An itinerary for 2 Days / 3 Days in New Orleans

Guide Michelle

Sep 30

3 min read

"Come with me on a quick trip to New Orleans" never starts with a local's perspective- for a non-touristy itinerary, you need to look beyond the influencer who doesn't live in New Orleans! Here are some of my best recommendations as a local - what to do, see, drink and eat on a quick weekend trip to New Orleans. We hope you'll like it and come back for another visit!

Take a tour & see a lot! Good food, great cocktails, hear history, see architecture, visit a cemetery and do some local shopping

I've designed my food & drink tours to cover a LOT of bases so people get a lot of bang for their buck. Check off some "must eat" foods and cocktails in just a few short hours, while you experience other activities on the list for your New Orleans visit. Since our tours are rain or shine & have a 2 person minimum, there's no last minute cancellation or change of plans. Everything is included, I accommodate vegetarians and bookings of 5+ get a discount - it's a great way to plan an easy outing for a group trip!

Garden District Food & History Tour: food & drinks, architecture, shopping on Magazine St & cemetery
Marigny Bywater Food & History Tour: food & drinks, street art, cool shops, hip neighborhood
French Quarter Cocktail Tour: cocktails, bar crawl, architecture & haunted history
Craft Brewery Tour: beer, pizza, history & architecture

Visit little known museums & learn our history

My favorite museums around town are the ones that tell the history of our weird little city through unique stories- the Pharmacy Museum, the Storyville Museum, Sazerac House, Backstreet Museum. These are museums you won't find anywhere else and will give you a better understanding of what makes New Orleans so special.

See a show- live music, burlesque, drag, cabaret

New Orleans has some of the best music in the world and there's plenty of places to see it, but if you aren't careful you'll end up in a tourist trap. Frenchmen St. has become the new Bourbon street- catch a weeknight show or make an early evening visit. Other music venues are sprinkled throughout the city and it's worth the trip away from the French Quarter to see the good stuff. We also have great burlesque, drag and cabaret- New Orleans has a rich history of it and it's almost as integral to the NOLA experience as all the live music!

Take the streetcar or river boat

We're a pretty small city, so the streetcar is a good way to get to some of the places I recommend. Historic & beautiful, the streetcar passes by mansions & under old oak trees- for only $1.25 (or buy a Jazzy Pass), it's a cheap local activity & it's an experience uniquely New Orleans! My favorite stops are Audubon Park (the St Charles line), NOMA & City Park (Canal St line) and Oak St (Carrollton line). For the getting on the river, your only options are a river boat (a.k.a. paddle boat) - you can book a tickets through Greyline, I do NOT recommend the dinner cruise, the food sucks & it's pricey- or just take the ferry for a cheap alternative.

And of course EAT & DRINK!

If you can't take a tour with me or want more recommendations for places to eat and drink the rest of the time, I have plenty of places to tell you about! If you're looking for a local's recommendation, whether it's seafood, only spots in the French Quarter, the best new restaurants in New Orleans, a brunch reservation, iconic cocktails & bars or you need something healthy or vegetarian, I got you. Be sure to check out the history behind the dishes and some iconic cocktails in New Orleans so you know what to order!