The best time to visit New Orleans

The best time to visit New Orleans is whenever you feel the need to add some fun and random, beautiful chaos to your life, because this city delivers good times on overdrive. Whether you're drawn by the music, the history, the food or the warm Southern welcome, there are good reasons to visit the Big Easy any month of the year, but you'll need to factor in the steamy Louisiana climate.

There are basically two seasons in New Orleans: summer, with hot, humid weather but lower prices, and "not-summer," with more agreeable weather but higher rates for rooms and flights. Summer lasts from May until October, but muggy weather can rear its head at any time of year – random 80°F (26°C) days in the middle of a 50°F (10°C) week in winter are definitely a thing. The summer season also overlaps with the hurricane season, which has its own climatic footnotes, even in years when big storms bypass the city.

The "not-summer" months from October to April typically include a quite chilly winter in the middle, bracketed by a gorgeous, roughly 2-month-long spring at one end, and a fall that lasts maybe 3 days (we’re exaggerating, but only just) at the other.

But the best time to visit New Orleans is not just a question of climate. There are other major considerations when visiting New Orleans: which festivals are happening, will there be a rush for flights and accommodation, and how many opportunities will there be for overindulgence? For any of the city's big festivals, book flights and accommodation months in advance, and try to stay somewhere within walking distance of the celebrations to avoid hassles with parking.

Whether you come in spring for Carnival and Jazz Fest, in fall for Halloween, in winter for warm holiday cheer or in summer for the eclectic line-up of local festivals, here are the best times to visit New Orleans.

January to mid-March is Carnival time!

"It’s Carnival Tiiiiiime!" is the hook for Al Johnson’s masterpiece, Carnival Time, which was recorded in 1960; more than 65 years later, it remains the definitive Mardi Gras banger (OK, yes, we concede it might share the title with Professor Longhair’s Go To the Mardi Gras).

If you're from outside Louisiana, you might think Mardi Gras is a one-day party, but you'd be mistaken. While Mardi Gras – French for "Fat Tuesday" – is technically just the one Tuesday, it caps off an extended Carnival season, which lasts from Twelfth Night/The Feast of the Epiphany (January 6) until the day before Ash Wednesday.

The precise date is set by the Catholic liturgical calendar, so it moves around from year to year. You can look online to find upcoming Mardi Gras dates, but the holiday always hits in February or early March. Expect frenzied demand for flights and accommodation, huge crowds and a desperate rush for parking spaces.

The pre-Carnival season is almost as impressive as Carnival day itself, with vibrant parades by New Orleans "krewes." It all begins with the streetcar procession of the Phunny Phorty Phellows, and then continues to grow in fever-dream intensity, with parades like the science fiction-themed Chewbacchus.

The excitement reaches a crescendo in the 5 days before Mardi Gras, when everything in the city shuts down, everyone throws on a costume and the greater New Orleans metro area becomes an explosion of glitter, costuming and king cake – the city's famous iced treat.

Suffice to say that Carnival season is a ton of fun. If you’re coming from up north, the weather will almost certainly be warmer than back home, although the high humidity of southern Louisiana makes cool temperatures of 50°F (10°C) feel a lot more bitter than you’d expect.

On the flip side, 70°F (21°C) or warmer days are certainly not unknown, and there'll be enough dancing in the street to keep everyone warm. Rates for everything, of course, are high – and you’ll want to make all your bookings, be it for accommodation or dining, months in advance.

Mid-March to May sees New Orleans' very best festivals

Lent begins the day after Mardi Gras, but New Orleans definitely does not give up on its big communal celebrations. Spring in the city heralds festival season, marked by several smaller parties and two big-name events, French Quarter Festival (which is free!) and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, aka Jazz Fest.

The weather approaches chef’s kiss perfection at this time. Louisiana spring is sort of like the golden days of early summer in many other parts of the country – warm, dry (compared to high summer) and ideal for exploring outdoors.

Are room rates high? Definitely, and anything that can be booked in advance should be booked in advance. But in return, you’re getting great weather and live music around the clock, and the city just feels like it’s in a good mood.

In addition, on the last weekend of April, the city of Lafayette, some 140 miles west of New Orleans, hosts Festival International de Louisiane, a rollicking free festival that celebrates Francophone music and heritage. Expect music from as far away as West Africa, as well as homegrown Cajun and Zydeco tunes.

The summer slog of high heat and humidity arrives and settles in from mid-May, but prices don’t drop until after Memorial Day weekend.

June to September means summer heat and hurricanes

Summer in New Orleans is, to be frank, interminably long and pretty uncomfortable. Temperatures regularly climb above 90ºF (32°C), and the high humidity makes it feel like the mercury is really in the triple digits. It can feel hard to breathe, and being outside for longer than 30 minutes means dealing with copious amounts of sweat.

Some relief comes in the unlikely form of thunderstorms. The humidity swells and swells until it gets swept away by a dramatic storm. On top of everything, hurricane season starts, and while it technically lasts from June through November, the peak hurricane time in South Louisiana is August and September. Direct hits like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are rare, but most years see some stormy weather over the season.

Why visit at this time? Well, it’s as cheap as New Orleans gets. Waitstaff and hospitality workers seem even friendlier, perhaps a nod of respect to those who come here during the swelter, and there are lavish, art gallery-centered parties like the chichi White Linen Night, and the more down-to-earth Dirty Linen Night.

There's also the New Orleans Running of the Bulls (featuring roller derby skaters), the Essence Music Festival, Satchmo Summerfest. Showcasing New Orleans' inclusive spirit, Southern Decadence – the city's most energetic LGBTQIA+ festival – takes place over Labor Day weekend.

During the steamy summer, you’re a lot more likely to rub shoulders with locals at a show and there is a sweaty romance in the air on those long, sticky summer nights. Then, in September, New Orleans usually experiences a "false fall" (we just call it "Fallse") when temperatures drop to 70°F (21°C) before the heat comes raging back for a few more weeks.

October to December brings festival fun for Halloween, Christmas and New Year

While Louisiana locals start gearing up for fall by late September, the heat can still regularly top 100ºF (38°C). Still, by October, the hellish heat gets broken up by cooler days, when the temperature dips to around 80ºF (26°C). It’s not unusual for the air-con to still be switched on as Halloween rolls around, although sometimes Spooky Season in the Crescent City is noticeably cooler.

Either way – aided by Anne Rice's spooky novels and their big and small screen spin-offs – Halloween is a whole lot of fun in New Orleans, a time when locals throw themselves into costuming and silliness after the long, hot summer. This is a great time for ghost tours and guided tours of the city's famous St Louis Cemetery No 1.

Rates go up over the Halloween weekend but drop again in November, which is generally a quiet month and an excellent time for exploring the city free of the trifecta of heat, hurricane warnings and high prices. Indeed, if you’re into just having a (relatively) quiet New Orleans experience of strolling and admiring historical buildings, November is hard to beat.

Christmas is big in New Orleans, and while daytime highs often top 70ºF (21°C), there are days that fall below 50ºF (10°C), which feels extra cold in the humid air. While room rates climb back up in anticipation of Carnival season, this is more or less a shoulder window with the bonus of sincere family cheer.

December in New Orleans is all about holiday parties and seasonal celebrations – don't miss the illuminations that fill City Park for Celebration in the Oaks, and the city's spirited celebrations for New Year's Eve, centered on the Fleur de Lis drop in Jackson Square and fireworks along the Mississippi River.