New Orleans tends to do more than people plan for. Families arrive with a rough list and end up fitting in half again as much – another neighborhood, an unplanned boat ride, a restaurant someone mentioned at the hotel.
The city is really not as overwhelming as first-timers sometimes expect, especially with kids.
Plan ahead and watch out for scams while booking
We live in a digital world so most of the planning for a vacation happens online. It's the same for your New Orleans vacation. Everything from flights to hotels and attraction tickets to restaurant reservations is done online.
It all runs through a browser on Mac or the apps on iPhone before you ever leave the house. Booking travel online means running into unfamiliar sites, and some of them carry pop-ups or warnings designed to look like Apple security messages.
Practical advice on suspicious notifications provided by the Moonlock website explains what a real Apple threat notification text looks like versus an Apple security alert scam built to get you to click something. Worth reading before you start booking.
When to go to New Orleans
The best time to visit New Orleans for most families is spring. March through May has good weather and a full calendar of festivals. Fall is similar. Summer can be a little unpleasant because of the heat and humidity but it comes with a benefit. The booking rates drop and crowds get thinner. If the trip is anywhere near February, check whether Mardi Gras overlaps with your dates. Around this time, the hotels book out weeks ahead and prices go up pretty fast.
Where to start in the city
Most people start in the French Quarter, and Bourbon Street gets the foot traffic. The better version of the neighborhood is a few blocks over – quieter, easier to walk with kids. Royal Street and the area around Jackson Square have street musicians most mornings, antique shops, and the St. Louis Cathedral on the square. The French Market on Decatur runs daily – easy to browse with kids.
New Orleans attractions extend well beyond the Quarter. The Garden District is worth a half-day on its own. The houses along Prytania Street are some of the most photographed in the South so if you are an Instagrammer or TikToker, come with unlimited storage on your devices. There’s something for the avoid shoppers too. Magazine Street runs alongside it with shops and lunch options that are easier to navigate with a family than anything on Bourbon.
Getting out on the water in New Orleans
Here’s the famous 2-hour cruise. Steamboat Natchez does daily runs on the Mississippi River. The jazz brunch version is worth booking if the timing works. Down on the riverfront, the Audubon Aquarium is the better pick for younger kids – good exhibits, manageable size, and close enough to the dock that you can do both in the same outing. The walk between them is about twenty minutes along the water.
Local food worth making room for
Café Du Monde is the obvious first stop. It sits on Decatur Street – beignets, café au lait, outdoor seating. Go early with kids. The café gets crowded by mid-morning and stays that way.
For dinner, one of the best places to visit in New Orleans that holds up for families is Commander's Palace in the Garden District, which has been around since 1893. The lunch service is less formal than dinner and easier with children. It also has distinct menus for lunch and jazz brunch (weekends).
The Marigny is a neighborhood about ten minutes from the French Quarter. Frenchmen Street runs through it – that's where most of the locals eat. Cheaper than Bourbon, better food, and live music most nights starting around sundown.
What to do with kids
A visit to the Audubon Zoo in Uptown is a full-day activity. City Park on the north side has a carousel, paddle boats, and the New Orleans Museum of Art next to a large sculpture garden. A swamp tour outside the city is worth fitting in somewhere. Most leave from the Honey Island Swamp area, about an hour from downtown. The guides pull the boat right up next to the alligators. Among the best things to do in New Orleans with kids, it's the one that gets talked about longest on the way home.
A few practical notes
Parking in the French Quarter is expensive and scarce. The streetcar lines, the St. Charles line through the Garden District, especially, are cheap and easy to use with kids. Whether it’s hot outside or not, you should carry water and some snacks if you have kids. To not to be left disappointed, book restaurants well in advance if you're going on a weekend because popular spots fill up fast. New Orleans on a Friday or Saturday doesn't leave much for walk-ins.