Few American cities boast a completely unique cuisine, history, and architecture like New Orleans. Home to Creole food and a history heavy on French and Spanish influences, the Big Easy is unlike anywhere in the country.
New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi Gras and partying, but beyond the lax liquor laws and wild celebrations is a city packed with character and culture. From iconic architecture (those balconies!) and art galleries to impressive street musicians and incredible food, there’s a lot to experience in the Big Easy. I spent a week exploring the culture and cuisine in New Orleans on my 6th annual Grinch Getaway, and it was beyond what I expected. (Here’s why New Orleans is a perfect place to spend Christmas.)
I expected it to be dirty and crowded with drunk idiots without anything to do. And that was partially true. But it was also way more. I experienced New Orleans beyond Bourbon Street and discovered an amazing city of culture and cuisine.
A Week of Culture & Cuisine in New Orleans: Experiencing New Orleans Beyond Bourbon Street
New Orleans is More Than a Party City.
When you think of New Orleans, you probably think of Mardi Gras. And when you think of Mardi Gras, you probably think of one giant party. That reputation started in the 1700s when Mardi Gras was first celebrated. It intensified in the 1880s when Creoles were perceived to have “loose morals” because they liked to drink and gamble, which lured tourists to the city. The reputation was finally solidified in World War II when servicemen stationed there visited the “risqué and exotic” parts of Bourbon Street and its popularity grew.
Today Bourbon Street (and New Orleans as a whole) has cleaned up, but the party atmosphere remains. Still, I preferred everything beyond Bourbon Street: history, culture, and food. Luckily I visited over Christmas and New Year’s, and for the first half of our trip the city was calm and quiet. Even Bourbon Street on Christmas was empty! That drastically changed by the time New Year’s Eve arrived, but it was nice while it lasted.
New Orleans is Covered in History.
In 2018 New Orleans celebrated its 300th birthday, but her story starts a thousand years ago. Native Americans first inhabited New Orleans before it was ruled by the Spanish, then the French, and finally the United States, where it was a hub for slavery. The history of New Orleans is complicated, complex, and — at times — uncomfortable. Its foundation is rooted in a clash of cultures. Today, that means Creole and Cajun culture. But in the past it meant bitter tensions, to say the least.
New Orleans was the largest city in the South and the first to be occupied in the Civil War, so the city survived without destruction. It’s the largest collection of antebellum architecture and holds many claims to the “country’s oldest.” Like St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the U.S. (originally built in 1718); the French Market, the oldest U.S. market of its kind (predating European colonization!); and the St. Charles Streetcar, the oldest continuously operated streetcar line in the world.
Just walking through the French Quarter is a history lesson. It’s worth discovering the details with a French Quarter history tour (or one combined with food) and visiting a plantation. We took a day trip to two plantations for a closer look at a bitter period in American history, and it was a highlight of our trip. (Here’s a guide to taking a plantation day trip.)
New Orleans has Amazing Food.
As someone who travels for food, people have been telling me to eat in New Orleans for years but I never took them seriously. Now I know how wrong I was! The food scene in New Orleans isn’t just on par with some of the country’s best food cities, it does it in a completely different way.
Food in New Orleans stays true to its history and culture, with majority of restaurants serving local cuisine. That means Creole and Cajun with an emphasis on seafood. While that may sound boring, the New Orleans take on Southern food is extensive enough to be entertaining for days on end. Trust me, it’s all we ate for a whole week! (The only exception was ramen for my New Year’s Day tradition.)
Creole cuisine is inspired by French, Spanish, West African, and Native American food; while Cajun heavily draws on French cuisine made with local ingredients. Dozens of dishes were developed in the Big Easy and the list of must-eat dishes in New Orleans is extensive. My favorites were gumbo (a meat stew) and shrimp Creole (shrimp in a spicy sauce). Here’s the what to eat — and where.
New Orleans is the Birthplace of Jazz — and it’s Everywhere!
Food wasn’t the only fusion of cultures developed in New Orleans. Music, too, intertwined European instruments with African rhythms, eventually evolving into jazz. New Orleans was the only North American city to allow slaves to gather in pubic and play native music, which mostly happened in Congo Square. (Today that’s Louis Armstrong Park.) The result was jazz.
Today jazz is everywhere in New Orleans. Dozens of jazz bars feature all different styles of the genre. But rather than searching out “the best jazz bar,” just find one playing what you like. (We were set on Spotted Cat but liked the music at Café Negril better.) Several are concentrated on Frenchmen Street, but the street musicians on every block are just as good. Or, visit the Museum or Jazz or take a jazz and cocktail tour.
New Orleans is Full of Beautiful Architecture.
Even before tasting the food or hearing street musicians, the architecture in New Orleans is an obvious example of the city’s diverse past. And that makes walking through each neighborhood entertainment in itself.
Like the French Quarter’s iconic iron balconies, an example of 18th Century Spanish architecture, mixed with colorful Creole cottages. Or the 19th Century mansions surrounding Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, the city’s oldest cemetery, in the Garden District. The cemeteries are worth a visit (or a guided tour) to see the above-ground tombs, another architectural icon of New Orleans, causing the city to become one of the world’s most haunted.
And in between it all are cafés, boutiques, restaurants, and bars. From the modern Croquette to the infamous Café du Monde (continuously open since the Civil War), there’s something for every mood. And to walk off all the food, there are art galleries, boutiques, and more than enough souvenir shops.
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Needless to say, despite what I originally worried, there is plenty to do in New Orleans beyond Bourbon Street. Our week of culture and cuisine was a memorable Christmas and a completely different experience than I expected.
Related:: where to eat New Orleans’ iconic dishes, what to do in NOLA, a plantation day trip, and why you should spend Christmas in New Orleans.
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