A Traveling Insider's Guide To New Orleans
Navigate your next New Orleans vacation with our expert guide to the Crescent City.
By Paul Oswell | June 17, 2022 (Updated: July 3, 2025)
Paul Oswell
Paul Oswell is a British award-winning journalist and published travel author based in New Orleans, Louisiana. His books include Bucket List North America and The Great American Road Trip, as well as New Orleans' Historic Hotels. He has also been an editor of and contributor to several guidebooks/editions published by Dorling Kindersley (owned by Penguin), including New Orleans, Florida, Orlando, Los Angeles, California, and The United States. His work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure (both of which he has written multiple online travel guides for) and The Guardian, as well as dozens of international newspaper and magazine titles, and inflight magazines for major airlines.
Welcome to New Orleans, a destination with a big reputation and a small-town feel. It enthusiastically celebrates life, through its music, cuisine, and festivals, with Mardi Gras in the mix for the title of the biggest free party on Earth. Known as Crescent City of the Big Easy, New Orleans is vital and proud, and welcoming to anyone with even a small sense of adventure.
New Orleans highlights
New Orleans’ reputation as being unlike any other American city is well founded. It has world-class culinary and musical scenes that are indigenous to the city, and 300-year-old architecture that you won’t find anywhere else.
The French Quarter is almost a living museum, hospitality means 24-hour bars and diners, and the festivals make for near-constant celebrations, even outside of Mardi Gras. New Orleans aims to delight all your senses. As the most famous local saying goes, “Laissez-les bons temps roulez!” — Let the good times roll!
Walk a lap of Jackson Square. Towards the river, Café du Monde serves beignets as they have done every day since 1862. Notable stops in the French Quarter include the historic French Market and one of the oldest French restaurants in America, Antoine’s Restaurant (1840). For a more modern setting, head to Bourbon Street, which cuts a neon swathe through the neighborhood.
Things to consider when packing
Weather in the city can be extreme at times, but from February to May, it's at its best. The heat and humidity get more intense over the summer, which also includes hurricane season (with its peak in September). For a warm weather stay, pack lightweight, breathable clothing to stay comfortable in the heat, some comfortable shoes, and be sure to pick up a water bottle at the front desk to help you stay hydrated.
Getting to and around New Orleans
The city is served by Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. It’s a 20-minute drive from downtown, and although public transportation options are restricted to two bus services, cabs and ride-hailing services into the city are reasonably priced. There’s also an affordable airport shuttle that makes the rounds of hotels downtown.
Locals here navigate in relation to uptown and downtown, lakeside, and riverside. Once you know the orientation of the main streets (Canal, Saint Charles Avenue, Magazine, and Carrollton Avenue), everything else falls into place.
New Orleans culture and customs
The culture in New Orleans is unlike any other city in America. There are strong European, African, and Caribbean influences, and throw in Catholicism, Vodou, and an all-encompassing event such as Mardi Gras and you have quite the heady mix. Tap into local life here, with all of its traditions and superstitions, and you’ll find instant community and warmth like nowhere else.
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