BootsnAll Travel Community

I am going to New Orleans for the first time this week. I have a few things outlined, but I'm still on the lookout for unusual experiences in the city. Any ideas?

Are there any non-obvious tourist traps/rip offs I might find myself falling into?

Thanks!

How much time have you got?
I liked some places outside New Orleans, small cities - New Iberia, St Francisville. Cocodrie, Dulac, Houma in the delta area. I'm not sure how those place survived Katrina - I was there one year before.
In New Orleans, apart from FQ, I liked to walk St Charles str (Hope they still run the streetcars), Prytania - some nice architecture, interesting cemetary.
Also, you can get onto the other side, Algiers, visit Mardi Gras museum.

I will be there for three full days. I am staying in the FQ, so I'll get to see plenty of it. The St. Charles streetcar is still running and I plan to ride it through the Garden District (which is supposed to be beautiful).

I am heading out to Vecharie to see Oak Alley Plantation, it may be touristy, but I'm a Gone with the Wind fan and love all the ante-bellum stuff.

Surpisingly, Algiers IS on my list. The real purpose of my trip is for research. The book I am writing is set in NO and my main character lives in Algiers. Do you know if the ferry is free for pedestrians?

Thanks so much!

Yes, the ferry is free.

I recommend you see the plantation across the street from Oak Alley. It is called Lara's plantation and is well preserved. My tour guide was a French history graduate student that was well versed in NO history. Oak Alley is another tourist trap with an empty plantation that was filled with antiques from that era. But if you want glitz see Oak Alley. For a step into the past, see Lara's.

Go to Preservation Hall and listen to the musicians. It was $5 when I went 6 years ago.

The Parks and Rec office conducts a free history tour of the FQ that is great.

I really enjoyed <a href=http://www.nps.gov/jela/barataria-preserve.htm>Barataria Preserve</a>. It's a "National Historical Park & Preserve" where you can walk on trails through the marshlands and explore a little bit of "wild" LA. There are good trails, not too many people, and lots of wildlife to see. In March, we saw about a dozen alligators (including quite a few babies) and a few snakes (watch where you step- we almost stepped on a cottonmouth!) The only downside is you really need a car to get there- it's about 30-45 minutes from the NOLA.