# Best things to do in New Orleans

Jazz, beignets, Creole architecture and swamps: the New Orleans essentials from U.S. News, EarthTrekkers and TripAdvisor.

- 91 votes · 12 items
- May 29, 2025 · Madison Daniels
- https://even.best/en/l/357/best-things-to-do-in-new-orleans

## Top 10

1. **French Quarter** (11 · ▲12 ▼1) — The city's oldest neighbourhood, with wrought-iron balconies and jazz on every corner.
2. **Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Historic square with street artists, facing the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the US.
3. **Café du Monde** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Open-air café on Decatur Street serving beignets and chicory café au lait since 1862. <https://www.cafedumonde.com/>
4. **Garden District** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Antebellum mansions and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, reached on the St. Charles streetcar.
5. **Frenchmen Street** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — Marigny strip of live-music clubs such as The Spotted Cat, favoured by locals over Bourbon Street.
6. **Preservation Hall** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — Intimate venue dedicated to traditional New Orleans jazz since 1961. <https://www.preservationhall.com/>
7. **The National WWII Museum** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — Vast museum on the Second World War, rated one of the best in the country. <https://www.nationalww2museum.org/>
8. **Bourbon Street** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — The French Quarter's famously rowdy nightlife strip.
9. **St. Louis Cemetery No. 1** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Above-ground 'city of the dead' with Marie Laveau's tomb; guided tours only.
10. **City Park and New Orleans Museum of Art** (2 · ▲5 ▼3) — 1,300-acre park with oak groves, a sculpture garden and NOMA.
11. **Steamboat Natchez** (2 · ▲4 ▼2) — Jazz cruise on the Mississippi aboard an authentic steam-powered sternwheeler.
12. **Swamp tour** (1 · ▲4 ▼3) — Airboat or boat trips into the bayous to see alligators, a short drive from the city.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.