Photography by Marci and John Lambert
Okay, we know. As a Memphian, you’ve been to New Orleans. You’ve eaten a few too many crustaceans and mollusks (raw and fried), sung (off-key) at Pat O’s, consumed (several) frozen beverages poured from machines, and cursed the mid-morning sunshine from your hotel bed.
We’ve all been there — in one 24-hour period.
Now we have kids. We’re respectable, mortgage-paying, job-holding adults. But New Orleans is still NOLA, one of the coolest places you can reach in less than a day’s drive. How do you share this fantastic place with your kids? What will they eat? What does the French Quarter look like in daylight?
For fall break this year, our family decided to take on the challenge with a teen and a tween for their first visit to the Big Easy. Here’s how it went.
Day One • Monday
We leave Memphis around 8 a.m., and roll into New Orleans around 2 p.m., driving straight to the French Quarter.
When introducing my family to a new city, we like to take a tour that gives a feel for the city’s story. Several years ago, we took advantage of a hop-on, hop-off bus tour in Chicago that came with a city pass package. It was really informative and convenient, so when I saw that New Orleans offered a similar service, I signed us up for a three-day pass (CitySightSeeingNewOrleans.com).
We park near Jackson Square and check in at the tour headquarters on Decatur, right in front of the square’s front gate. Since it’s too late to start the full bus tour, we decide instead to take the French Quarter walking tour. Our guide describes several points of interest and explains the various roles played by the French and Spanish in the formation of this city. As we walk, we learn the Creole culture emerged as a mixture of the two.
After the tour, the girls experience their first Cajun meal at The Original Pierre Maspero’s (est. 1788), then we take in Jackson Square with its palm readers, caricature artists, hustlers, and musicians, before dipping into Cafe Du Monde for their heavenly beignets.
With tired feet and full bellies, we check into the Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles Avenue and relax for the night. I’ve found that staying in the Central Business District (on the opposite side of Canal from the French Quarter) results in sounder sleep without sacrificing location. From here we can walk or take a streetcar everywhere we want to go.
Day Two • Tuesday
After brunch at the legendary Mother’s, our first destination is the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. I thought the Insectarium might be too “babyish” for us, but I am completely wrong, as all four of us love it. Live leaf-cutter ants, giant hissing cockroaches, and butterflies in flight — what’s not to love?
Our next stop is Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. I visited many years ago and am disappointed to see not much has been updated. If your family enjoys aquariums, make a stop. If they’re iffy, pass.
The rain holds off, so we decide to hop back on the tour bus and take the full loop of the downtown district, which takes about two hours. We learn a lot as the double-decker bus winds through the Garden and Central Business District. The tour wraps with a return to the French Quarter before we hop off near our hotel.
After taking a breather, we head over to Bourbon Street (gasp!) on the way to ACME Oyster House, as it’s late afternoon. We encounter a jazz funeral at the top of Bourbon. As the girls had just learned about these on the bus a few hours earlier, it was interesting to see a procession up close. We discover a lengthy line for ACME, so we instead try out Jimmy J’s, based on a friend’s recommendation. The food is reasonably priced and very tasty. The crowds on Bourbon are becoming a bit more boisterous, so we hustle back to the hotel and unwind at the indoor pool before turning in.
Day Three • Wednesday
For our last full day, the National World War II Museum in the Warehouse District is our first stop mid-morning. Already a great museum, they now issue visitors your own “dog tag” card. You are assigned a real person from WWII and learn about them at different points in the exhibits by scanning your card. This process is so well done that it serves to further immerse you into what is already an moving experience. The focus is always on the people, not the machines or strategy or politics of war. All those elements are, of course, covered in great detail in the exhibits, but these personal stories told by the men and women who served makes this a very powerful presentation.
After a tasty lunch at the nearby Warehouse Grille, we hop on the tour bus once more to view the Garden District. My younger daughter and I tour the historic Lafayette Cemetery #1 while my wife and older daughter do boutique shopping on Magazine Street. Our final destination is the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk back in the Warehouse District for a final shop before returning to the hotel and wrapping up with pizza and ice cream delivered to the room.
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Marci and John Lambert
Powdered delights, beignets at Café Du Monde
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Marci and John Lambert
Close encounters of an aquatic kind at the Audubon Aquarium
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Marci and John Lambert
The combat airplanes of the National World War II Museum
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Marci and John Lambert
Buskers, making music and the scene, at historic Jackson Square
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Marci and John Lambert
A stingray seems suspended in air as it swims above our camera
So, were we successful? I think the verdict was definitely “yes.” The temperature was bearable, we learned a lot about NOLA’s history, and, of course, the food was outstanding. We even managed to find something to please our girls’ non-spicy palates.
Kids and New Orleans mix fine after all. Laissez les bons temps rouler — at least while there’s daylight.
Top left to right:
Powdered delights, beignets at Café Du Monde
Close encounters of an aquatic kind at the Audubon Aquarium
The combat airplanes of the National World War II Museum
Buskers, making music and
the scene, at historic
Jackson Square
A stingray seems suspended in air as it swims above our camera