Kendall’s Guide To New Orleans

Day One (Tuesday)

• Arrive and check-in to Four Seasons (I would come into town either the night before or early in the morning the first day)
• Take a stroll along Riverwalk to Café Du Monde (my favorite place to get beignets)
• Walk to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and take a tour. After you’re finished with the aquarium, be sure to stay for an IMAX movie. One of my favorites is Hurricane on the Bayou which is a documentary on the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
• Walk over for lunch at Mother’s and get the shrimp po’ boy
• Walk to Lafayette Square and take some photos at and around the park
• Walk back to the hotel to freshen up and relax a bit before dinner; maybe even take a dip in their 75-ft pool that overlooks the Mississippi
• Have dinner at GW Fins. Their creative, ever-shifting seafood menu features fresh catches in a stylish, updated warehouse space.

Day Two (Wednesday)

• Grab breakfast at Pagoda Café – the top breakfast taco destination in town
• Take a tour of the New Orleans Museum of Art
• Walk through New Orleans City Park
• Have lunch at Ralph’s on the Park – overlooks City Park and offers award-winning, contemporary Creole cuisine
• Take a swamp tour with Cajun Encounters – you’ll spend about two hours on the bayou learning about Louisiana wildlife
• Pop over for pre-dinner drinks at The Elysian Bar – located inside Hotel Peter and Paul which is a restored historic church, school house, rectory and convent
• Have dinner at Arnaud’s – an upscale restaurant & lounge featuring Creole cuisine, cocktails & Dixieland jazz. They’re open for dinner Wed-Sat night.

Day Three (Thursday)

• Have breakfast at Brennan’s (they open at 9am and are closed Tue-Wed). Be sure to get a plate of Baked Apple for the table. It’s a Brennan’s original with oatmeal pecan raisin crumble, brown sugar glaze, and sweetened crème fraîche!
• Drive out to Vacherie, Louisiana and take a tour of Oak Alley Plantation and Laura Plantation
• Have lunch at Oak Alley Plantation Restaurant
• On your way back into town, stop by Longue Vue House & Gardens to take a tour of this historic house and gardens
• Grab an afternoon pick-me-up at PJ’s Coffee and take a tour of Tulane
• Take a pre-dinner stroll along the Garden District. Start at Buckner Mansion and see if you can spot these historical houses: The Seven Sisters, Walter Grinnan Robinson House, Goldsmith-Godchaux House, Women’s Opera Guild Home, Briggs-Staub House, Payne-Strachan House, Colonel Short’s Villa, and Pritchard-Pigot House
• Have dinner at Commander’s Palace – a New Orleans landmark known for the award-winning quality of its food and many commodious dining rooms

Day Four (Friday)

• Before you head out for the day, buy a jazzy pass so you can ride an unlimited amount of times on the streetcar. Also, download the GoMobile app to see the locations of the trolleys in real time.
• Have breakfast at Stanley – a casual breakfast spot with wide French doors and windows opening onto Decatur Street; order the eggs Benedict with fried oysters, pancakes served with Louisiana cane syrup, or omelets sandwiched into a po’boy
• Walk over to the French Market and do some shopping
• Head to the French Quarter & Bourbon Street to take in the sights. Be sure to visit Jackson Square.
• Take a streetcar to lunch.
  • Get on at the corner of Canal Street and Carondelet Street (Carondelet is the same street as Bourbon; all streets change names when they cross Canal). The stop is on Carondelet, in front of the side windows of the Lady Foot Locker store that’s right at the corner.
  • Get off at St. Charles at Hillary then walk about 8 minutes to lunch
• Have lunch at Camellia Grill – an absolute must for anyone visiting New Orleans; the counter seating, happy servers, and vintage uniforms inspire a retro feeling; be sure to get their hamburger, fries, and a chocolate freeze
• Stroll around Maple Street. There are cute consignment shops and boutiques to visit. A local favorite is Angelique Boutique for women’s clothing.
• Take the streetcar to get a sno-ball at Hansen’s – a 74-year tradition; sno-balls, not to be confused with snowcones, are NOLA concoctions made by combining fluffy ice and homemade syrups in a layering process
  • Get on at St. Charles at Hillary
  • Get off at St Charles at Bordeaux and walk south on Bordeaux, about 15 minutes
• Take the streetcar back to the hotel to relax before dinner
  • Get on at St Charles at Bordeaux
  • Get off at St. Charles at Julia
  • Walk back to the hotel (about 15 minutes)
• Have dinner at Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse – USDA prime steaks with a New Orleans touch and table-side martini service; featured in Food Network’s 2019’s “50 States of Steakhouses.”
• After dinner, walk over to the Davenport Lounge (inside the Ritz Carlton hotel) for after dinner drinks and live jazz by resident musician Jeremy Davenport and his band.
  • Music is live on Wed-Thu from 5:30-9:30PM & Fri-Sat from 8:00PM – 12:00AM

Day Five (Saturday)

• Have breakfast at Cafe Beignet on Royal Street
• Take a riverboat cruise to see New Orleans from the Mississippi River
• Have lunch at The Daily Beet – the menu is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free good-for-you eats — toasts, rice and veggie bowls, and salads
• Visit the National WWII Museum
• Browse the shops along Magazine Street
• Have dinner at Domenica – located in the Roosevelt; brings an elegant take on the unique cuisine of rural Italy prepared using only the best local ingredients
• Have drinks at Pat O’Brien’s – home of the famous hurricane; the ultimate entertainment venue where you can relax on the patio, mingle in the main bar, or sing along in the piano bar

Day Six (Sunday)

• Check out of the hotel and have them hold your bags
• Go to a jazz brunch at Antoine’s – be sure to try the Oysters Rockefeller (this was the birthplace of them) and the Baked Alaska
• Grab your bags from the hotel and head to the airport