New Orleans Things to Do Tips by atufft

An original settlement in all New Orleans, Bayou St. John's oldest homes were largely undamaged by Hurricane Katrina while across the bayou, newer homes were flooded. Thus, the Pitot House is worth visiting, although it was closed at the time we had arrived. However, I talked to the owner of the second oldest house, just next door, and he explained the situation faced during and after Katrina's winds blew. He was proud of his old mansion that survived rather handily. I walked the tour route like that described in the Lonely Planet guide, but this walking really only takes a few minutes. It's a good place to walk the dog, however, as there is plenty of space and no traffic. Then, we returned to the car and continued on toward the park and cemetaries.

Leave a Comment

Address: Bayou St. John area of New Orleans
Directions: Near City park and the fairgrounds. Take esplanade from the French Quarter until you see the bridge over the bayou, then turn left.

under the tip for Local Customs, I recommend walking the dog in this area, and provide two photos. But, for pleasant strolling and sightseeing of lovely old homes, the Garden District is hard to beat. The architecture of the homes is consistent with the Yankee origins of the neighborhood, in contrast the French Quarter (which is largely Spanish in style). The cotton market attracted wealthy business people to the area during the last two centuries, and so the homes are quite ornate. Today, the gentrified neighborhood remains a busy place for renovation, especially after Katrina. The Garden District escaped any flooding, but I noticed that a few roofs were under restoration after the storms winds took a toll.

Leave a Comment

Directions: See tourist maps for Garden District, and simply find an off street to park and begin walking. There are no meters in this neighborhood.

The city is shaped like a bowl with high ground surrounding it, so when water overflows the levees or enters by way of a waterway, then the city center suffers. Along the lake this was pretty evident as the levee remained intact but both sides of the levee got flooded. The City Park area was a good example of this and clean up is in progress. The damage here though wasn't really an impediment to the tourist, as the landscaping generally survived handily. I'm not sure the concrete edge steps to the lake was such a good idea. It might be better to eliminate this as any strong storm surge will certainly break up the concrete and turn it into a tool for carving out the levee again in the future. Flooding from this lake is something of a natural hazard likely to occur again in the future.

Leave a Comment

Address: Lakeshore Drive
Directions: Take Elysian Fields Ave out to the lake at the University of New Orleans, and then turn left to follow the coastline until you reach the West End Park. Return by either Pontchartrain Blvd or Canal Blvd.

I had heard about the above ground burials that were flooded and so wanted to see what happened. Most cemetaries appeared to have survived the flooding due to the heavy materials of which they are made. A few tombs need some expensive repair though. I didn't have time to survey the entire graveyard, but it appeared to be intact after Katrina

Leave a Comment

Address: Metairie Cemetary
Directions: Near junction of Pontchratrain and City Park Blvds

Cafe du Monde is at one corner, so morning is a good time to visit Jackson Square. The light was bright and the chicory coffee and beignets a perked an introduction to the day. Incidentally, Andrew Jackson was the frontier hero who beat the British at the Battle of New Orleans, after the war was negotiated by peace treaty in Europe. The plaza where the statue stands is clearly one created by the Spanish during their forty year ownership of the city. Jackson Square is a good place to walk the dog (see dog walking tip).

Leave a Comment

Address: Plaza de Armas
Directions: between Decatur and Chartres Sts quite near the Mississippi River Front
Website: http://www.jackson-square.com/

The narrow streets and cramped buildings can make photography difficult, so as soon as you've had your latte and beignet, wander the streets aimlessly. A full day plus some can be spend wandering the French Quarter looking at the mostly Spanish style facades with ornate ironwork. The French Street names are on the signs, but many buildings have the Spanish occupation names as well.

Leave a Comment

Address: 90 blocks
Directions: between Canal, Rampart, Esplanade and the Mississippi
Website: http://www.frenchquarter.com/

On the edge of the French Quarter, the Esplande homes are a little more spaced and more extraordinary in terms of architectural embellishment. Many of these homes were probably built later by Yankee families, and though not as gentile as the homes in the Garden District, are still worth a gawk. Esplanade is a divided street in this area with a parkway of grass and trees down the middle. It's a good place to walk the dog.

Leave a Comment

Address: Esplanade in French Quarter

At one time, the world's leading cotton exchange, New Orleans remains a considerable agricultural and finance powerhouse. Within the central business district is also the Superdome, under roof restoration at the time of our visit, and the new Riverwalk and Convention Centers in the Warehouse district were also still cleaning up from Katrina. The journey from the Lower Ninth and other neighborhoods to the Superdome by foot would have been a considerable undertaking, as the short lines of the antique trolley car system extend only along the riverfront of the French Quarter and CBD, and along St. Charles through the Garden District and Aububon Park neighborhoods where cotton magnates once lived. Look elsewhere for advice on what to do here, we didn't walk much into this area. It's within the warehouse district, which is the CBD at the river (under the steel towers of the bridge over the river) where the mayor proposes a jazz revival project.

Leave a Comment

Directions: Starts opposite side of Canal Street from French Quarter and extends from Riverfront to Superdome. The Garden District begins upriver from CBD.

City Park was flooded following Katrina, and winds blew down a few trees, but the park appeared to be making its own come back at the time we drove through. Fundraising efforts during X-mas tried to raise some cash for restoration, but mostly the park was empty of visitors at the corner near Esplanade. Aububon Park, which we didn't have time to visit at all, was spared and has a reputation for having more to do anyway. Thus, New Orleans has two large city parks, in addition to numberous smaller parks and plazas scattered throughout the older parts of the city.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 504-482-4888
Address: 1 Palm Dr New Orleans 70119
Directions: North End of Esplanade Ave

About 90 minutes west of New Orleans along the Cajun Coast is the community of Houma. We were in transit between New Orleans and Morgan City, so check not only my images and tips here, but check out my pages for Morgan City. Munson Tours are a one boat operation at the reasonable price of $20 per adult, and the tour guides are authenticly Cajun raised in the bayou. The disadvantage of taking a tour in the Cajun gulf coast is that the forests are second growth and the tree trunks are relatively small in diameter. However, the tour operations in this area do provide gator and wildlife appreciation which deserves support among those ecologically minded. So, it was that we joined a family on a boat tour (not the ecology compromising fan boat) of a bayou. In winter time, the trees are more often bare and the gators are hiberating, but we saw plenty of wildlife and the unique beauty of the swamp. So, for example, when I talk about the area being second growth, I have to remember that in the delta region of California, there is not even second growth standing. It's all farmland, pastureland, freeways, and houses. It's a good day get away from the urban chaos of New Orleans.

Leave a Comment

Phone: (985) 851-3569
Address: 979 Bull Run Road, Schriever, La. 70395
Directions: Call for specific directions, but basically, go west on I-90 from New Orleans. You'll cross the Mississippi, and see some beautiful country right off the causeway going there. Again, check out Morgan City as a place to visit in the area.
Website: http://www.munsonswamptours.com/
Other Contact: fax (985) 448-2977