New Orleans 3-day Jazz Fest Itinerary

Try to arrive in the morning and head straight to Café du Monde for coffee and beignets. Then walk the magical streets of the French Quarter (Chartres or Royal... not Bourbon) for some shopping and gallery viewing.

You can’t miss a boozy, classic “wear your seersucker” kind of fancy lunch in New Orleans. Galatoire’s or Commanders Palace are NOLA institutions for fine dining creole cuisine and the latter one offers 25-cent martinis! After this big lunch, you'll need to relax and nap by the hotel pool.

For dinner, hop on over to Peche if you are a seafood lover or Cochon if you are more carnivorous – two amazing restaurants by acclaimed chef and restauranteur, Donald Link. They both can be found in the quieter area of the Warehouse District, which is a short walk from the French Quarter. End the night with a cocktail at your hotel bar.

Grab some coffee and a bite to eat for breakfast to get ready for the festival! I recommend Croissant d’Or in the Quarter, which is an easy uber/taxi ride up to the Fairgrounds after. There's also always beignets.

You are allowed to bring in blankets, tarps, chairs and sealed water bottles to the grounds. Whatever stage the headliner you were dying to see is on (likely Acura or Gentilly stage), make sure you go grab a spot and then explore the fairgrounds, checking out all the different smaller stages, tents, parades and booths. Don't miss out on Fai DoDo stage for Cajun or Bluegrass music or the Blues, Jazz and Gospel tents, which are a great way to get out of that sun. Jazz Fest is as much about the food as it is about the music! Crawfish Monica and Cochon du Lait po-boys are some of the most popular choices (and is part of the reason I always go to Jazz Fest), but there are so many amazing options here.

After the festival ends, walk on over to Mid-City to let the crowds die down, and grab a drink or dinner at Toups Meatery. Not ready for the night to end? Check listings for other local music venues in New Orleans that have after shows, like Maple Leaf, Le Bon Tomps Roule or Tipitinas. Or head to Frenchman Street with the masses!

Leave your third day to explore the Garden District and Uptown. Grab brunch at Atchafalaya. You have not been to New Orleans if you haven’t eaten shrimp and grits. Afterward, you can walk or rent bikes and explore Magazine Street and Audubon Park. Worked off brunch? Go grab a po-boy at local favorite, Domilisie’s. Head back to St-Charles Ave., grab a drink and relax on the beautiful porch at Columns Hotel. After watching the street cars go by while sippin’ an Old Fashioned or Pimms Cup, it’s time to hop on the streetcar yourself and head back to your hotel!

For dinner, I recommend a trip to the Baywater at Bacchanal. A wine/cheese shop where you pick your wine, they make you a cheese plate and you can go head out to the beautiful twinkle-lit patio and listen to live music. They have other drinks and food options here, but it is the perfect laid-back atmosphere after those jam-packed days.

No trip to the Big Easy would be complete without at least ONE drink on Bourbon Street; I recommend the 1700’s literal haunt, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. If the purple drink got you feeling rowdy and the potential ghosts made you feel adventurous, head down Bourbon St. to Pat O’Briens, the famous dueling piano bar and your trip to the most infamous street is New Orleans is complete. If you want to end your trip in a classy, not trashy way (both are completely acceptable and no one judges you here) then grab a drink at Arnaud’s French 75 Bar or The Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. It should be pretty self-explanatory on what to order in those two places.