New Orleans in 4 Days: a guidebook for getting the most out of your visit

New Orleans has something to offer every tourist, from beautiful natural attractions to events that celebrate the unique culture and cuisine of this city. Of course, there are many things to see and do in New Orleans, but with this four-day itinerary you won't miss a thing.

During these four days you'll discover the public side of New Orleans, with tours of its main avenues and neighbourhoods (starting with the French Quarter). But you'll also get to know the more intimate side of the city, through its flavours (the characteristic Cajun and Creole cuisine), its stories, its religious syncretism and the warmth of its people.

The itinerary begins with a minibus tour of the city's main points of interest.

The first destination to see is the French Quarter, the city's cultural jewel par excellence.

This is followed by a guided tour of Mardi Gras World, an attraction for the whole family. And to end the day, a steamboat tour on the Mississippi.

New Orleans minibus tour

Your itinerary starts with a bus tour of New Orleans, which will help you get acquainted with the city's rich history and culture early and quickly.

The tour lasts about three hours and the seat per person costs between 28 and 32 euros.

My recommendation is to book the tour starting at 9 a.m., so you'll be free for lunch by midday. An air-conditioned minibus will pick you up directly from your hotel (or a central location in the city) at the agreed time.

The tour usually starts in the French Quarter. During this first stop you will learn about the history of one of New Orleans' oldest neighbourhoods.

Next you will visit City Park, the green lung of New Orleans, the Garden District, famous for its 19th century mansions, the War II Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

The tour ends at Metairie Cemetery, the city's architectural landmark, and Saint Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the United States. At the end of the tour, the bus returns to the starting point of the tour.

Tour Mardi Gras World, the place where the magic of Carnival is made.

It's midday and you're sure to have worked up an appetite. Well, in the French Quarter itself you'll find several options for lunch, but my recommendation is to head to Royal Street (it's on the way to the next attraction on the itinerary), and have lunch at The Court of Two Sisters restaurant; reservations are recommended, but not essential.

After lunch, continue down the street (walking south) and keep your eyes peeled for a right turn onto Coti Steet. From there, uphill, a two-minute walk will take you to the next point on our itinerary: The Mardi Gras World.

Here you will participate in a guided walking tour of Mardi Gras World, a gigantic warehouse where New Orleans' best artists gather to build the most creative floats. (The float parades are perhaps the main attraction of Mardi Gras, New Orleans' carnival).

Mardi Gras World is located on the left bank of the Mississippi River. This tour lasts about an hour and a half and you can book your place on it from 20 euros.

An important detail is that the transport for this tour picks you up from at least 20 central points in New Orleans.

Throughout the tour of Mardi Gras World, an expert guide will tell you about the history of Mardi Gras World and its relationship to carnival in the city. Children are also provided with play areas and the chance to see the floats up close. At the end of the tour you can also try a piece of king cake, the typical Mardi Gras food.

Dinner cruise on the Mississippi while listening to a live jazz concert

We end the day with a cruise on the Mississippi aboard a steamboat, a traditional symbol of New Orleans. Both Mardi Gras World and the steamboat harbour are located on the left bank of the Mississippi River, so a taxi can take you from one point to the other in just 10 minutes.

This river cruise takes about two hours and tickets can be purchased from 35 euros.

During this tour you will not only witness the light show that New Orleans presents at night, but you will also enjoy a delicious dinner (or lunch), with typical food of the city, various cocktails, and a live jazz (or steam piano) concert.

Important: the cruise has disabled access, but access to the upper deck is by stairs only. Please note this when booking your seat.

The second day will not be spent visiting new attractions, but rather taking a more extensive tour of three places you already visited the day before: the French Quarter, the World War II Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

To properly enjoy the tourist experiences that each of these destinations has to offer, it is necessary to take your time and take it easy. They are also three of the city' s most historically and culturally significant points of interest.

Extended tour of the French Quarter

It takes at least a couple of hours to discover and get to know the French Quarter properly. Adventure lovers may want to explore the hidden corners of this neighbourhood on their own, now that they know where it is.

But if you prefer to have a guide, you can also join a historical walking tour of the French Quarter. You can book your place for this guided tour from 14 euros. In both cases, I recommend a morning tour.

In addition to its attractive architecture, which includes period houses recognisable by their colourful balconies, the French Quarter also attracts attention for being the epicentre of multiple live concerts and colourful parades every day. You can see the latter for yourself when you pass through Jackson Square.

Along the way, those who want to sample some of the city's typical food can pop into Café de Monde for a breakfast of beignets and a delicious café du lait. Beignets, for those interested in New Orleans cuisine, are a type of doughnut covered in icing sugar, probably inspired by the French dessert of the same name.

Immersive World War II Museum Tour

At 1 p.m., before lunch, you'll head to the city's Central Business District to visit the New Orleans World War II Museum.

I recommend getting there using the old New Orleans Railroad (you can hop on near the French Quarter and it costs around 1.25 euros). Get off at the Lee Circle monument, and walk across Andrew Higgins Boulevard, walking in the direction of the Mississippi River, until you see the museum appear on your left.

Tickets for the museum are available from 29 euros. Once inside, I recommend you head to the American Sector restaurant (which is on the premises) for lunch and then spend some time on your tour.

This World War II Museum in New Orleans offers an immersive experience, teaching visitors from different perspectives about America's involvement in World War II.

The exhibits also seek to explain what the US intervention in this clash meant to the world.

The museum uses interactive routes, accompanied by various historical resources, from videos, photographs and oral testimonies, to weaponry, uniforms, among others.

The tour is organised to last between two and three hours, but in case you have any delays in your plans for the day, keep in mind that the museum is open until 5pm.

Visit the New Orleans Museum of Art

Around 3 p.m., exit the World War II Museum and head to Calliope Street to catch the bus to City Park, where your next destination is the New Orleans Museum of Art. This is one of the city's most important cultural attractions.

Tickets can be purchased from 8 euros on the museum's official website.

The museum's exhibitions cover art from antiquity (the exhibition dedicated to the Egypt of Queen Nefertari stands out, with more than 220 original pieces), through the pre-Columbian period, to modernity and the contemporary era. Of particular note from the latter period is a small collection of works by French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas.

Other exhibitions are dedicated to promoting art made in New Orleans. Note that the museum is open until 6 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Also, once you leave, if you're hungry, you can head to Ralph's on the Park, a popular Cajun and Creole restaurant across the street from the park's main exit.

On your third day in New Orleans you will visit the swamps on the outskirts of the city (this is the environment where the Cajun culture originated). You will then visit one of Louisiana's most famous plantations.

Combining a tour of the New Orleans plantations with a tour of the city's bayous will result in a lower final price than if you booked them separately.

Both tours include transportation and a local guide, who will give you multiple facts about the swamp ecosystem and the history of the plantations. This double tour starts around 9 a.m. and lasts about seven and a half hours.

Oak Alley Plantation Guided Tour

Early in the morning, an air-conditioned shuttle will pick you up from your meeting point and take you to Oak Alley Plantation, a sugar plantation complex built in the early 19th century.

Once on site, your guide will give you a tour of the mansion, the main building of the plantation. This house is filled with artifacts from the time when large Southern landowners lived there. No photos are allowed inside the mansion, only from the balconies.

Outside the house you can visit the mansion's gardens and fields, which are the actual plantation. In another wing of the complex there is also an exhibition dedicated to informing you about the role slaves played in the development of the plantation.

Before moving on to the second part of the tour you will have time for a snack or lunch. This part of the tour lasts about two hours.

Expedition with local guide through the swamps of New Orleans

After noon, a shuttle will take you to a private wildlife refuge, located in one of New Orleans' marshlands, for a boat expedition through the city's own ecosystem.

Once there, your guide will give you interesting facts about the swamp and the wildlife that inhabits it.

During this tour of the New Orleans swamps you'll be able to take wonderful photos of the local wildlife, which includes turtles, raccoons, owls, snakes, wild boars and alligators, and if you dare, you can even catch a baby alligator.

All animal handling, of course, takes place under the supervision of your captain, a Cajun expert on native species.

Your guide will also explain details about Cajun culture, which emerged when a group of French settled in this territory in the mid-18th century after being expelled from Canada by the English army.

The tour includes a traditional Cajun lunch and a visit to Lake Pontchartrain.

On your fourth day in New Orleans, you'll immerse yourself in a culinary and cultural experience that will give you a first-hand look at the city's culinary highlights and the best spots to celebrate with alcohol.

Both the food tour and the drunken history tour take place within the French Quarter, so you won't waste any time moving from one tour to the other.

Join a food tour of the French Quarter, and discover the most historically significant places to sample Cajun and Creole food

The city's cuisine has produced two distinct (but commonalities): Cajun and Creole.

On your last day here, you'll join a food-focused tour of the French Quarter that will introduce you to both culinary traditions. The tour **usually starts at 1:**30pm, 61 per person.

On this food tour you'll visit Antoine, the oldest restaurant in New Orleans (founded in 1840), and one of the best places to sample Creole food, known for dishes like beef brisket with horseradish sauce and gumbo.

Creole cuisine employs a wide range of ingredients in its recipes due to the French, Spanish, Italian, Caribbean, and African influences that have shaped it. In these dishes you will find ingredients such as flour, smoked ham, chives, beans, rice, among others.

Later you'll visit Remoulade's, an essential stop for Cajun food. It was created by French settlers who settled in the swamps of New Orleans in the 18th century.

This cuisine focuses on dishes made from sea animals (e.g. turtle soup), and uses mostly onions, garlic and peppers.

Join a historical tour of the best bars in the French Quarter and learn about the origins of voodoo in New Orleans

Your itinerary ends with a tour that combines two of New Orleans' top cultural attractions: a tour of must-see voodoo pilgrimage destinations and a visit to the best bars in the French Quarter.

The Drunk History Tour lasts approximately 2 hours and costs between 29 and 35 euros.

During the first part of the tour you will visit the home of the voodoo queen, Marie Laveau.

Laveau gained enormous prestige in New Orleans in the 1800s for offering her services as a voodoo priestess. Voodoo is a syncretistic faith, blending elements of West African religions with French Catholicism.

This first part of the tour includes visits to buildings where ghost sightings have been reported.

Finally, you'll take a tour of the best bars in the French Quarter, most of which (both for their historical value and the drinks they serve) are on Bourbon Street.

Here you'll hear more than one story of famous drunks/important city events that started with a night of drinking in the French Quarter.

During the summer, the heat (with temperatures ranging from 34-35°C) and humidity of New Orleans can be a bit harsh for travellers. Because of this, many travellers feel that the best time to travel to New Orleans is not in the middle of summer.

So when is the best time? Public opinion agrees that there are two periods of cool weather when it is ideal to visit New Orleans: late March through the first half of May and early October through mid-November.

There are some activities on this itinerary that do not have the necessary infrastructure to include people with physical disabilities (such as limited movement).

For this reason, if you or any of your companions have a disability, it is important that you notify the company organising the activity you wish to participate in in advance. This way you will be able to enjoy your plans without any setbacks.