New Orleans Things to Do

Hit the swamps! Though New Orleans has ghost tours, French Quarter excitement, tours of the Treme, Bourbon Street, and the Garden District, and a whole host of fun things to do, there’s something special about a foray into the wilderness, especially when it’s a wilderness as exciting as the swamp. What untold creatures lie in the depths? What is nutria? Want to see an alligator? Of course you do – who doesn’t?

The New Orleans neighborhood of Faubourg Treme has had what they call a meteoric rise to fame in years of late, due in no small part to the HBO series that highlights the region’s rich cultural and musical roots, as well as the attention put upon the area after the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina. It has, through centuries of history and cultural tumult, earned this reputation as a hotbed of music and mores, but as with any story of a land and its peoples, the good is tinted with the bad. Luckily, this makes for great touring, and if you happen upon New Orleans, you should happen to make your way down to the Treme.

No doubt about it – New Orleans will have you dancing, partying, fishing, jamming, and exploring all day and all night. There’s so much to do in this ancient and beautiful city that it seems darn near impossible to pack it all into one. But part of the joy of visiting any city is seeing its surrounding landscape, and in New Orleans that’s like stepping into a different world.

The Audubon Nature Institute is a family of museums and parks located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Consisting of The Audubon Zoo, the Aquarium of the Americas, Audubon Park, the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, the Audubon Insectarium and others, they represent New Orleans’s connection with its environment and are a world-renowned, award-winning group of exceptional exhibits.

New Orleans is a wonderfully complex and culturally rich city. There’s so much to do and see here that you’ll likely be asking yourself, at some point or another, ‘what is the best way to get around?’ There are many options – car (either rental or taxi) being the penultimate preference – next to walking, but there are a few other options, most notably the Canal Street Ferry and the famous Streetcar lines.

If you’ve made your way down south and are exploring the gorgeous and cheap avenues of New Orleans, you’ve likely been directed to spend some of your time exploring Magazine Street. This winding little street is a popular favorite for tourists and locals which offers boutique shopping in traditional New Orleans fashion—meaning that the shops are unique, the higher-end of them still have a distinctly New Orleans air to them, and you’ll likely be able to pick up some Voodoo paraphernalia while you’re wandering about.