Traveling to New Orleans??
My husband and I want to take a break and one of the places we thought of was New Orleans. Its the cheapest place to stay right in a minute (compared to Hawaii and DC our other two places).
What I want to know is it really bad still... can we be in motion around and do touristy things? Or should we just be in motion somewhere else?? I want to go to place and relax and own fun.
Answers:
Thank you for considering visiting New Orleans!
NOLA is one of the world's special places next to an ambience unique within North America, and remains so even after Katrina devastated it in 2005.
Katrina flooded going on for 80% of New Orleans with saline water, and the river stayed for almost a month. Much of the city is still struggling to recover and adjectives you have to do to see devastation is drive around. It will purloin years for NOLA to fully recover from Katrina.
However, the parts of the city that tourists usually drop by were not flooded. It's not a coincidence - the French Quarter and other frail parts of the city were built on relatively lofty ground and only suffered loop damage from Katrina. Almost adjectives of the damage have been repaired and you enjoy to look closely in the FQ and city center to see that Katrina happen at all. You should pop in and see for yourself.
Note that the City of New Orleans is only cog of the greater New Orleans area. The GNO nouns had a population of almost 1,400,000 before Katrina and is estimated at give or take a few 1,200,000 now (July, 2007). The not in 200,000 are mostly from the City of New Orleans and the parishes of Plaquemines and Saint Bernard, which were the worst-flooded parts of the metro nouns. Jefferson Parish - just to the west of the City - suffered lone minor flooding and has fully recovered.
You can drink the hose down, the electricity & phones work, and services like the post bureau, hospitals, schools, and police/fire/EMS are operating. Restaurants, stores and shopping centers are widen.
Municipal services like street cleaning & trash collection collapsed after Katrina. Those services be fully restored in unpaid 2006 and it is no longer an issue.
I recommend staying in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre") if you can. There is a markedly wide length of selections available, from moderate guest houses to tremendously exclusive "boutique" hotels. Search Yahoo Travel and Travelocity for ideas and also check the hotel websites.
You don't inevitability a car to achieve around in the French Quarter, Central Business District, or Warehouse District. Also, the parking regulations are Byzantine and in that are lots of Parking Control Agents. If you drive or rent a car, take off it in closely or garage unless you are traveling away from downtown.
The regional transit authority (www.norta.com) sells 1 and 3 time passes that hold out unlimited use of buses and streetcars for the day(s) you select. There are also lots of taxicabs.
Regarding crime, question like yours tend to attract significantly negative "answers" from citizens who do not live here and who have little or no notion what they are talking around. Use the same adjectives sense necessary contained by every major city within the world and there is little karma you will be a victim of anything except a inevitability to visit the gym: Pay attention to your surroundings. Don't make tracks something like a camera-bag, purse, or backpack unattended on a park bench while you stroll off to help yourself to photos. Etc.
New Orleans has mild weather from unsettled October to early May and the city stays green adjectives year most years (rarely freezes and almost never snows). We pay for the mild winters next to hot, humid summers – particularly contained by July & August. The good word for summertime visitors is that hotel rates are lower.
Things to do:
There are various sightseeing opportunities within the greater New Orleans area, including horse-drawn carriage rides/tours, plantation tours, swamp tours, ghost tours, and even Katrina disaster tours. The steamboat Natchez also does a harbor tour. There are numerous tour companies and your hotel can serve with the arrangements. Try to avoid scheduling an outdoor tour until you know the weather forecast for the daytime in sound out.
The Saint Charles Streetcar is the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world and is a "tourist attraction" contained by its own right. It is part of the public transit system, as are the Canal Street and Riverfront streetcar lines: http://www.norta.com/
There is other music, but the bands rework: Go to www.bestofneworleans.com and click on Music then Listings or to www.offbeat.com and click on Listings, consequently Music. Note that music clubs often pile it on "No Cover", meaning within is no charge for entering. However, clubs with "No Cover" recurrently require that customers buy a beverage each for every "set " of music (which can be every 20 minutes) so know the price until that time you sit down. The clubs do that because some people will sit surrounded by the club all evening drinking hose or nothing. It is also a virtuous idea to earnings for each round of drinks (in clubs on Bourbon Street) as it s deliver so there can't be any confusion at the appendage of the evening.
Wander around the French Quarter, enjoy the architecture, keep under surveillance the street entertainers (do tip), and call in some of the historic buildings that have be turned into museums (go to www.frenchquarter.com and click on Historic Attractions).
Assuming the weather is good, you can collect a sandwich lunch and get through in the riverfront park (watch the shipping) or contained by Jackson Square (a very nice park).
The Riverwalk shopping center have an air-conditioned food court with dining overlooking the river (www.riverwalkmarketplace.com). The Canal Place shopping center is within the French Quarter and has a cinema and higher-end shopping (Saks 5th Avenue, Brooks Brothers, etc.)
The lobby for the Westin Canal Place Hotel is on the 11th floor and overlooks the French Quarter. It is a great place for an afternoon drink/snack:(www.westin.com).
Cafe du Monde is surrounded by the French Quarter and you shouldn't miss having cafe au lait & beignets (www.cafedumonde.com). Another great coffee shop is the Croissant d'Or (at 615 Ursulines Street), which is enlarge from 7:00am to 2:00pm and has food within addition to pastry.
The Palm Court restaurant is markedly nice, has moderate prices, and traditional live jazz starting at 8:00pm: 1204 Decatur Street, tel 504-525-0200 (reservations are meaningful and they are not open every day). The Palm Court is closed from nearly July 25th to about September 25th respectively year.
All of the famous restaurants (Antoine's, Arnaud's, Brennan's, Commander's Palace, etc.) own reopened. The Pelican Club (on Exchange Alley in the FQ) is not as economically known but is one and the same type experience. Reservations are a good concept, and probably essential on weekends.
Cafe Degas is a very French restaurant in the vicinity City Park at 3127 Esplanade - which is not within walking distance of downtown (5 to 10 minutes by taxi). They are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays (504-945-5635).
There is a free transport across the Mississippi at the "foot" of Canal Street. It is a short trip but like a harbor cruise w/o a guide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/canal_stree...
The Aquarium and Audubon Zoo are world-class attractions (www.auduboninstitute.org) and you should see them if you can. The Zoo is several miles from downtown. You can drive to the Zoo (which have free parking) or take public transit from the French Quarter.
The Louisiana State Museum is surrounded by the French Quarter: http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/ New Orleans is also home to a number of other museums, such as the National World War II Museum (www.ddaymuseum.org) and the New Orleans Museum of Art (www.noma.org). Both can be reach by public transit: The WWII museum is in the middle business district but a long walk from the French Quarter. NOMA is not inside walking distance of downtown but has free parking.
New Orleans City Park have an amusement park with rides and attractions for children + free parking (www.neworleanscitypark.com).
Check www.frenchquarter.com for planning on other things to do.
Hope you have a great time, everywhere you go!
The tourist areas are roughly speaking 90% back to majority, I'd say. Like any city, don't be in motion into the residential neighborhoods because usually, and in New Orleans, the ones around downtown aren't that great. But most murders are drug related. Just hold your common sense around you and you'll be fine.
New Orleans has and is prearranged as a tourist city and tourism is back up and thriving. The tourism areas be not effected by flood waters and presently that it is over 2 years later they hold been doing a wonderful brief supporting all their primary festivals, sporting events, conventions and day by day visitors. There is plentifully to do from the wonderful restaurants, shopping and numerous tourist attractions. I think you will plainly have a wonderful time.
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