Going to New Orleans..What's there to see?

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

And should I book a rental car? How is public transportation there? Me and my buddy are tight on budget. Also, my buddy is saying that he wants to stay in the french quarter, I have no idea where that area is, so give me your opinion. We will be flying in a week

Update: Arrived yesterday, went straight to the french quarter for some slightseeing and eatery. The food is great but we were surprise that there aren't that many people on the street. My friend and I are wondering where we should go next, we stay until 21st...but really only have tomorrow to do more tourist stuff. Something outside of french quarter...we were thinking the city park, business district...is there anything that we must see or eat? Thanks in advance!

 

[atybimf]

destruction

Go get drunk on Bourbon St. See a Saints game if they're in town.

 

[bctbct]

I was there before the war. You could rent a car if you want to move around a lot. Its expensive to park most places though. We paid like $30 per night at our hotel. If you park in the quater write down exactly where, we spent three hours trying to remember where the damn car was.

We hung out mostly in the quarter but went a swamp boat tour one afternoon. It was good for about 2 days of entertainment for us.

They also had a casino and aquarium.

I have no idea what its like today other than they say it is much more dangerous, so stay with crowds.

 

[bersl2]

Uh, let's see... if you like:

food (many good restaurants of all price ranges)
history/architecture (all of that survived intact)
music
nature (swamp tours, zoo, aquarium)
getting drunk (or so I hear... )

then go do that.

Public transportation isn't the greatest right now (no St. Charles Ave. streetcar until 2007 makes me sad ), and the taxis (especially to and from the airport) are expensive, so renting a car is probably worth it.

A higher cost of living has inflated prices across the board (in comparison to the past), so it's a little bit harder to be on a budget.

I can't comment on accommodations inside the Quarter, as I haven't been a tourist in my own place.

Wikitravel article

If you want to go to a Saints game, the next one is this Sunday, and the last one is two weeks after that.

If you want to go touring the destruction, you can do that. There used to be organized tours of that, but I'm not sure if they're still doing that.

Like every city, there are areas you don't want to be. Most of them are in areas that tourists shouldn't be. I suppose I could try to impart some knowledge of where these areas are.

 

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

Arrival bump!

 

[MaxDepth]

The museum has interesting exhibits inside and a walking sculpture tour outside.

Music at night! look for the free magazines "Lagniappe" and "Where Y'at?" These are the entertainment papers for New Orleans. They will show who are playing at what bars with street addresses and directions. No, not too many people. The next big event will be the Sugar Bowl and the New Orleans Bowl.

If you have Internet, try: http://www.nola.com/entertainment/

For Tonight [Tuesday] -

Kermit Ruffins' Pajama Jam at the House of Blues

In what has rapidly become a New Orleans holiday tradition, local musicians are hosting holiday parties, inviting nearly every local musician under the sun to help out. Tuesday night, a pajama clad Kermit Ruffins and friends (and man does he have a lot of them) will be taking over the House of Blues for a "Pajama Jam Holiday Birthday Bash." On the gig with Ruffins and his BBQ Swingers are the ReBirth Brass Band, Irvin Mayfield, Troy Andrews, James Andrews, Shannon Powell, DJ Captain Charles and a host of others. The House of Blues is located at 225 Decatur Street in the French Quarter. Tickets for tonight's performance are $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. with music starting at 8 p.m.

 

[Runes911]

I don't think the Aquarium survived.

You don't see many people because they all moved here! Getting sick of all the extra traffic. Takes me an extra hour to get home from work now. :|

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I just went on a couple walking tours. The Garden District was pretty cool.

 

[Dumac]

Originally posted by: Runes911
I don't think the Aquarium survived.

You don't see many people because they all moved here! Getting sick of all the extra traffic. Takes me an extra hour to get home from work now. :|

I'm pretty sure it did, as I believe my friend works there.

Btw, where do you live?

 

[Runes911]

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: Runes911
I don't think the Aquarium survived.

You don't see many people because they all moved here! Getting sick of all the extra traffic. Takes me an extra hour to get home from work now. :|

I'm pretty sure it did, as I believe my friend works there.

Btw, where do you live?

Your correct, just looked it up, there were significant losses but its open now. I like in Walker, LA.

Didn't know the aquarium was this unique:

"The Aquarium of the Americas was considered one of the foremost aquariums in the world. It had 10,000 fish representing more than 530 species and featured four enormous exhibits..."


Most of the fish didn't survive. I can't find exactly how many did...

 

[Squisher]

My wife just came back. Said it was so depressing. We were there about 4 years ago and had a great time. She said the entire town coming in from the airport, a good 1/2 hr. drive, is demolished, you'll see a dozen houses per square mile that are occupied. The French Quarter is maybe only a quarter or a third of what it used to be. A lot of places have closed up.

I don't know if I want to go back knowing what it once was.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Squisher
My wife just came back. Said it was so depressing. We were there about 4 years ago and had a great time. She said the entire town coming in from the airport, a good 1/2 hr. drive, is demolished, you'll see a dozen houses per square mile that are occupied. The French Quarter is maybe only a quarter or a third of what it used to be. A lot of places have closed up.

I don't know if I want to go back knowing what it once was.

He's 100% correct...but being that the OP already went there, I don't know if it matters if I post an opinion or not.

N.O. has been a shiit pit for the past 10 years at least. I was there during Mardi Gras in 1994, 1996 and 2004. Business trips brought me to the area and I wound up there (much to my dismay...but you gotta go with the flow of the crowd you're with).

It used to be a filthy, dangerous, expensive place with some history and decent music. For the most part, it was a tourist trap where people went to get drunk. Kinda like Vegas without the glitter. BTW: I grew up in Manhattan, NYC, so I know about big cities, the historic significance of a city, blah-blah.

NOW, it's just a wasteland. It will NEVER be the same ever again. The behavior of the local residents immediately following Katrina sealed it's fate. N.O. was in dire need of a Complete Enema, and that's what it got. It's no surprise that the place is getting no funding for rebuilding. The entire place was built on swampland to begin with...it needs to go back to it.

Heck, 1/2 of it's former residents are currently living in Houston or San Antonio, TX.

 

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

We are wondering is there any good Jazz bar in the french quarter? We'd like to spend a night enjoy drinking and music. Not too expensive...

 

[MaxDepth]

Ahh. Again ask someone at the hotel or bar if they have copies of the "Quarter Crawl" another freebie that's a small booklet.

Jazz places, hmmm.
Marigny Brasserie
Checkpoint Charlie (big if? also not in the quarter but closer to the Marigny)
Palm Court Cafe
Fritzel's
Carousel lounge (in the Monteleone hotel)

But again, check with Quartercrawl Guide or one of the other papers I mentioned for who's playing where.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Squisher
My wife just came back. Said it was so depressing. We were there about 4 years ago and had a great time. She said the entire town coming in from the airport, a good 1/2 hr. drive, is demolished, you'll see a dozen houses per square mile that are occupied. The French Quarter is maybe only a quarter or a third of what it used to be. A lot of places have closed up.

I don't know if I want to go back knowing what it once was.

He's 100% correct...but being that the OP already went there, I don't know if it matters if I post an opinion or not.

N.O. has been a shiit pit for the past 10 years at least. I was there during Mardi Gras in 1994, 1996 and 2004. Business trips brought me to the area and I wound up there (much to my dismay...but you gotta go with the flow of the crowd you're with).

It used to be a filthy, dangerous, expensive place with some history and decent music. For the most part, it was a tourist trap where people went to get drunk. Kinda like Vegas without the glitter. BTW: I grew up in Manhattan, NYC, so I know about big cities, the historic significance of a city, blah-blah.

NOW, it's just a wasteland. It will NEVER be the same ever again. The behavior of the local residents immediately following Katrina sealed it's fate. N.O. was in dire need of a Complete Enema, and that's what it got. It's no surprise that the place is getting no funding for rebuilding. The entire place was built on swampland to begin with...it needs to go back to it.

Heck, 1/2 of it's former residents are currently living in Houston or San Antonio, TX.

I've lived near (~50-100 miles) NOLA for a large portion of my life, and people around here generally avoid going to New Orleans if they can help it.