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DK Top 10 New Orleans
DK Top 10 New Orleans
DK Top 10 New Orleans
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DK Top 10 New Orleans

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A fusion of African, Caribbean and European cultures, New Orleans is a place unlike any other: the birthplace of jazz, home to a tempting food scene, and host of one of the world’s biggest and best festivals.

Make the most of your trip to this exciting city with DK Eyewitness Top 10. Planning is a breeze with our simple lists of ten, covering the very best that New Orleans has to offer and ensuring that you don’t miss a thing. Best of all, the pocket-friendly format is light and easily portable; the perfect companion while out and about.

Inside DK Eyewitness Top 10 New Orleans: you will find:

-Up-to-date information with insider tips and advice for staying safe.
-Top 10 lists of New Orleans’ must-sees, including Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Mississippi Riverfront.
-New Orleans’ most interesting areas, with the best places for sightseeing, food and drink, and shopping.
-Themed lists, including the best museums and galleries, architectural highlights, live music venues, local dishes and much more.
-Easy-to-follow itineraries, perfect for a day trip, a weekend, or a week.
-A laminated pull-out map of New Orleans, plus five full-color area maps.

Looking for more on New Orleans’ culture, history and attractions? Try our DK Eyewitness New Orleans.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherDK Travel
Release dateJan 23, 2024
ISBN9780744099584
DK Top 10 New Orleans

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Rating: 3.4 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A new trip scheduled? My first planning step is to see if the place I am visiting has an Eyewitness Top 10 guide. I was in luck, as New Orleans is a part of that series. I love this set of travel books because it organizes travel details in a way that is super accessible and personally appealing. I love lists, and this is a book of lists. It begins with the top ten attractions in New Orleans, which is the central list in the book. The top ten of New Orleans includes Bourbon street, Royal street, the art museum, and the aquarium. The book then takes each attraction, and describes the top ten parts of that attraction. Following that are lists of different travel elements, such as restaurants and galleries and any element that particularly stands out for the designated destination. For New Orleans, that included some lists I haven't seen in all of the other travel books, like top ten offbeat activities. The second chunk of the book breaks the city (because these are always focused on cities) into regions and then generates lists based on the region. The final third of the book is a series of top ten lists about travel needs for that region, such as hotels and safety tips and the kind of information one needs when planning a trip. I have reviewed these books before, and as I have loved them in the past, I continue to love them in the present. This tour guide was a great help to my recent trip to New Orleans, and reaffirms my opinion that the Top 10 series is the best set of travel books available.

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DK Top 10 New Orleans - DK Travel

Table of Contents

Welcome to New Orleans

Exploring New Orleans

Top 10 New Orleans Highlights

New Orleans Museum of Art

New Orleans City Park

The National World War II Museumo

The Historic New Orleans Collection

Mississippi Riverfront

Jackson Square

Royal Street

Bourbon Street

Mardi Gras

Canal Street

The Top 10 of Everything

Moments in History

Architectural Highlights

Museums and Galleries

Off the Beaten Path

Children’s Attractions

Performing Arts Venues

Live Music Venues

LGBTQ+ Nightlife

Regional Dishes

Cafés

Restaurants

Shops and Markets

New Orleans for Free

Festivals and Events

Excursions and Day Trips

New Orleans Area by Area

Garden District and Uptown

CBD and Warehouse District

French Quarter

Bywater, Marigny, and Treme

Mid-City

Streetsmart

Getting Around

Practical Information

Places to Stay

Maps

Acknowledgments

Copyright

Discover the world with DK Eyewitness

Our travel writers report on what to see, eat, drink and do around the world, while the very best photographs and illustrations bring cities, regions and countries to life. We publish guides to more than 200 destinations around the world, from handy pocket-sized city guides to comprehensive country guides - all available in both print and digital formats.

Discover more at https://www.dk.com/travel

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TopTen

Clockwise from top: French Quarter buildings, the modern skyline, St. Mary’s Assumption Church, jazz performers in the French Quarter, Botanical Garden, a Mardi Gras costume

WELCOME TO NEW ORLEANS

The Crescent City. Birthplace of jazz and home to delicious Creole, Cajun, and Southern food. Wrought-iron railings, lively Mardi Gras, and rumbling streetcars. Voodoo and atmospheric cemeteries. Street musicians and parades. New Orleans is a small city with a huge reputation. With DK Eyewitness Top 10 New Orleans, it’s yours to explore.

Located at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River, a busy commercial waterway, New Orleans has a rich history. Here, French and Spanish influences blend with the Cajun and Creole flavors of Africa and the Caribbean. With its iron filigree balconies and centuries-old houses, the historic French Quarter is a living movie set, while the leafier environs of the Garden District house postcard-perfect Southern mansions. Stroll along the river or ride the streetcars for evocative tours of the neighborhoods.

New Orleans’ passion for the good life is obvious everywhere you walk, from its fine-dining restaurants to the street musicians’ jazz soundtrack. Traffic often stops for daily parades, which mark everything from weddings to funerals, and the exuberant Mardi Gras celebrations when the biggest street party extravaganza takes over the city for a month every year.

Whether you’re visiting for a weekend or a week, our Top 10 guide brings together the best of everything New Orleans has to offer, from beautiful green spaces such as City Park and infamous city hangouts such as Bourbon Street, to jazz clubs with the best local musicians, and testaments to history such as The National World War II Museum. Whether it’s seeking out what’s free or just avoiding the crowds, the guide has useful tips throughout, plus seven easy-to-follow itineraries designed to tie together a clutch of sights in a short space of time. Add inspiring photography and detailed maps, and you’ve got the essential pocket-sized travel companion. Enjoy the book and enjoy New Orleans.

Exploring New Orleans

New Orleans is one of the most interesting cities in the U.S., with historic neighborhoods dating back 300 years. There’s a lot to take in, so here are some ideas for a two- and four-day city adventure. The real beauty is that you can enjoy the best New Orleans has to offer by just walking around.

TopTen

Two Days in New Orleans


Day 1

Morning

Start with a walk past the steamboats and riverside lawns on the Mississippi Riverfront, then head to The Historic New Orleans Collection to learn about the past of this uniquely Caribbean–European–American city.

TopTen

The Mississippi Riverfront, with its steamboats, is a great starting point for exploring the city.

Afternoon

After crossing Canal Street, head into the Warehouse District to spend a while wandering around the enormous exhibits of The National World War II Museum. Then take the streetcar uptown and enjoy a walk around the sprawling Audubon Park.

TopTen

Audubon Park is an oasis of fountains and ponds fringed by tropical foliage.

Day 2

Morning

You can take your time admiring the diverse exhibits in the New Orleans Museum of Art, and visiting the adjoining Sculpture Garden. Stop at the Morning Call Coffee Stand before embarking on a walking or biking tour of New Orleans City Park.

Afternoon

Head downtown and buy some local art at Jackson Square, before browsing the galleries and antiques stores of Royal Street. When you’ve finished, Bourbon Street should be starting to get lively.

TopTen

The imposing St. Louis Cathedral is the centerpiece of New Orleans’ historic park, Jackson Square.


Four Days in New Orleans


Day 1

Morning

Start your day downtown, with the sights around Jackson Square and the Mississippi Riverfront, including the historic French Market.

Afternoon

You can meander toward Canal Street via the antiques shops and art collections on Royal Street before making your way back down Bourbon Street for world-class jazz clubs.

Day 2

Morning

Make it a day appreciating the wildlife of New Orleans. Start by taking a stroll through the vast Audubon Park, looking out for egrets and heron around Bird Island, in the center of the park’s lagoon.

Afternoon

To see more Louisiana wildlife, head out to the swamplands south of the city by boat on one of the Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours. You’ll spot alligators, deer, and many birds.

Day 3

Morning

Rent a bicycle and ride around the landscaped greenery of New Orleans City Park, stopping only to wander around the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Afternoon

Stroll along Decatur Street, stopping off for food and drinks, before jazz club-hopping your way up Frenchmen Street.

Day 4

Morning

Explore Armstrong Park, before a lunch break in Treme.

TopTen

The Louis Armstrong Park is perfect for a morning stroll.

Afternoon

Sunset brings out the colors of the houses in the Marigny and Bywater areas, and there’s time to see the city skyline from Crescent Park before dinner.


Top 10 New Orleans Highlights

8

St. Louis Cathedral, the centerpiece of New Orleans’ Jackson Square

Top 10 New Orleans Highlights

TT Back to Top 10 New Orleans Highlights

DK

New Orleans Museum of Art

The city’s oldest fine arts institution, and a historic landmark, the New Orleans Museum of Art, or NOMA, is one of the most important and comprehensive art museums in the Gulf South. This popular art repository displays works from the Renaissance to the modern era and is the centerpiece of the elegant New Orleans City Park. Its permanent collections and rotating exhibits rival the best museums in the country. NOMA is also a cultural center, hosting high-profile lectures, educational programs, films, and festivals.

NEED TO KNOW

prac_info 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans City Park • 504-488-2631 • www.noma.org • Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat • Adm $12 ($10 for seniors and students, $8 for children)

prac_info Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden: open 10am–6pm daily

Google Map

Take the Canal streetcar to City Park’s main entrance, and walk down the grand promenade to NOMA.

Just outside NOMA, Morning Call Café serves café au lait (French coffee) and beignets (pastries with powdered sugar).

TopTen

Floor Plan of NOMA

1. NOMA Photography Collection

The museum has over 13,000 images featuring some of the greatest achievements within the medium. The great photography displayed here includes works by Diane Arbus, Ansel Adams, Man Ray, and Clarence John Laughlin.

TopTen

Facade of NOMA

2. Friday Nights at NOMA

On select Fridays, NOMA hosts special events from 6pm. These include visiting exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, hands-on art workshops, family-friendly activities, and live performances.

TopTen

Visitors admiring art at the museum

3. Children’s Events

NOMA makes every effort to be a fine arts museum that serves families as well as art aficionados. If you’re traveling with children, check out their website for an events schedule that invariably includes creative workshops that are brilliant for artsy young travelers.

4. Museum Shop

No trip to NOMA is complete without a visit to the Museum Shop. It stocks products such as glass art, prints, books, and jewelry, among other things. It also showcases works by local artists.

5. The Annual Odyssey Ball

The premier event on the city’s social calendar, the annual Odyssey Ball takes place in November. On this day, the museum is beautifully decorated and features auctions, an orchestra, and dancing.

6. Modern Art

This display covers the major movements in 20th-century European and American art. The pieces by Andy Warhol are highlights. There are contemporary works too.

7. Café NOMA

The museum café is a sleek, atmospheric venue with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views over City Park. It was opened by New Orleans restaurant legend Ralph Brennan. The menu features a range of dishes prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients supplied by local farmers.

TopTen

Sleek interiors of Café NOMA

8. Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

Beautifully landscaped, this garden features an outdoor collection of more than 90 sculptures, most of which were donated by the Besthoff Foundation. A 6-acre (2.4-hectare) expansion in 2019 added an open-air amphitheater, pedestrian bridges, and a new gallery wing to the existing garden.

TopTen

Unique sculpture at the Sculpture Garden

9. Special Exhibitions

In the past, NOMA showcased traveling exhibitions ranging from multimedia works by local and international artists to the Treasures of Ancient Egypt.

10. Wellness Classes in the Sculpture Garden

The garden is a great place for yoga classes, held on select Saturdays.

THE BUILDING

Most visitors to NOMA are as dazzled by the building as they are by the exhibits inside. The Neo-Classical architecture of the original structure dates back to 1910. It was a gift from sugar broker Isaac Delgado, who envisioned a temple of art for the rich and poor alike. Wings added in the 1990s complement the original structure, while seamlessly integrating into the surrounding natural environment.

TT Back to New Orleans Museum of Art

TT Back to Top 10 New Orleans Highlights

FURTHER FEATURES OF NOMA

TopTen

Further Features of NOMA

1. European Art

French, Italian,

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