3 days in New Orleans: Preservation Hall, Frenchmen, a second line
Three nights built around live music: a Preservation Hall set, the clubs of Frenchmen Street, Bacchanal's garden and a Sunday second line, with beignets, a po'boy and the Garden District by day. Best October to May; second-line season runs August to June.
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- Day 18 am – 11 pm · 7 stops
- 8 am 1Beignets at Café du Monde, before the lineNew Orleans
An order of three beignets and a café au lait is the ritual every report starts with. Go early: the line on Decatur builds by mid-morning. An order is about $4.50 (Time Out, May 2026). Recent reports say it opens at 7am and closes late, earlier than its old 24-hour schedule, and readers still advise carrying cash.
3 min walk · 100 m - 8:45 am 2Jackson Square and St. Louis CathedralNew Orleans
Street musicians and painters set up around the square early. Step into St. Louis Cathedral between Masses, then cross Decatur to the Washington Artillery Park steps for the classic photo of the square and cathedral, as both itineraries suggest. Free.
11 min walk · 800 m - 10 am 3St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, official walking tourNew Orleans
The city's oldest cemetery, with Marie Laveau's tomb, can only be entered on the official guided tour, which checks in at the visitor center on Basin Street. Book a timed slot; tours run rain or shine. Adult gate price is about $30 (2026 listings). No food inside, capped water bottles are fine.
14 min walk · 1.0 km - 11:30 am 4French Market stalls for lunchNew Orleans
Six blocks of food stalls, pralines, hot sauce and crafts along the river. Both trip reports send you here for a casual lunch of a po'boy or gumbo and a box of pralines to take home. Budget about $20.
12 min walk · 900 m - 6:30 pm 5Dinner at Arnaud's, and a French 75New Orleans
A century-old Creole dining room that two first-hand itineraries name for dinner; one calls it their favourite in the city. The French 75 bar next door is the place for the cocktail of the same name. Reserve, and allow about $75 a head with a drink.
6 min walk · 400 m - 8:30 pm 6Preservation Hall, the 8:45 setNew Orleans
Forty-five minutes of traditional jazz in a bare room for 100 people. Sets run daily at 5:00, 6:15, 7:30 and 8:45pm, plus 2:30 and 3:45 on weekends. Tickets (card only): $25 standing, $40 seated, $50 front row; book ahead, seats are unassigned so line up early. No AC, no bar, no photos during the set.
7 min walk · 500 m - 9:45 pm 7Nightcap at the Carousel BarNew Orleans
The slowly revolving bar inside the Hotel Monteleone, where the Vieux Carré cocktail was born. Reports recommend it for a Sazerac or Vieux Carré after a show; seats on the carousel itself turn over, so wait a few minutes. About $18 a drink.
- Day 29 am – 11:30 pm · 7 stops
- 9 am 8St. Charles streetcar to the Garden DistrictNew Orleans
The oldest continuously running streetcar line in the world rolls under live oaks past the mansions. $1.25 a ride or a $3 day pass; pay with exact cash or the GoMobile app. Get off at Washington Avenue.
8 min by train or taxi · 3.1 km - 10 am 9Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, reopened for guided toursNew Orleans
Closed for seven years, it reopened on 1 October 2026 for small guided tours only (16 people, six sessions a day, 75 to 90 minutes), booked through the Preservation Resource Center. No walk-ups; book ahead and check the live calendar, as tours stop for funerals and weather. Price not published in the reopening reports.
3 min walk · 150 m - 11:30 am 10Garden District mansions on footNew Orleans
Loop Prytania and Coliseum Streets: Colonel Short's cornstalk-fence villa at 1448 Fourth Street and the Women's Opera Guild House at 2504 Prytania are the two houses reports name. The houses are private, so this is a sidewalk walk. Free.
3 min walk · 100 m - 12:30 pm 11Lunch at Commander's Palace, with the 25-cent martinisNew Orleans
The turquoise Creole institution across from the cemetery. Lunch is the reports' move: 25-cent martinis (a new one, The Vapors, was added in July 2026) and a set lunch. Reserve and dress smartly. Budget about $55 with drinks.
13 min walk · 950 m - 2:30 pm 12Magazine Street shopsNew Orleans
Six miles of boutiques, vintage and local-gift shops; both itineraries walk a stretch of it after the Garden District. Fleurty Girl and Miette are two named stops. Then rest before a late night.
8 min by train or taxi · 4.0 km - 7 pm 13Dinner and the early set at Snug HarborNew Orleans
Frenchmen Street's sit-down jazz room, with modern and traditional jazz at 7:30 and 9:30pm most nights and a dining room downstairs. Eat first, then take your seat. The music charge is a separate ticket that varies by band; the cost here is dinner only (about $45).
3 min walk · 50 m - 9:15 pm 14The Spotted Cat, then whatever band pulls you inNew Orleans
The small, packed jazz bar every report names on Frenchmen. It is cash only with a one-drink minimum. Lonely Planet's local advice is to wander the block and walk into any room whose music you like; most covers are $5 to $15 outside festival season.
- Day 39:30 am – 11:59 pm · 5 stops
- 9:30 am 15Congo Square and Louis Armstrong ParkNew Orleans
Where enslaved Africans gathered to drum and dance on Sundays, the root of the city's music. Two itineraries pair it with the Tremé before lunch. Free; go in daylight.
8 min by train or taxi · 2.5 km - 11 am 16A roast beef po'boy at Parkway BakeryNew Orleans
The po'boy reports keep coming back to, on the bayou in Mid-City: get the roast beef debris dressed. Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, closed Monday and Tuesday (official site). About $18 with a drink.
8 min by train or taxi · 2.3 km - 12:30 pm 17Follow a Sunday second lineNew Orleans
From late August to June a Social Aid and Pleasure Club parades most Sundays with a brass band, and anyone can dance along behind. Find the route and start point on WWOZ's Takin' It To The Streets listing. Arrive on time, wear good shoes, carry water and cash, and don't block the band. On other days, spend these hours at the National WWII Museum instead.
8 min by train or taxi · 3.4 km - 6 pm 18Wine and live music in Bacchanal's back gardenNew Orleans
A wine shop with a string-lit yard where a band plays every night. Pick a bottle and cheese in the shop, order small plates from the kitchen, then find a table outside. Two itineraries end a day here; one calls it the author's favourite place in the city. About $40 a head.
8 min by train or taxi · 2.4 km - 9 pm 19A brass band at the Blue NileNew Orleans
The Frenchmen club for brass and funk: its calendar has had the Street Legends Brass Band on Sunday nights, New Breed and the Soul Rebels midweek and Saturdays, and Kermit Ruffins on Fridays. 21 and over; some shows sell tickets ahead, others at the door an hour before. Cover varies by band.