Louisiana Things to Do Tips by Jacquelynn

Of course, MARDI GRAS! Make your hotel reservations way in advance! Mardi Gras parades occur for the entire month prior to Fat Tuesday, not just on that weekend. This is the biggest party around, and locals often get days off work to celebrate. The French Quarter is packed with people, and don't try to walk down Bourbon St. It is literally shoulder to shoulder in places.

Be careful not to fall and expect to be randomly grabbed by stangers of both sexes. The craziness and drunkeness to be found is unbelievable. Over 1,000,000 people enter the city to party and there's enough trash left to believe it.

I'll have to make a travelogue for this one!

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Address: It's hard to miss
Directions: The crowds will be concentrated in the French Quarter, along Canal Street, and up St. Charles Ave where the parades routes go.
Website: www.neworleans.com

Halloween in New Orleans is a lot like Mardi Gras, but without the crowds of tourists. Most of the city comes out at night to galavant around Bourbon St in Halloween costumes!

Earlier in the evening, take one of the famous "Haunted History" tours. New Orleans' history is full of pirates, voodoo, and ghosts.

Tours of the cemeteries or "cities of the dead" are also available. The above ground vaults are located throughout the city, because of the high water table.

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Address: French Quarter

Step back into Plantation Life with a tour of Oak Alley Plantation, complete with tour guides in hoopskirts. Named for it's grand entrance lined with moss covered oaks, this is one of the most famous of local plantations.

Approximately 1600 plantations grew cotton, sugar cane, and indigo from the 18th century until the Civil War. Many plantations were later burned, pillaged, or destroyed by the Mississippi River. Today, some restored mansions with their white columns can still be found between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Oak Alley is generally open 9:00-5:00 with $10 admission. You can take one of the many tour buses out to the plantation or drive there yourself.

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Website: www.oakalleyplantation.com