Just got back from New Orleans. I didn't love it, but I really want to understand why.
EDIT: My post cut off my day itinerary so I reposted it.
TLDR: 26F Canadian took a 5-night trip to New Orleans, drawn by the city's history, gothic aesthetic, and seafood. Despite a well-researched itinerary, including swamp, plantation, & cemetery tours, and perusing through City Park & Garden District, I left feeling a bit underwhelmed and like the city didn't quite "click" for me. Where did I go wrong?
Hey everyone,
I’m a 26F who just got back from a 5-night trip to New Orleans with my boyfriend (35M). To give you some context, we are from a relatively large, very clean city in Canada and live in the suburbs. We aren’t big partiers, but we enjoy having a drink or two (me more than him!), but we weren't looking for a massive rager. For reference, I am a massive traveller, having taken solo trips to USA/Europe before as well. BF isn't as well travelled as me, but is pretty go-with-the-flow.
I’ve always felt super drawn to NOLA. I love history, I’m obsessed with reptiles/gators, and honestly, seeing the city in movies, shows, and video games like Red Dead Redemption 2 (Saint Denis) made me fascinated by the ghost, vampire, swamp, and southern gothic aesthetic. Also have loved reading Faulkner recently.
I also LOVE spicy food, and seafood, but cannot eat pork. My BF will try absolutely anything and he loves seafood as well and no dietary restrictions lol.
We stayed at a hotel on the lower end of the French Quarter (near Decatur/French Market), which felt like a great location. I meticulously planned our itinerary, with leaving room for breaks/rests, but looking back, I left feeling kind of... underwhelmed?
(EDIT: This was missing Here’s what we did: )
Day 1: Arrived, walked Frenchmen St, did some souvenir shopping, and walked around the lower Quarter. Honestly, it felt a bit unsafe even in the early evening. We went to Coop's Place, had the Shrimp Creole, and sat at the bar. It was really chaotic, but I expected that since it's a dive bar. However, the walk there felt incredibly intense. I've been to Seattle, so I'm used to seeing a large homeless population, but the folks we encountered here felt uniquely aggressive and antagonistic.
Day 2: Did a tour of Oak Alley & Laura Plantation. Seeing the RDR2-inspired oak trees was very cool! Had dinner at MRB afterward, and the char-grilled oysters were REALLY good.
Day 3: Swamp Tour (loved seeing the gators, a huge highlight for me). Got beignets at Cafe Beignet on Decatur, but they were just okay. Visited Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral. Checked out Bourbon Street and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop in the evening, and had a muffuletta and a po'boy at Napoleon House. I didn't like the po'boy, and the muffuletta was just... okay? I did like the Purple Drank from Lafitte's, but it wasn't anything mind-blowing. We walked down Bourbon St just to check off the box, but didn't stay long.
Day 4: City & Cemetery bus tour (St. Louis #3). Explored the French Market and got crawfish/crab beignets at Loretta's—these were truly amazing and my absolute favorite beignets of the trip. Later, we had regular beignets at Cafe Du Monde in City Park, which were fine, but nothing special. However, I absolutely loved the atmosphere in City Park during the early afternoon. In the evening, we went to the Orpheum Theatre for the Ethel Cain concert (and took an Uber back to the hotel for safety).
Day 5: Brunch at Brennan's (turtle soup, crispy soft-shell crab, and the Bananas Foster). It was amazing. We had originally planned to take the ferry to Algiers Point, walk the levee, and get tacos at Barracuda, but we ended up skipping it because we just wanted to relax and use our hotel's pool at the end of the trip.
I didn't hate it, but the magical spark I expected just wasn't there, and I’m trying to figure out if it was a mismatch of expectations, if we hit the wrong spots, or if the city just isn't for me...
For reference, I planned the itinerary with downtime and breaks, and it felt like a good balance. We never felt overly exhausted, despite the humidity lol.
Here is a quick breakdown of what we did:
My reflections: The highlights for me were definitely seeing the gators on the swamp tour, and the beignets from Loretta's. I will say, I did get an authentic, laissez-faire vibe here, and felt very welcome by everyone I met (except the homeless... lol). Like, sure, some of the stores in the French Quarter are "spooky vibes", but I didn't feel it was very gimmicky like it has in places like Nashville, Vegas, or even in California. It felt authentic, which was really nice.
But overall, the city just didn't "click" the way I thought it would. Maybe coming from a very clean, suburban Canadian environment made the grit of the city a harder adjustment than I expected?
Disappointed that anything with gator meat had some variation of beef or pork in it, rather than being pure gator. And, on top of it, I just felt that while the cuisine is interesting, it just... didn't seem like anything THAT crazy? Like the shrimp creole was flavorful, but I just don't see how it’s so renowned. I do wish I could try gumbo but everywhere we went had pork in it, which is sad but was expected by me.
I’m posting this with total respect for your city, but I'm genuinely curious: looking at our itinerary, did we approach NOLA the wrong way? Did we spend too much time in the tourist bubbles, or is New Orleans just a vibe that doesn't resonate with everyone?
I will say I really loved the architecture, Loretta's beignets, and the char-grilled oysters, but it just didn't really feel all that crazy to me, like how much people rave about it? I will say, I went to Nashville last year, and to me and my bf, we are not huge fans of live music (to be honest, the bars play it so fucking loud I can't hear myself think and it all just sounds like noise...). I will say I really wanted to go for Jazz Brunch though, but it was already all reserved so no spots for that.
People say that New Orleans will sense your energy and hug you if you're welcome, or not... I presume I did not get a hug lol.
Would love to hear your thoughts or honest feedback!