New Orleans at the end of March?

what are your interests? What are your specific dates? nola.com is a good reference but if you will be specific about what you are expecting I can be specific in suggestions. There is truly something for everyone.

YOU MUST SEE SOME LIVE MUSIC! I reccomend the Marginy District, which is just outside of the Quarter.
http://www.bigeasy.com/maps/index.html<BR><BR>At the very least, check out the Spotted Cat. I believe that the NOLA Jazz Vipers and Vavavoom Jazz Band play there regularly. It's no cover, maybe a 2 drink (any kind) minimum, and a tipping jar for the band. Snug Harbor is a high-end music venue, but very intimate. They started doing $5 midnight shows, which are DEFINITELY worth it!

Also, the Maple Leaf, is one of THE classic music venues in New Orleans. You'll need a cab to get there, but it's worth it.
http://neworleans.citysearch.com/profile/4430789<BR><BR>Also, check out Tipitinas and if they are playing, go see the Rebirth Brass Band--quintessential New Orleans!

In general, have a great time, and enjoy NOLA. I still love that city!

#1: A show at Tipitinas and/or the Maple Leaf -- or, Spotted Cat
#2: A dressed shrimp or oyster po'boy (ask the locals)
#3: Cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde -- touristy, but a great place to people watch!

If you enjoy nature, go on a swamp tour. We went on the Honey Island Swamp Tour, which tours the Pearl River and adjacent areas. Good guide, nice overview of the ecosystem, plenty of alligators, herons, etc. Not sure if the gators are out this time of year or not. Transport can be arranged from New Orleans, or you can drive yourself.

Honey Island Swamp

If you enjoy history, visit the plantations. These also require a car or booking a tour from New Orleans. Visit Oak Alley Plantation for the "classic" Gone with the Wind, highly romanticized tour, with a beautiful building and beautiful grounds. Then visit Laura Plantation for one of the best historical tours in the country. The main building burned and is being restored, but the tour is just excellent, and gives a very honest overview of the what life was like on the plantation. I would recommend going to both--you can easily do both in a half day.

The Steamboat Natchez ride actually gives a good overview of the waterfront, and is worthwhile even if you don't normally like that kind of thing.

Of course, enjoy the food: beignets and cafe au lait at the Cafe du Monde, and muffuletas at the Central Grocery are classics, and there are plenty of places to get po boys, on up to excellent 5-star restaurants.

Have fun.

Well, as far as events this time of year, at the end of March there's the Spring Fiesta and the Tennessee Williams Festival. Not exactly Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, but you can tour some beautiful homes that aren't normally open to the public and participate in a Stella! Shouting contest.

On March 30 there's a "Brass Band Blowout" concert at House of Blues featuring a lot of local brass bands including Rebirth. Not my favorite venue for brass bands but it would be a cool show if you want to check out a bunch of the local bands. Or if you'll be here on a Tuesday, you can check out Rebirth at the Maple Leaf which is a great show. If you have specific dates I can offer some more suggestions. You won't have trouble finding things to do for a long weekend. Have fun!

Have a great time, but remember that the murder rate in New Orleans is 16 times the U.S. average and 24 times what it is in Seattle. Be careful.

Assuming you arent killed upon hailing a cab at the airport, here are some one off things that I enjoy about New Orleans that most tourists arent aware of just by wandering around.

Food:

Port of Call has quite possibly the best hamburger in the world. Thats good because its all they serve (i think you can get a steak though). Located on Esplanade close to where it intersects with Bourbon.

Mothers located near the intersection of Tchopitoulas and Poydras has some of the best food in town. If you can time your visit away from lunch time you can get in without standing in line

Central Grocery on Royal has not only the best muffelatas but the original ones.

Verti Mart, which has more of a convenience store look to it, has the best sloppy ass roast beef poboy in town. They deliver too. You can sit in your hotel room and have a dude on a bike ride your food out to you. Its on Royal a block or so from the cornstalk fence b and b.

Drink:

Assuming you can figure out Bourbon St by yourself Ill keep my suggestions away from there. Marigny has some cool places but i would advise you stay on Frenchman St. Marigny looks pretty shady and parts of it are. The hooka bar at the riverside end of Frenchman is one of my favorites. dont let them give you one of the midget hookas though. Hold out for a four footer. Seating is uncomfortable there (probably on purpose) so you wont want to stay much longer than to have a smoke or two.

The warehouse district has some cool, trendy, whatever bars that are more filled with hip or hip wannabe locals than tourists. Check out Lucys and Vics both on Tchopitoulas. The Red Eye is a block or two away and caters to a more dance freindly crowd.

Shopping:

I dont know. I dont shop.

Hanging out:

This may sound stupid but "hanging out" or "people watching" is one of my favorite things to do in NO. Lack of open container laws makes taking a frosty beverage to the park to sit and watch the world go by possible. I heartily recommend it. So, for where to sit on your ass: There is always the levee. Upriver from the quarter is the Riverwalk. Im not too impressed by the Riverwalk itself but there is a cool little fountain area that looks out of place near the end of Canal St where it meets the end of the Riverwalk. The fountains and all the area around them were actually built in Spain, dissassembled, shipped to NO and reassembled as a gift from the Spanish Govt. Lafayette Park, Audubon Park, and City Park are all ok for this activity as well. There are also many mini parks that seem to have no name spread across the quarter. Particularly around Decatur St in the Quarter. Of course there are also large open areas on both sides of the Cathedral, one of which is Jackson Square, that are filled with people. Just so you'll know, if you get caught smoking a joint on the bench in the corner of Jackson Square the police WILL ask you to leave. And there are lots of police there right now.

Things to do:

This varys a lot from person to person as no one will have the same tastes but assuming your like me here is what i would do.

Make a circle tour of the Garden District by going uptown on St Charles then doubling back and coming back through the Garden District by travelling toward downtown on Prytania. Its a block in from St Charles.

Go the the Ursiline Convent (the old one in the quarter) and see the mosaics on display from the vatican.

Go to the D-Day Memorial and thank God for our forefathers.

Go to St Louis cemetary and try to put an X on Marie Laveaus tomb. Do this during the day and with other people and realize this is an adventure, not a walk. its on Basin St just N of the quarter. You may be shot or stabbed, but think of the story you'll have to tell afterward. Ive done it three times now and always feel like I got out of there just before the bullets started flying.

Go to Lafittes and have a drink in the patio. I know its a bar on bourbon but its the oldest continually operating bar in the us. It hasnt changed the floorplan since its original date. There will be smoke stains from the 1800s on the wall.

1. eat at Jacque Imo's
   2. Drink a hand grenade
   3. get your fortune read near Jackson Square
   

brla, are all of those places open, and are there times of day when they are unsafe to visit?

Yes. All are open. As to safety, all the places I listed are as safe as one could reasonably expect given that they are in a major city with two exceptions: Marigny and St Louis Cemetary. All other points listed can be visited anytime day or night without a rational need for fear. i would suggest visiting some of it during hte day though if for no other reason than its easier to see the houses in the Garden District when the sun is shining and people watching isnt much fun in the dark.

Marigny is a dodgy run down area imo. I know its supposed to be an "emerging" area but it looks to me like it still has a lot of emerging to do. Frenchman St runs catecorner to Esplanade through Marigny and is reasonably safe but I dont venture off Frenchman after dark. If you want to explore Marigny I would do so during the day. Not to say that shabby architecture automatically leads to murder but I usually feel a lot better about things in that area when Im sober and the sun is shining. To be fair, Ive never even come close to having a problem there but still I feel like its dodgy and thats somethign I cant ignore.

St Louis Cemetary is located on Basin St just North of the Quarter. Generally (no, more like definitively) its not a good idea to go N of the quarter unless its daytime and you have a travel partner. Even then Im not going to guarantee anything. As I said above, its an adventure. Is it safe? Well no, not really. Thats what makes it an adventure.