New Orleans
We’ve compiled the best of the best in New Orleans - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Sort by:
6 Recommendations
{{numTotalPoiResults}} {{ (numTotalPoiResults===1)?'Recommendation':'Recommendations' }}
0 Recommendations
Loading...
-
1. Audubon Park
UptownFormerly the plantation of Etienne de Boré, the father of the granulated-sugar industry in Louisiana, this large, lush patch of greenery stretches from St. Charles Avenue across Magazine Street to the river. Designed by John Charles Olmsted, nephew of Frederick Law Olmsted (who laid out New York City's Central Park and Asheville's Biltmore Estate), it contains the world-class Audubon Zoo; a 1.8-mile track for running, walking, or biking; picnic and play areas; Audubon Park Golf Course; tennis courts; a swimming pool; horse stables; and a river view. Calm lagoons wind through the park, harboring egrets and other indigenous species. The park and zoo were named for the famous ornithologist and painter John James Audubon, who spent many years working in and around New Orleans.
View Tours and Activities6500 Magazine St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70118, USA504-581–4629Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
2. City Park
Mid-CityFounded in 1854, this 1,300-acre expanse of moss-draped oaks and 11 miles of gentle lagoons is just 2 miles from the French Quarter, but feels like it could be a world apart. With the largest collection of live oaks in the world, including old grove trees that are more than 600 years old, City Park offers a certain natural majesty that's difficult to find in most other urban areas. The art deco benches, fountains, bridges, and ironwork are remnants of a 1930s Works Progress Administration (WPA) refurbishment and add to the dreamy scenery that visitors enjoy boating and biking through. Within the park are the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Louisiana Children's Museum, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, the New Orleans Botanical Garden, the kid-friendly Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, a golf course, equestrian stable, sports facilities, and picnic areas. Check the park's website for seasonal activities and special events, such as music festivals, the annual Easter egg hunt, and the eye-popping wonderland that is Celebration in the Oaks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. The Café du Monde coffee stand, behind the Sculpture Garden, serves hot beignets and café au lait 24/7. Most of the park's offerings are free, but several of the venues inside City Park charge separate admission fees. Open seasonally, the 17-ride Carousel Gardens Amusement Park(504/483–9402; $5 admission, rides $4 each) has a New Orleans treasure as its centerpiece: a 1906 carousel (one of only 100 antique wooden carousels left in the country) listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the cherished "flying horses," the park has rides like the Musik Express, Rockin' Tug, Coney Tower, Ferris Wheel, Bumper Cars, Monkey Jump, Red Baron miniplane, Scrambler, and Tilt-a-Whirl. The rides here are mostly geared to children, not hard-core thrill seekers, but adults and kids alike enjoy the miniature train that takes passengers on a gentle sightseeing tour through City Park. There are also two 18-hole miniature golf courses, one with a New Orleans theme and one with a Louisiana theme. The New Orleans Botanical Garden(504/483–9386; $8), opened in 1936 as a Depression-era project of the WPA, is one of the few remaining examples of public garden design from the art-deco period. The garden's collections contain more than 2,000 varieties of plants from all over the world, complemented by sites such as the Conservatory, the Pavilion of the Two Sisters, and the Yakumo Nihon Teien Japanese Garden, as well as theme gardens containing aquatics, roses, native plants, ornamental trees, and shrubs and perennials. The garden showcases three notable talents: New Orleans architect Richard Koch, landscape architect William Wiedorn, and artist Enrique Alférez. Adding a touch of fun, the Historic Train Garden, open on weekends, offers visitors the chance to enjoy baguette-size cars rolling through a miniature version of New Orleans. Featuring figures and settings from classic children's literature, the whimsical Storyland(504/483–9402; $5), adjacent to the amusement park, has been a favorite romping ground for generations of New Orleans kids. Youngsters can climb aboard Captain Hook's pirate ship, visit the old lady who lived in a shoe, and journey with Pinocchio into the mouth of a whale. There are more than 25 larger-than-life storybook exhibits in all.
View Tours and ActivitiesBordered by City Park Ave., Robert E. Lee Blvd., Marconi Dr., and Bayou St. John, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70124, USA504-482–4888 -
3. Alcée Fortier Park
Bayou St. JohnSituated at Esplanade Avenue and Mystery Street, this tiny sliver of a park was named for the philanthropist and professor Alcée Fortier, who owned much of the surrounding area in the late 19th century and who founded a public school. A neighborhood favorite, the park is almost completely maintained by the efforts of local volunteers who tend the lush landscaping, which includes palms, caladiums, and azaleas, keep up the collection of whimsical sculptures and art, and make sure the concrete chess tables are ready for game time (complete with baskets of chess pieces). A focal point of the Bayou St. John neighborhood, Alcée Fortier Park is surrounded by a concentration of hip restaurants and neighborhood grocers.
Esplanade Ave. at Mystery St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70119, USA -
4. Coliseum Square Park
Garden DistrictEstablished in the mid-19th century, this lush green space is the centerpiece of the lower Garden District. With cycling and walking trails as well as a beautiful fountain, the wedge-shape park is a great spot to stop and relax after a walk through the neighborhood. Although the area bordered by Race and Melpomene streets can be bustling with activity during the day, it's best not to wander around alone at night.
1700 Coliseum St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA -
5. Crescent Park
BywaterThe newest park in New Orleans stretches along the Mississippi riverfront and provides for spectacular views of the New Orleans skyline, Algiers, and the mighty Mississippi itself. The best place to enter the park is at Mazant Street in the Bywater, where you can explore the park's promenades, green spaces, and repurposed wharves, and walk the 1.4-mile path along the water. Plans are in the works to extend the park through the Marigny and beyond.
Mazant St. at Chartres St., New Orleans, Louisiana, USASight Details
Rate Includes: Daily 8–6 -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
-
6. Louis Armstrong Park
TreméWith its huge, lighted gateway and its paths meandering through 32 acres of grassy knolls, lagoons, and historic landmarks, Louis Armstrong Park is a fitting tribute to the famed jazz musician's legacy. Elizabeth Catlett's famous statue of Louis Armstrong is joined by other artistic landmarks, such as the bust of Sidney Bechet, and the park now houses the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. Inside the park and to the left is Congo Square, marked by an inlaid-stone space, where slaves in the 18th and early 19th centuries gathered on Sunday, the only time they were permitted to play their music openly. The weekly meetings held here have been immortalized in the travelogues of visitors, leaving invaluable insight into the earliest stages of free musical practices by Africans and African Americans. Neighborhood musicians still congregate here at times for percussion jams, and it is difficult not to think of the musical spirit of ancestors hovering over them. Marie Laveau, the greatly feared and respected voodoo queen of antebellum New Orleans, had her home a block away on St. Ann Street and is reported to have held rituals here regularly. Behind Congo Square is a large gray building, the Morris F.X. Jeff Municipal Auditorium; to the right, behind the auditorium, is the beautifully renovated Mahalia Jackson Center for the Performing Arts, which is home to the New Orleans Opera and the New Orleans Ballet and hosts an excellent year-round calendar of events—everything from readings to rock concerts. The St. Philip Street side of the park houses the Jazz National Historical Park, anchored by Perseverance Hall, the oldest Masonic temple in the state. However, be aware that the park is often nearly deserted, and bordered by some rough stretches of neighborhood; it's patrolled by a security detail, but be very careful when wandering and don't visit after dark.
View Tours and ActivitiesN. Rampart St. between St. Philip and St. Peter Sts., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117, USASight Details
Rate Includes: Auditorium and performing arts center for events; check local newspapers for listings
-
{{ (numCurrentPage-1)*numPageLimit+index+1 }}.
{{ item.neighborhood }} | {{ item.first_keyword }}{{ item.review }}
{{ item.address }}{{ item.phone[0] }}{{ item.details.title }} Details
{{ item.details.content.toString() }}View Tours and Activities -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
No sights Results
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Sights in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions:
