloween like we did, be sure to check out the haunted houses in the area! My husband and I have been to a number of haunted houses, including permanent ones at theme parks, and the one we went to here just blew all those out of the water and then some! And that’s saying a lot! Seeing ads for the New Orleans Nightmare, we decided to take an Uber there, and ohhhhh, my goodness, what an experience awaited! The haunted house is actually several houses together, and each room is so artistically designed that you can’t help but get the creepy-crawlies with every step! What made the experience even scarier was all the actors…as there were often multiple in each room, and they would follow, jump out, and scream as you ran by. Many even appeared out of nowhere, and it was so scary thinking you were finally in the clear before another person jumped out at you! Ah! Such heart-pounding fun!

They also had some great add-ons like a sensory overload experience and an escape room as well as spooky bars to extend the fun. The line also seemed to move quickly, and the staff took safety very seriously as they required everyone to go through a metal detector and have their bags checked before being allowed inside. By far, the best unexpected addition to our trip to New Orleans! A perfect thing to do in the city at Halloween!

New Orleans Nightmare: A+

Regardless of the time you visit the city, there are lots of fun things to see and do–cemetery tours, river boat rides, trips to the Bayou to see alligators and the swamplands, and more! We had so much fun exploring the city every day and stopping in various bars to listen to music, wander through the museums, enjoy the food, and walk the streets. All the shops are fun to see, and there are a number of cool Instagram spots like the Carousel Bar and Lounge at Hotel Monteleone! The area by Jackson Square is fun to wander and has a lot of vendors, and one of our favorites was a caricature artist who drew funny pictures of people. After watching him make a few drawings, we decided to get one for ourselves, and now, it’s a new tradition to get one when we travel! You never know what new things can pop up on your travels, and this was a perfect example.

So go visit the city! Everyone has to go to New Orleans at least once–it’s such a cool city and so unlike a lot the others in the U.S. It has its own atmosphere, and that can be especially felt during Halloween. The spookiness from the humid air to the mossy trees to the dark cemeteries is such an experience, and something to love if you like that kind of vibe!

Favorite Experiences

Honestly, we loved the city so much, and it says a lot when you and your husband have both been there and you have so much fun that you already talk about when you will come back before you have even left! The last time I went to New Orleans, I was at a conference over New Year’s and was so busy with panels that I didn’t get to explore the city much, so it was fun actually experiencing the city more and appreciating it.

Going during an event (like Halloween) also brings out more of the city, and it’s fun seeing a lot of people in costumes as they enjoy the city. I think the best parts of any trip are the surprises that come along the way, and we had a number of good ones here! The fried chicken. The jazz place. The haunted house. Even the tarot reading was a surprise at the House of Voodoo, because we had planned for a palm reading, but the tarot reading wasn’t that much more to add, so we went with it, and it was so much better and insightful than the palm reading. Another surprise favorite!

What I Wish I Knew

A few things! I wish we had at least one more day here as we would have added a bayou tour, but since we are going back, that will be a priority as well as maybe a haunted cemetery tour. I think a food tour would be fun, too, especially as that would allow you to try a little bit of food at a bunch of different places versus getting full at one restaurant and having to wait to try another place until you were hungry again. There are SO many good eateries in New Orleans, and you need time to experience them all! For example, you have to try beignets (and Cafe du Monde is the famous place for them). The line gets very long, so you do have to budget that in your time-frame, so we will definitely be doing that next time as well. There more restaurants I want to try, too, like Acme (chargrilled oysters), Bearcat Cafe (brunch), and Commander’s Palace. There’s also more jazz clubs where I’d like to sit and listen to music, and there are so many options! I would have gotten more souvenirs, too. We went into a mask shop and saw so many beautiful ones and ended up planning to return to buy one, but then we just ran out of time, so I think I would prioritize that next time. We have a “travel room” in our house where we put a lot of our souvenirs and pictures, and a mask from New Orleans would be a perfect addition.

Also, I think I would have gone there right at Halloween (a must if Halloween is on a Friday or Saturday!), because we went a little earlier in October when the Krewe of BOO Halloween Parade was scheduled, and while that was fun, I think if we had gone on the actual Halloween day, more people would have been dressed up, and it would have added to the experience. Already expensive hotels would have been even more expensive, so there’s that, but luckily there’s cheaper options around if you are willing to walk and Uber to the happening places in town.

Finally, while we brought ear plugs, I wish we remembered to actually take them with us when walking around the city. I was thinking we would only need them for sleeping at night (because yes, the streets are very noisy–the loudest thing being the kids who drum on plastic buckets), but the bars get increasingly loud at night as they try to compete with each other on the streets and then you have some people carrying stereos on wagons blaring their music, too, and it just gets so loud and overstimulating after a while. Bars will sell you earplugs if you need them for a pretty penny, so when we purchased some, it made us think of the perfectly good ear plugs we had waiting in our room! Oh well, we know for next time!

But already, I am looking forward to going back! Such a fun city and worth a repeat visit! If you have any recommendations for me on my return trip, let me know. I found lots of forums helpful when planning the trip, but I am all ears for new and hidden gems I missed!

I also post reels and TikToks regularly of all the places I’ve reviewed on here, so if you want to see some videos of what to expect, check out my social media here:

TikTok: @touristyteacher

Instagram: @touristyteacher

Happy travels!