We started off June with a 4 day trip to New Orleans. John had to go for work, so we tagged along for the food + fun. From the Cajun Spices to the yummy beignets, we ate our way through New Orleans, and I can’t wait to go back and visit again, soon.
You guys asked a lot of questions about our trip, and below I’ll answer all of them. From where we ate, to what we did, New Orleans was definitely doable with a child!
The no. 1 question via Instagram was… Is New Orleans kid friendly? My answer to this is ABSOLUTELY. That being said, I think it depends on the child and how well they listen and behave. New Orleans is a busy town, with a lot of people, so we made sure to sit Riley down and tell her she always had to hold someone’s hand + never step off the sidewalk. We also had a talk about the homeless people around, so she didn’t ask questions when we walked past them.
I’m not going to lie, when we arrived to New Orleans (this was my first time), it was a bit of a culture shock. There’s a lot of poverty and homeless people on the streets that lead to the French Quarter, and going in I didn’t know what to expect. Katrina left a mess in New Orleans and it’s very sad seeing how many people it affected.
That being said, no one bothered us when we walked past them, and it was a good learning experience for Riley. It was the perfect opportunity to teach her about compassion for other people, and that the world isn’t always perfect.
We did a lot of walking in New Orleans, so I feel like I should mention that the sidewalks aren’t really stroller friendly. Now that didn’t stop us from pushing Riley around, but most of the sidewalks are still cobblestones, and even walking them without tripping is a challenge. So if you’re planning on pushing a stroller, go in knowing that it’s going to be a bump ride.
We arrived on a Wednesday and checked in the JW Marriott. It was the perfect hotel towards the nicer end of Canal Street. We loved that we were able to walk to the French Quarter + Jackson Square from our hotel, in about 5 minutes.
If you stay towards the end of Canal, the best “kid friendly” streets to walk down to the French Quarter + Jackson Square is Royal St., Chartres St. and Decatur St.
At all cost, I’d avoid Bourbon Street with kids! You can’t unsee some things on Bourbon, and it’s def not anywhere I would want to take my child.
Day 1
After checking in the hotel, we walked to get a snack + drink at Pat O’briens.
If you’re a fan of Hurricanes, this place is known for their Famous Drink.
We sat outside on the patio by the waterfall and it was the perfect treat after a long day of travel. For food we ordered the crawfish Dip + Fried Alligator Tails. Both were amazing!
After our snacks, we walked around the French Quarter, so we could map out where we wanted to visit + eat, over the next three days.
We headed back to the hotel, freshened up, and walked to dinner around 7pm.
Dress | Sandals | Bag | Earrings
Dinner was at Cafe Amelie, and luckily we were able to walk in and be seated. I’ve heard that you normally need a reservation here, so I think luck was on our side.
The weather was so nice, so we were able to enjoy the patio.
I ordered Shrimp & Grits, and if I could rate them on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the highest.. I would give them a 5. They weren’t bad, but not great either. If that makes any sense.
I don’t know if it was the overload of corn, or the lack of heat from the spices, but I think I would have enjoyed it a little more if it had a kick.
For dessert, Riley + John grabbed beignets from Cafe Du Monde, and we called it a night.
Day 2
John had to go into work for the day, so Riley and I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, then hit the pool till the early afternoon. Once John got back to the hotel, we walked over to the Jackson Square, which is a must see when you visit.
We didn’t get to tour the St. Louis Cathedral, but the outside was absolutely beautiful.
Monday- Thursday, Jackson Square closes around 6pm, so if you want to walk through it, make sure you do it first. It’s open later on the weekends.
If you walk in front of the St. Louis Cathedral, there’s tons of fun street performers that you can sit down and watch. These performers perform for a living, so if you do enjoy their show, you should make sure to carry some cash, so you can tip them when they’re done.
Parent Tip: If your child loves Princess and the Frog, you can see a nice gentleman here that kind of resembles the Magic Man. I don’t think he’s going for the Magic Man look, but Riley was fascinated with him, and was so excited she “found” him. We went along with it, and were on the look for Mama Ode, next.
We headed to Dinner at Muriel’s, and let me tell you… the food was amazing! I got the special, which was some type of fish that I can’t remember and John got the scallops. We left so stuffed, but completely happy!
Simply divine.
Riley loved the fact that they sat us next to the window, so she could watch the “Magic Man” from her seat. We lucked out, and won some major parent points with this! #thankyoujesus
Anytime we visit a historical town, we try to do as many tours as possible. So after dinner, we headed over to the front of Jackson Square, and booked a carriage riding tour. In my opinion this is a must if you want to learn a lot about the French Quarter. We lucked out with our tour guide, and let’s just say, she was a feisty little thing.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in Cafe Beignet for some beignets and water, and they didn’t disappoint.
It’s also another restaurant that’s normally packed, so I think the time of year was working in our favor.
Day 3
We had a busy day planned, and it was a hot one… so we fuelled up with breakfast at The Ruby Slipper Cafe, which was about 2 minutes (walking) from our hotel.
If you’re a brunch person, this will be your place!
I went with the Skinny Migas, which was amazing and John got some kind of Egg Benedict. We also tried the Irish coffee and the breakfast Bellini’s.
After breakfast, we hopped on the street car and headed over to the Garden District.
John booked a walking tour in the Garden District.. and let me just start by saying, don’t do this at 11am. Riley and I both weren’t impressed with him because it was hotter than hades, but we did the damn thing, and I’m glad we did.
We got to see Sandra Bullocks home, along with John Goodman’s + Archie Manning’s. Sadly, Sandra wasn’t home, but it was cool to see her house.
If you’re into scary shows and watched American Horror Story, the house used as a setting in Season 3 is found in the Garden District, too. Of course I forgot to take a picture.
The houses in the French Quarter are beautiful, but the houses in the Garden District were out of this world. I could walk around for hours (when it’s not hotter than hell) enjoying the scenery.
Our walking tour took a couple of hours, so towards the end, Riley was over it (let’s be honest.. I was too) so we dipped out before they got to the cemetery and hopped back on the Street Car and headed to Jack Rose.
My Amazon outfit is linked here
Jack Rose has my heart! Seriously the cutest place I’ve ever seen. We were still full from breakfast, so we cooled off with some drinks and snacked on some pimento cheese. Holy Moly, everything was GREAT! I still have dreams about the Coconut drink called Endless Summer + that yummy pimento cheese plate!
How amazing is this Lil’ Wayne picture? The best part is that the whole sitting area revolves around it.
I wish we actually ate here, because I’m sure the food is great, so it’s another one on my list to revisit when we go back.
We were exhausted after a full morning + mid afternoon of playing tourist, so we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool one last time.
Look at that sweet face. There’s no question that she loves her Daddy.
For dinner I was wanting pasta, so we walked over to The Original Pierre Maspero’s, and the cajun shrimp pasta hit the spot. I finally found some food with a kick, and it was totally worth all the carbs.
I have no idea what John got because I was so into my food.. ha.. so if you’re going for cajun pasta, this place is a must.
After Dinner, we let Riley pick out some chocolates at Sucre and then headed back over to Jackson Square to let her run around. If you love gourmet chocolates or macarons, its a cute place to check out.
Day 4
Saturday was our last day, and we went out with a bang! Father’s Day was on Sunday, and would be spent driving home, so we decided to celebrate at Commanders Palace.
At the end of every trip, we all say what our favorite part was… our time at Commanders Palace was top on my list.
The Commander’s Palace has been around since 1893, being one of the oldest restaurants in New Orleans. It’s known for being a restaurant you go to celebrate a special occasion and the experience is made to be one you’ll never forget.
My Dress | My Shoes | Riley dress is an older Lilly Pulitzer print
Tip: Your meal requires a reservation and the dress code is business attire.
During brunch, they set out balloons at every table + they have a Jazz band that comes around and plays for you. Riley was in absolute heaven.
Brunch includes a three course meal. For our starters, John got the Snapping Turtle Soup and I went with the Shrimp & Tasso Henican.
Y’all… I can’t express how great this dish was, but lets just say we licked the plate.
For my main course I got the Cochon De Lait Eggs Benedict. It was good, but honestly nothing could compare to the shrimp I just got done eating.
Riley was over chicken fingers and fries, so the Chef made her special pancakes (which aren’t on the menu) and she was ecstatic. They even made her an ice cream sundae, and to say she felt special would be an understatement.
Watching her throughout the meal made it all so sweet. From her excitement over the balloons when we arrived, to them going above and beyond to make her feel important… she was so happy and it showed through her face.
For our dessert, John went with the Pecan Pie a la Mode, and I ordered the Louisiana Blueberry Crisp. Both were great, but the blueberry crisp was my favorite. It was topped with homemade cream cheese ice cream, and holy moly it was worth waiting the extra time it took!
If you end up ordered the Blueberry Crisp, make sure you tell them when you sit down at your table, because it takes about 30 minutes to make.
Lunch came to an end, so we headed back to the car and changed into some comfier clothes. This was the only day we drove anywhere and we never had a problem finding parking spots. Again, I think it all had to do with the time of year that we went, but I was glad to finally be driving instead of walking around in the heat.
We stopped by the Ashley Longshore art gallery, so I could pick up her book. If you haven’t heard of her, she does really cool paintings (the Lil’ Wayne painting at Jack Rose) but most of them aren’t really appropriate for kids. Luckily, Riley cant read yet, or she wouldn’t have been allowed in there. Haha!
It was calling for rain the entire afternoon, so we headed to the Zoo and were able to walk around for a couple of hours before the storm.
If you’re traveling with kids, the Zoo has a water park attached to it, so this is a must for a fun day. Sadly, the rain ruined the water park for us, but we still had a good time checking out all the animals.
New Orleans was a great place to visit, especially if you like to eat. The city has so much charm and history, that you’ll take away so much durning your stay. If you do happen to visit and need help with your itinerary, feel free to reach out and ask me any questions.
Lastly, If I can offer you any advice… bring plenty of bras + good shoes if you plan on doing a lot of walking (trust me on this) and don’t forget your tums. Waking up with heartburn in the middle of the night is never fun!
xoxo- Lauren