Elite Traveler Spring 2023

Left The French Quarter Below New Orleans Museum ofArt

elite traveler SPRING 2023 111

THE BIG EASY MUST-DOS From antiquing and gallery hopping your way along Royal Street in the French Quarter by day, to invoking the spirits on a voodoo tour with the self-anointed Voodoo Bone Lady (neworleans.com) and stopping at the Voodoo Museum (voodoomuseum.com), to enjoying some live jazz along Frenchmen Street by night, there’s no shortage of activities, from ghoulish to groovy, to choose from in New Orleans. Get a lay of the land and a behind-the-scenes look at what pre-war life was like in the French Quarter at the 1850 House (1850housestore.com) and museum just o ff Jackson Square, and don’t skip the gift shop for an excellent selection of books on o ff er for history lovers.

GETOUT OFTOWN Getting out on the water is one of the best ways to experience the local bayous Louisiana is known for, and from alligator spotting on an airboat adventure to a bayou booze barge and kayak tour through the Manchac Swamp for the more intrepid of travelers out there, there’s no shortage of activities to choose from. airboatadventures.com; admirenola.com

For a unique glimpse of the city, a dinner jazz cruise (steamboatnatchez.com) via steamboat along the Mississippi o ff ers a unique experience and vantage point. And there’s plenty of opportunities to soak up some culture at local museums like the Museumof Southern Jewish Experience (msje.org), The National WWII Museum (nationalww2museum. org), New Orleans Jazz Museum (nolajazzmuseum. org), New Orleans Museum of Art (noma.org) and Ogden Museum of Southern Art (ogdenmuseum.org).

WHEN TO VISIT

Left New Orleans Jazz& Heritage Festival

There’s always something cooking in New Orleans, starting with Carnival season, which o ffi cially kicks o ff on King’s Day (January 6) and continues all the way through Mardi Gras (on February 21 in 2023). Every April, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (nojazzfest.com) is held. It’s one of the best times of year for music lovers to visit; the energy is at an all-time high and live music can be found in bars and restaurants all across the city. Also happening in April, French Quarter Festival (frenchquarterfest.org) isa communitywide event that draws local artists and musicians across a variety of venues. Other noteworthy festivals include the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (nowfe.com) inJune, Satchmo SummerFest (satchmosummerfest.org) in August and Beignet Fest (beignetfest.com) in September.

Photos Adam McCullough / shutterstock.com, Arthur Maringoni / shutterstock.com, f11photo / shutterstock.com