The Top 10 Reasons to Visit the French Quarter in New Orleans

Sure, there are many reasons to visit the French Quarter located in the heart of New Orleans. It has a wild reputation for being a party city, with beautiful French design buildings and homes and a variety of loud music almost anywhere. A few months back, I had the opportunity to visit this great city with friends. Boy, I sure wasn’t disappointed. If you are looking for a quick weekend getaway or spend a few days during the week, there are plenty of things to do. Here are my top 10 reasons to visit the French Quarter in the city of New Orleans.

Bourbon Street – Of course, this is the first place you want to encounter. This is all you have heard about when you tell people that you are heading to the French Quarter. Bourbon Street is the most well-known street in New Orleans. The place where there’s always a party that never ends. This is where it gets the title; “Let the good times roll.” One interesting, fun fact about this street is that it is not named after the famous alcohol. It is named after the French Royal family ruling the House of Bourbon at the time. Located throughout Bourbon Street, you can find a wide range of bars and restaurants with live entertainment both inside and outside. You can always encounter many street performers, banging turned-over white buckets as percussionists to singers on each corner.
Royal Street and the various other side streets in between – If you want to get away from the craziness of Bourbon Street, there is a street called Royal Street that parallels it, where you can take a more leisurely stroll. You can find many bars, restaurants, pubs, and other unique small businesses ranging from antiques, clothing boutiques, Voodoo stores, cooking shops, bookstores, and art galleries. A friend texted me to visit the art gallery that was showcasing George Rodrique Studios. He is a ceramic artist and sculptor who creates oversized ceramic personalities. George Rodrique is truly a gifted artist.
The Restaurant Scene – There are tons of restaurants located throughout the French Quarter. I only had the opportunity to visit a few, and boy, was I impressed. There is a lot to choose from, starting with a great seafood restaurant called Deanie’s Seafood, only a block away from Bourbon Street. Instead of giving you bread when you sit down, they provide buttery, seasoned, boiled red-skin potatoes. What a unique treat! My friend and I had the Crawfish Etouffee and Crabmeat AuGratin; both were delicious. Later that night, a group of us did some fine dining at Galatoire’s Restaurant, located near the beginning of Bourbon Street. Everything was amazing from the service to our food. The waiter always paid close attention to detail, but knowing his audience he always had a good laugh for us. Our main course consisted of Maple Leaf Duck, Lamb Chops, Veal Chops, and USDA Prime Ribeye and sides. Everyone truly loved their meals and was eager to share with all. Another great place for the only breakfast and late lunch crowd is Montey’s on the Square on Decatur St. My friend and I both had the Jambalaya Omelette, coffee, and orange juice. What a great way to start your morning of sightseeing. Finally, located on Royal Street, there’s a restaurant called Mr. Ed’s Southern Creole. With friends, we enjoyed all of our appetizers from a cup of Creole Gumbo, a Blue Cheese Wedge, to Boudin Egg Rolls. The three of us enjoyed our meals; the Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage, Pasta Jambalaya, and the Creole Combo was delicious. My friend ordered the Cajun Jambalaya and was disappointed at first. With a huge abundance of rice and little meat, our waitress apologized and the cook immediately corrected the order to my friend’s liking.
Eating a Po Boy at NOLA Poboys – There are plenty of restaurants to eat a famous Po Boy sandwich, but go somewhere where it is both at a reasonable price and delicious, try NOLA Poboys. This diamond in the rough is located on Bourbon Street at the far end of the French Quarter. There are different types of Po Boys to choose from but I got the Fried Crawfish Po Boy. Boy, was this awesome and first time having crawfish! The rest of my party had Fried Gator Balls, Boudin Balls, and Chicken Gumbo Soup. I still don’t know what Boudin Balls are, but they are so good.
Cafe Du Monde – Located on Decatur Street, Cafe Du Monde is famous for its beignets. What better way to begin your official first morning in the French Quarter with three beignets totally covered in powdered sugar with either a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate. This is a great way to enjoy the sights and sounds as tourists rush by with a street performer nearby.
The Mighty Mississippi River – After you finish eating those awesome beignets, you must walk it off by seeing the Mississippi River to the right. The Mississippi River runs south of the French Quarter. Take a few pictures of this powerful river with the many cruise lines that leave from its port and turn around to take a picture at your next stop, Jackson Square.
Jackson Square – This historic section of the French Quarter has a landmark of a bronze statue of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson Square is located on Decatur Street in front of the St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic Church in America. Surrounding the bronze statue are circular paths and shady trees to sit or hang out with friends or by yourself and people watch. Just outside the park, local artists are eager to show you their pieces of artwork from watercolor or oil based paintings to other art forms.
Royal Carriage Tours – There are plenty of tour groups from walking tours, horse or mule carriage tours, and the haunted tours at night, but the one we took was from Royal Carriages Tour. They operate seven days a week if the weather permits. Make your reservations early to guarantee your spot. The four of us took the Private Carriage Tour that begins in front of Jackson Square. This tour takes up to four people, perfect for our group. As we began our mule carriage tour, our driver provided our itinerary . Thinking it was going to be a haunted tour, our driver stated that it would be no problem to provide us with some ghostly tales as he drove through the different sections of the French Quarter. Our driver was excellent by giving us wonderful details of history to its ghostly haunts. We learned a lot about the French design of the city, introduced us to the jazz section of the city, learned about Shotgun style homes, and some famous haunted sights. One, the LaLaurie House is known for its gruesome history of how the slaves were brutally treated and is now haunted by their spirits. Nicholas Cage once owned the house. Another famous house our driver showed us was owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, which is supposedly one of the most haunted homes in the area. We also learned about some famous haunted hotels: the Cornstalk Hotel, which is currently vacant, and the Andrew Jackson Hotel, which children have haunted since it was an orphanage back in the day. Our driver told us about the brick school building where Elvis Presely filmed the movie King Creole. This is a must-do, taking a carriage tour on every trip to the French Quarter.
The French Market and Flea Market – Another place both visited by the tourists and locals are the French Market and adjacent Flea Market. These markets are six historic blocks that are open daily to the public from 10:00am to 6:00pm. The French Market consists of restaurants, shops, and a small, shaded park to rest your feet after a long day of sightseeing or shopping. Don’t forget to get a frozen fruit drink either with or without alcohol from the Gazebo Cafe. So yummy! Many events or festivals take place here throughout the year. The Flea Market; across a small path, consists of local vendors selling arts and crafts, clothing, jewelry, to you guessed it, more great cajun or creole food and other local, southern food.
The Garden District – OK, so this place is not necessarily in the French Quarter but it is a must do. Located west of the French Quarter, The Garden District is lined with oak shaded trees with beautiful homes from single story cottages to the grand historic mansions. To get to the Garden District, head to Canal Street and cross over to get on the St. Charles Streetcar. Download the app, Le Pass and purchase a reasonable one day transportation pass. Sit back and relax on the streetcar and see the outer edges of the city of New Orleans. Getting off at Washington Avenue, head down towards Magazine Street. You will walk past the Lafayette Cemetery Number #1 where the Mayfair Witches are buried. The cemetery gates were locked, but you can still get a great view of the old cemetery grave sites. You know you have officially arrived in the Garden District when you have reached Magazine Street. Here you will find a variety of shops and restaurants and some good crawfish. My friends and I stopped at The Rum House – Caribbean Taqueria. The food and drinks were amazing here. I love tequila so I had their tequila flight, Good Cheap Shit. This was my first ever tequila flight and it was no disappointment. We all shared their Queso Blanco Dip with Corn Chips; twice because it was so good, and various soft shell tacos and sides. Everything was delicious!! We ended up going back to the French Quarter by heading back to the St. Charles Streetcar, but before heading back, my friend’s niece mentioned there was a famous house which Anne Rice fans all recognize from “The Mayfair Witch” stories. This house is located at 3102 Prytania Street. To see the house where she once lived from 1989 to 2004, go to 1239 First Street. This is a must see for any Anne Rice follower.

If you are looking for some night time partying on Bourbon Street or go as a history buff looking at all the splendid French architecture, this 6×13 block area laid out in 1772 as the original City of New Orleans is one of the oldest residential communities in the USA. So, here are my top 10 things to do when you are in the French Quarter section. You may use this as a checkoff list, but create your own to explore this amazing section of New Orleans, the French Quarter.