New Orleans with the Girls

With activities, tours and sights to see around every corner, there is an overwhelming amount of things to do in NOLA. I recommend building a fabulous itinerary that includes a little of everything. The perfect itinerary for us started with a ghost tour. We took the Bad Bitches Ghost Tour with Ghost City Tours. This adults-only walking tour took us to all the best spots where our guide told us the best stories of the mysterious female voodoo priestesses, killers and criminals. It was a perfect addition to our girls trip.

To compliment the late-night ghost tour, we followed it up with a late-morning steamboat brunch on Steamboat Natchez. The old-fashioned steamboat took us on a lazy adventure up the Mississippi River and back while we listened to some jazz, enjoyed a buffet brunch and watched the houses and factories pass us by.

The steamboat dropped us off in the perfect spot to take a short walk over to Audubon Aquarium. The aquarium was an impromptu adventure but turned out to be the perfect afternoon compliment to our midmorning steamboat cruise.

Of course, you can’t visit New Orleans without spending at least one night soaking up the energy of Bourbon Street. We stayed on Bourbon Street, and so we spent most of our nights in New Orleans on this famous strip, drinking, laughing and celebrating life with people from everywhere. The experience was incredibly fun and is to this day the source of many inside jokes and fond reminiscing.

One of my personal favorite activities was the New Orleans School of Cooking’s cooking class that we took one morning. The early morning was so worth it after we tasted barbeque shrimp and grits, gumbo and bananas foster crepes. We learned the techniques, got to have a nice drink while cooking and learned so much about the history and culture of creole and cajun food. Pro tip: cream cheese in your grits is divine.

Food-related activities are not uncommon in a food-rich culture like New Orleans. Cafe du Monde and the French Market are more of an experience than a simple place to eat. The icon of New Orleans culture, these food stands, while incredibly delicious, are an experience you have to savor.

There are so many activities for history lovers as well. While we didn’t take advantage of many of them, walking through Jackson Square and learning about the history and the culture tied into it is a fabulous experience to fill a morning, afternoon or evening.

The restaurant I am still raving about years later is Gris Gris. The girl group makes a collective sigh whenever we think about the food here, and we have made plans to return to New Orleans just to eat here again. Gris Gris is where we went for my birthday dinner. We got to sit right at the kitchen counter and happened to be next to a food blogger who asked to quote our reactions to the food. The chicken and dumplings tasted like home and the dessert was heavenly.

If you are looking for a place to grab a drink, there’s bars and restaurants everywhere. If you want a main character moment, Hotel Montelone’s Carousel Bar not only has great drinks, but the iconic rotating bar elevates the whole experience.

Beignets. You have to eat beignets in New Orleans. Cafe du Monde sells coffee and beignets, and has been since 1862. If not for the history, the icon or the coffee, go for the lavishly sugared beignets.

Le Bayou on Bourbon Street was a restaurant we found while just walking up and down the strip looking to eat. It could not have worked out more perfectly because the po’ boys were delicious and the drinks were fantastic. Because we were still on Bourbon Street, we got to see all of the action while enjoying an appetizer of gator nuggets and some flavorful red beans and rice entrees.

Another great spot for light bites close to Bourbon Street was Neyow’s Creole Cafe. The food and drinks hit the spot and the ambiance was so true to New Orleans and such a great vibe for an impromptu dinner.

After dinner, when you’re looking for a drink to last you the whole night, look no further than Fat Tuesdays. Famous for their giant hourglass slushie cups, you have to stop in and grab a slushie. I can confirm, the drinks are as good as they are iconic.

Before you leave, you have to try Cafe Pontalba. Overlooking Jackson Square, the cafe serves up hearty, authentic New Orleans meals like red beans and rice, etouffee and gumbo. We had lunch here one day and only regretted that we didn’t stay closer to this spot.