Why I love New Orleans

“New Orleans is all about beauty and experiencing the divine through mortal senses. There’s joy here, from great food to the best concert of your life, and serenity, found in the shade between live oaks or while watching fireflies on Bayou St John. Whichever way of being I choose for the day, New Orleans indulges me. Basically, I like traveling with soft eyes – eyes that see as a child, with wonder. This town gives me...” Read More

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Adam Karlin
Writer

Top experiences in New Orleans

Amazing hotels and hostels

We've pre-picked the best hotels, hostels and bed and breakfasts to make your stay as enjoyable as possible.

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Food and drink

Food and drink accent image
  1. Restaurant August in CBD & Warehouse District
    Creole
  2. Commander's Palace in Garden, Lower Garden & Central City
    Creole
  3. Jacques-Imo’s Café in Uptown & Riverbend
    Louisianan
  4. Peche Seafood Grill in CBD & Warehouse District
    Seafood
  5. Coquette in Garden, Lower Garden & Central City
    Modern French
  6. Dooky Chase in Mid-City & the Tremé
    Southern Creole
  7. Boucherie in Uptown & Riverbend
    Southern
  8. Domilise's Po-Boys in Uptown & Riverbend
    Creole
  9. Parkway Tavern in Mid-City & the Tremé
    Sandwiches
  10. Clancy's in Uptown & Riverbend
    Creole
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Recent articles

On the Cajun music trail in Louisiana

A fiddle scratches out a sweet wail in a sweatbox dance hall. The wheeze of a button accordion adds a waltzing rhythm. These are the beginning bars of Cajun music, the aural legacy of rural southern Louisiana. It's a soundtrack that can alternately move you to tears or intense dancing (and sometimes both) in the space of a few bars. 

Cajun band playing at the Festivals Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette. Image by Judy Bellah / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images
Adam Karlin
Lonely Planet Writer

48 hours in New Orleans

Arriving in New Orleans can seem like turning up to a party in a time-warp. Folk sip cocktails on colonial-era balconies, and restaurants thrum with buzzy gossip just like they have done since the 19th century.

But this vibrant city is not stuck in the past. New cocktail bars, inventive eateries and live music joints are turning once gritty neighborhoods into trendy hangouts. Innovative art spaces remain up-to-the-minute. And top-quality museums continue to evolve.
Amy C. Balfour
Lonely Planet Writer
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Travel guides

Starting at $19.99

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New Orleans adventures

$89.99 Sightseeing tours

New Orleans Power Pass™

For as low as $40 a day, see more and save more with New Orleans Power Pass! For one low price, visitors receive free entry to all the most exciting attractions in town -- a combined value of almost $500USD in admission fees.
$111 Sightseeing tours

New Orleans Super Saver: Swamp and Bayou Sightseeing plus Oak Alley Plantation Tour

Enjoy the flexibility of combining the Swamp and Bayou Tour and the Oak Alley Plantation Tour and SAVE! Travel across the Mississippi by coach for a boat trip deep into the Louisiana bayou and experience a bygone era at At Oak Alley Plantation.
$1229 Photography

Music, Mountains & Monuments Westbound

Culture vultures, get ready to take flight on an incredible tour of American capitals – business, political, and musical. From Manhattan, follow the trail of independence to Washington, DC. Just try to prevent your boots from shufflin' in the music meccas of Memphis, Nashville, and New Orleans.
$1229 Nature & wildlife

Music, Mountains & Monuments Eastbound

From the Big Easy to the Big Apple, this roadtrip swings north along the East Coast and captures the best cities, historical monuments, and beautiful scenery from New Orleans to New York and everything in between. Embrace big city beats, Nashville grooves, and the traditional twang of the Appalachian Mountains. As always, centrally located hostels in the cities and campsites in the wilderness keep you in the heart of the action. Skip flying and discover country roots and the earthly delights that come with staying grounded.
$1879 Photography

New Orleans to San Francisco Road Trip

Bats in Texas, aliens in Roswell, pretty much everything else in San Francisco—get off the well-worn tourist trail and really discover the South and West of the United States. After leaving fabulous New Orleans, you'll explore some of the most incredible natural wonders anywhere—the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Yosemite—then trade wildlife for nightlife in Las Vegas. It's the ultimate roadtrip. Now, let's get rolling.
$2449 Small group tours

San Francisco to New Orleans Road Trip

Bridging two iconic cities, this is a road trip that features amazing national parks, quirky landmarks, and the spirit of America. Learn about Navajo culture, play the odds in Vegas, bask in genuine Southern hospitality, and get your cowboy on in Texas. Centrally located hostels in the cities and campsites in the wilderness keep you in the heart of the action no matter where you are. With so much heart and soul and so much to see and do on the road to New Orleans, don’t leave your heart in San Francisco – because you’re going to need it.
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New Orleans photo credits