Things You Shouldn’t Do When Visiting New Orleans

New Orleans or the ‘Big Easy’ is well known for its round-the-clock nightlife, live-music scene, and it’s spicy Creole and Cajun cuisine. It’s one of the most fascinating and unique cities in the USA.

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Reaching around 11 million visitors a year it’s definitely easy to see why this is a forever popular place to travel. It’s seen as a generally safe place to visit and people always come back with tales of a good time during the day and night. Whether you’re planning on seeing the sights during Mardi Gras or any other time of the year, New Orleans often appears on people’s bucket lists of travel destinations.

Whenever you visit any new city, the last thing that you want to happen is you to fall for any kind of tourist trap. You want to be able to enjoy an authentic trip away, falling for a tourist scam can put a dampener on anyone’s expereince of a new destination.

Let’s have a look below at some of the things you shouldn’t do when you’re in New Orleans for the first time:

Not Taking Advantage Of The New Orleans Pass

It can be stressful visiting any city for the first time but New Orleans can be extra special in the department. There are lots to see and do, which makes it especially challenging when it comes to planning an itinerary and deciding what attractions you’re going to spend your money on. You don’t, however, have to plan this completely on your own. If you invest in a New Orleans Pass, this can be a fantastic tool for planning your New Orleans trip. It can easily help you to build a realistic itinerary and visit all the famous attractions around the city. It will save you time, money and enable you to enjoy a stress-free sightseeing experience.  A top tip for the pass is to purchase it online before your trip, it can be cheaper than buying it at retail price when you arrive.

Don’t Leave Your Walking Shoes Behind

When visiting New Orleans for the first time, it can be easy to forget to pack your walking shoes, however, they should be classed as essential as you are most likely going to be doing a lot of walking. It’s one of the more walkable cities in the USA so there is no need to hire a car or jump in an expensive taxi. All of the neighborhoods are easily accessible by foot or even bicycle.

If you need a moment or two to catch your breath, take advantage of the local cafes and people-watch in Jackson square. If you like live music, the French Quater is somewhere where you can enjoy this while unwinding from your sightseeing. New Orleans has a fantastic hop on street car that you ride all the way to the Garden District, it’ less than two dollars. You can sit back and take in the beautiful scenery on one of the oldest continuously operating streetcars in the whole world.

Don’t Get Caught Up In The French Quarter

When you visit New Orleans for the first time it can be extremely easy to get caught up in the atmosphere and the draw of the French Quarter. You shouldn’t feel bad for falling in love with this area but there are so many other glorious areas to see too! It’s fine to spend a lot of time here but make sure you allow yourself time to see the other places New Orleans has to offer. There is so much more to New Orleans, it would definitely be a shame to miss out and spend all your time in the French Quarter. It’s exactly the same as going to somewhere like New York and only seeing Times Square.

Don’t Miss Out On Exploring The Swamps

You definitely shouldn’t miss out on this part of New Orleans, the city itself is beautiful but in order to get the full experience, you should consider booking some New Orleans city tours that include on to see the glory of the swamps. Founded in 1718, New Orleans is completely surrounded by marshes and swamps and it most definitely makes for an interesting venture. You’re able to get up close and see alligators and wildlife that live in the swamps. Visiting the swamps is a fun and easy day-trip that gives you a break from all the hustle and bustle of the city, and gives you a completely different take on this already beautiful destination.

These four areas are definitely things that you shouldn’t be doing when visiting New Orleans, do you have any others that you can add to the comments below?

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