I cannot believe a year has passed since traveling to New Orleans. It’s gone fast and slow all at the same time. If you would’ve told me a year ago that wouldn’t travel anywhere after the trip, I wouldn’t have believed you (but I think we are all in that boat). Although, traveling this year hasn’t been an option, it is refreshing to be able to look back at such wonderful times. I previously did a blog post about my last trip to Boston, so I thought I definitely needed to recap my trip to New Orleans.

I traveled to New Orleans with Trevor (my boyfriend for those of you new around here). New Orleans has always been at the top of our bucket list because it is the home of the Saints, our favorite football team. We had dreamed of visiting the city to watch the Saints play in the infamous Superdome, and we made that a reality. We not only got to be right up close to the Saints, we ate phenomenal food, and experienced a ton of culture.

Day One:

We arrived in New Orleans in the late afternoon, caught dinner at In-N-Out (if you know you know) and arrived at our hotel right in time to refresh and head out for the NOLA night life. Our hotel was perfect walking distance from both the French Quarter and the Superdome, we stayed at InterContinental NOLA. When heading out on the town, our first stop was to head to the French Quarter and hit up the infamous Bourbon Street. It was a Saturday night, and LSU had just won a big game… so it is safe to say that it was poppin!

Day Two:

Café Beignet: After a fun night on the town, we were up bright and early to get BEIGNET’S!!! Probably the spot I was looking most forward visiting was Cafe Beignet. Nestled in the heart of the French Quarter is this cutie little Café. We are early risers, so we missed the morning rush, had perfect seats and the most fresh beignets. We also ordered breakfast here, we had crawfish omelets (because when in NOLA) and Café au laits and it was all delicious.

French Quarter: We walked through the French Quarter SO much throughout our trip. It was definitely one of our favorite spots, so we made sure that everyday some part of the historic area was on our agenda. Plus there are tons of cute little shops around each corner that are definitely worth checking out. One of my favorites was, Forever New Orleans on Royal Street.

New Orleans Saints Game: Walking up to the Superdome, in a crowd of people, with all kinds of Black and Gold costumes, Jazz music, WHO DAT chants, was truly exciting!!!! We found the ‘Dome Field Advantage’ sign for picture (you know I love a good pun).

Of course, Trevor and I are Saints fans and that is what we were there for. However… I would say even if you are not a Saints fan or a football fan, going to a game is something to experience. The sound of us fans in the dome was un real.

Fun fact: Just shy of 130 decibels, the Superdome can get almost as loud as a military jet taking off.

Southern Eating: After the Saints game we headed back to the hotel to rest up (mostly regain our hearing) and change for another night out. Before our next planned event, we needed to EAT. While walking around our hotel we petite little spot and decided to eat there. It was a great decision, Trevor ordered red beans and rice, and I opted for two NOLA classic dishes, Gumbo and a Po Boy. My tip for your time in New Orleans is to find the most classic places.

Ghost Tour: So you may not know this about me, but I am a Murderino at heart (don’t be freaked out; I just really enjoy hearing about true crime/murder stories). So of course I needed to take a Haunted History Tour through the French Quarter (Trevor was super unsure at first). We booked a tour through Viator, it cost $25 per person for a two hour walk through the French Quarter. We were with a pretty large group, and had a very theatrical tour guide. After the first hour we stopped at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar. A small and crowded bar (pre COVID-19), that has been serving beer and frozen drinks since the 1700’s. It was such a fun time!

Gelato: Let’s be real, did you even go on vacation if you didn’t get dessert every night?! After our ghost tour we were on the hunt for something yummy before we headed back to our hotel. So when we spotted a this Gelato shop we had to go!!! It was called Amorino USA and had presented there gelato in these lovely little flower designs.

Day Three:

French Truck Coffee Shop: For day three we were up bright and early again (there is no rest when you are on vacation with me). Our first stop was in the French Quarter at the French Truck Coffee Shop. We ordered some great coffees and bagels before heading out for our day on the town. They have several shops throughout NOLA and I would highly suggest stopping in, great coffee & a lovely shop design.

Garden District: If you love architecture, then the Garden District is definitely something you should work in to your NOLA visit. If you are staying down town, the Garden District is a short Streetcart ride away. The Streetcarts are movable pieces of NOLA history, and they are a must do if you are going to the Garden District. The link I added is super helpful on coordinating a ride. Not only are the Streetcarts gorgeous, it takes you past gorgeous ‘stately mansions’ and shows you kinds of NOLA charm.

Buckner Mansion: We started our walk through the Garden District at the Buckner Mansion. The Buckner Mansion is where American Horror Story: Coven was filmed. It is now privately owned and can be rented out for a pretty penny. I also heard it may or may not be haunted. It is located at: 1410 Jackson Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana 70130.

Of course I had to stop at nearly each and every home and building to snap a pic…

Magazine Street: After a bit of walking through the Garden District, you may find yourself on Magazine Street. Its full of tons of fun shops, such as Peony NOLA (my favorite). It was a French inspired children’s boutique that I was drooling over. so. charming.

When walking down Magazine Street don’t forget to look up in the trees to see all of the beads left from Mardi Gras!!!! SO FUN!!!

The Vintage NOLA: After quite a bit of exploring, we were ready for some brunch. We stopped in to the Vintage NOLA located on Magazine Street. It’s interiors and food were perfection…. and there was a champagne button. Need I say more??! We ordered ourselves some drinks (frosé), beignet bites, the breakfast biscuit and the vintage breakfast.

After filling up on all the good stuff, we continued exploring the Garden District.. still taking pictures every five steps

Lafayette Cemetery: An important part of your walk through the Garden District is stopping in to see Lafayette Cemetery. It is a 19th-century cemetery with above ground tombs. You can go to this link to check out hours and hours of operations and even book a tour!

I have well over a hundred facade pictures from our walk on through the Garden District… just couldn’t get enough

Day Three Evening: As I said, incorporating the French Quarter into your daily agenda is a must! Morning, noon, and evening! There are several lovely spots to catch dinner in the French Quarter (plus stop for more Beignets!!!!). I couldn’t help but get another picture of café beignet in all its evening coziness.

Longway Tavern: By far our favorite night was our evening at Longway Tavern. We did not have this dining spot originally on our itinerary. However, two nights prior Sean Payton (the head coach of the New Orleans Saints) proposed to his long time girlfriend here. It was a surprise party and (from the pictures) looked like a fabulous time, so of course we had to check it out since we were in time. It did not disappoint!!! It was the coziest time. The staff were incredibly nice. It had the most adorable courtyard and divine food. We ordered an grits appetizer, with pumpkin and ricotta on top, that was to die for (pictured below)! For our main meals Trevor order a chicken sandwich and I had a Caesar salad.

Jackson Square: Jackson Square is a NOLA staple. It is a beautiful garden featuring St. Louis Cathedral. We walked through after our dinner and it was simply gorgeous, with all of the jazz music of your dreams playing around you.

Couvant: After a bit of sight seeing we walked to another little dining spot for dessert of course (I wasn’t kidding when I said dessert everyyyy night). Pictured is my Profiterols (that had warm chocolate drizzled on top of them in front of me) and Trevor ordered the Gateau Marjolaine. It was all to DIE FOR. Literally so so so good.

Day Four:

Café Du Monde: Day four was off to another early start to get of course… more beignets. BUT this time it was to the infamous Café Du Monde. We sat on the patio and ordered quite a few beignets and Café au lait and relaxed for a bit. The beignets here were the best by far that we had on our trip, living up to the hype.

St. Louis Cathederal: After finishing off our heap of beignets, we walked a couple blocks over for a day light tour of Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral. We were took some time to go inside the Cathedral to light some candles, it was a special time.

Canal Place: After our time at the Cathedral we walked down the street to visit the Canal Place. This is a high end shopping center with a super cute photo wall. I would recommend stopping in!

Willa Jean: After a morning full of shopping and sight seeing, we headed to Willa Jean for brunch. From my pictures you can see that it has superb interior design, but even better yet.. the food was AMAZING. I ordered a milk money latte which was so so so good, Trevor and I both ordered tomato soup and grilled cheese (with pimento cheese.. YUM). Before we headed back to our hotel, I ordered a peanut butter hot chocolate, which was so good!

Walk On’s Bistreaux and Bar: Our last night in Nola was unfortunately cold and rainy, but we made the best of it! We walked to a restaurant that is co-owned by the one and only Drew Brees. The food was phenomenal and the environment was super fun and family friendly. It was perfect for our last night, since we had to be up super early for our flight back.

Louis Armstrong International Airport: If you are traveling to and from NOLA by air, you must make one last stop at the mini Café Du Monde! The new airport opened the week before our arrival, so I made sure to snag a few beignets before departing back to Pittsburgh.