Your port guide to New Orleans

This city on the Mississippi River is best known for the chaos of its carnival season and party scene. But The Big Easy has a lot to offer beyond buzzy Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.

The Port of New Orleans is the sixth largest in the US and has two major terminals. Take a private shuttle, rideshare or taxi to and from Louis Armstrong International Airport (25 minutes) or the French Quarter (10 minutes); there is no direct public transport.

Home port to four major cruise lines, Carnival and Disney (Erato Street Terminal) plus Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean (Julia Street Terminal), itineraries are focused on the Caribbean and Mexico. Mississippi River cruises dock separately; Viking at Poydras Street and American Cruise Lines at Thalia Street.

New Orleans highlights

New Orleans is in the US state of Louisiana and straddles the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. You’ll see more European influence here than perhaps anywhere else in the United States, thanks to the 90-year rule of France and Spain.

These colourful structures reflect the diverse multicultural heritage of New Orleans. (Image: Arun Kuchibhotla)

The architecture and the city itself brim with the southern charm of the region, and the grand cobblestone streets give way to shotgun houses and Greek-revival manors. After checking out the French Quarter, visit the Garden District for less bustle, Tremé to take in African-American history or trendy Marigny and Bywater for boutiques and art.

Dance and sing with the famed Royal Street buskers in New Orleans. (Image: Zack Smith)

Mardi Gras

What else but the mayhem of Mardi Gras? Think beyond naughty debauchery and tune into the positive self-expression and outrageous costumes. Celebrate with ‘king cake’, a nod to the Epiphany, with a tiny baby Jesus baked inside and masses of green, gold and purple rock sugar outside. Available during Carnival, half a million sell each year.

The streets come alive during the Mardi Gras celebration. (Image: Pableaux Johnson)

Voodoo

New Orleans is Voodoo central, a secretive religion highly aligned with nature and spirits. Louisiana voodoo was born here in a melding of African slave Diaspora faiths and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. Commonplace today, French Quarter streetfronts beckon the curious to come in for a reading. It might make you a believer.

You’ll find street murals along Treme. (Image: Paul Broussard)

Where to eat and drink in New Orleans

Café du Monde

Look, you can’t not go to Café du Monde for fresh beignets served with fistfuls of icing sugar, OK? Presented in a paper bag for shaking, grab a chicory coffee, too, which you’ll either love or hate. Also, you’d be remiss to overlook any of the following on any menu: gumbo, jambalaya, fried catfish, collard greens, po’ boys (we’d recommend the shrimp); crawfish étouffée, red beans and rice, muffuletta, cheese grits and chargrilled oysters. For dessert? Treat yourself to bananas foster doused in cinnamon and rum. Don’t leave New Orleans without hunting down its favourite crispy, creamy, nutty praline. They are to NOLA what coffee is to Seattle.

You can’t not go to Café du Monde for fresh beignets. (Image: Paul Broussard)

Where to stay in New Orleans

The Maison St. Charles

Catering to the cruise crowd from the heart of the Garden District, the streetcar stops right in front of The Maison St. Charles for quick port access.

Hotel Provincial

Hotel Provincial is heart-stoppingly charming. Boasting boutique-style hospitality, the same family has owned this historic French Quarter character since 1961.

The Higgins Hotel

Directly adjacent to the National WWII Museum (the No. 1 attraction in New Orleans) and tucked into the Arts District, The Higgins Hotel is just a mile from Bourbon Street.

The Higgins Hotel is just a mile from Bourbon Street.