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    "parsed_content": "36 Hours36 Hours in New OrleansBy Shannon Sims and Cedric AngelesSept. 24, 2026Share full article\n 36 Hours New OrleansJump to: RecommendationsItineraryGoogle Map Share full article By Shannon Sims Photographs by Cedric Angeles Shannon Sims was raised in Louisiana and lives in New Orleans. She has contributed to the Travel section for nearly a decade. Sept. 24, 2026 Indulgent cuisine, rollicking live music and atmospheric street life have long made New Orleans an easy choice among fun-seeking travelers. But lately, these same elements are remixing in ways that warrant a fresh visit. Last year, the city received its first Michelin stars, and its distinctively local food scene continues to evolve and expand. The Mississippi River, the waterway that gave birth to New Orleans, feels more accessible than it has in generations, thanks to a triumphant new riverfront park. While many people sync their visits to Mardi Gras in February or the springtime Jazz Fest, autumn is an unsung time to explore the Big Easy, as locals emerge from their air-conditioned cocoons to enjoy pleasant weather, festivals and the advent of spooky season. (This is, after all, a city of aboveground cemeteries and voodoo heritage.) Just check the forecast before traveling \u2014 hurricane season lasts through November. ItineraryFriday 2 p.m. Get loud for a classic Cooler weather brings New Orleans\u2019s traditional oyster season, making autumn a particularly good time to visit (or revisit) Galatoire\u2019s. With its mirrored walls, gilded d\u00e9cor and buttoned-up service, the 121-year-old restaurant feels like a step back into Jazz Age elegance. On occasion, musicians might trumpet through the dining room, emphasizing the celebratory mood. That\u2019s especially true on Fridays once the French 75s, a New Orleans bubbly cocktail ($15), start flowing, sending the unlikely mix of downtown attorneys, ladies-who-lunch and dizzied tourists into a cacophonous roar. Make a reservation and try your oysters en brochette and wrapped in bacon ($19), or Rockefeller, under spinach ($20). Have a feather fascinator or a seersucker suit burning a hole in your closet? This is its moment to shine. Fifi\u2019s Custom Wigs 4 p.m. Go on a Quarter quest Often overlooked amid the frenzy, a number of locally owned boutiques in the French Quarter make for an excellent afternoon shopping adventure \u2014 especially after those French 75s. Fifi\u2019s Custom Wigs is a riotous stop where you can be fitted for your dream wig (ombre-pink chest-length wig, $60). Memorable souvenirs like T-shirts emblazoned with local slang (from $30) can be found at Fleurty Girl, while Krewe showcases New Orleans-inspired luxury eyewear favored by celebrities like Beyonc\u00e9 and Meghan Markle (best-selling St. Louis style, $375). Nola Kids has a wide variety of children\u2019s toys and local books, including \u201cScrim on the Run!\u201d which tells the story of the town\u2019s favorite pup. Fifi\u2019s Custom Wigs Dakar NOLA 8 p.m. Spoil yourself with a singular meal At $195, before tax, tip or alcohol, the tasting menu at Dakar NOLA carries one of the highest price points in town. But the extraordinary flavors offered by Serigne Mbaye, its Senegalese American chef \u2014 whom this year the James Beard Foundation anointed the best in the South \u2014 help soften the blow. Using local seafood and honoring Louisiana\u2019s love of spice, Mr. Mbaye taps the throughline between West Africa and Louisiana to reimagine traditional Senegalese food. Beautifully presented courses range from palm oil bread to delicately cured Gulf snapper. Though opened in 2022, this year the restaurant moved into a traditional New Orleans cottage, with creaky wooden floors that add to the intimate atmosphere. With just five tables, it\u2019s essential to reserve well in advance. Dakar NOLA 10 p.m. Turn it up at Tip\u2019s There\u2019s something special in the sauce at Tipitina\u2019s. Named for a song by a former club regular, Professor Longhair, the 1970s-era music venue on Napoleon Avenue once housed the studios of the beloved local radio station WWOZ; the network, based upstairs, would occasionally broadcast a show by lowering a microphone through a hole in the floor. Purchased in 2018 by local musicians, the two-story, standing-room-mostly venue with three bars is a reliable stop for great music most nights. Cover charges can vary, from free to over $100, and many shows sell out \u2014 so plan ahead. Walk \u2014 or ride \u2014 your way through Audubon Park, across St. Charles Avenue from Tulane University. Saturday Bearcat CBD 8:30 a.m. Bike to the Bywater For a hearty breakfast with Gulf flavors, try Bearcat, a friendly cafe in the Central Business District. Then, burn off your tofu quesadilla ($14) or crab scramble ($28) on the best bike tour in town. Jeff Shyman, an anthropologist by training and the owner of A Street Tour Named Desire, offers a daily 10 a.m. tour of the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, crafted to match your interests. Architecture fans will relish his explanation of traditional shotgun houses, and history buffs will appreciate seeing the Press Street train station where the Plessy v. Ferguson racial segregation case originated. Those simply looking to experience a less-touristy New Orleans will love cruising the smaller streets of the Bywater. The five-mile jaunt departs near Frenchmen Street, and bikes, helmets and water are all provided ($55 for a three-hour tour; kids welcome). Bearcat CBD Vaucresson\u2019s Creole Caf\u00e9 & Deli 1 p.m. Savor some soul food After Hurricane Katrina flooded their brick-and-mortar shop, Vaucresson\u2019s Creole Caf\u00e9 & Deli reopened in 2022 in its former sausage factory on St. Bernard Avenue \u2014 a second life for the 127-year-old family business. Vance Vaucresson, the restaurant\u2019s third-generation proprietor, is recognized as a \u201ctradition bearer\u201d by the Louisiana Folklife Commission for making traditional Creole sausages like andouille and spicy pork chaurice. Fans of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival may know the name from the popular stand at the city\u2019s springtime event. At the cafe, rich gumbo comes packed with seafood, with a crab leg dangling lusciously from the bowl ($14.95), and the sausage sampler includes crawfish, chicken and spicier Creole varieties ($21). Vaucresson\u2019s Creole Caf\u00e9 & Deli 2 p.m. Meander through museums You could spend whole days in the excellent National WWII Museum, in the Central Business District \u2014 and risk overlooking an array of smaller collections in the French Quarter. The Cabildo, the site of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies, offers an overview of Louisiana\u2019s unique history. The Presbyt\u00e8re, reopening Oct. 1 following a summer renovation, presents vintage Mardi Gras regalia and a moving exhibit on Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Jazz Museum celebrates the city\u2019s singular musical legacy. (Museum admission to each costs $15, but visit more than one and entry is discounted.) Nearby, the Historic New Orleans Collection conserves the city\u2019s history, and has an excellent gift shop for lagniappe \u2014 Louisiana Creole for \u201ca little something extra\u201d (free). For something weirder, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum has a historically significant, if macabre, collection of medical contraptions and potions ($10). Algiers Ferry 5 p.m. Meet the Mississippi The Mississippi River, New Orleans\u2019s raison d\u2019\u00eatre, has long felt strangely out of reach for visitors and locals alike. There were few spots to see it, and fewer places to pleasantly walk or lounge alongside it. That changed this year with the opening of the Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park, a 16-acre stretch that is just steps from the French Quarter. There are green spaces, a playground and a grassy embankment with trees that makes for a perfect place to toss a blanket and watch the traffic of tankers and tow boats cruise by \u2014 a front-row view of the American economy at work. Get closer to the water aboard the 10-minute Canal Street ferry to Algiers ($2 each way, wheelchair accessible), which takes you across the mighty Mississippi, and look back for a glimpse of the sun setting over the city. Algiers Ferry Sue Zemanick, executive chef and owner of Zasu 7:30 p.m. Mix flavors in Mid-City The chef Sue Zemanick opened Zasu in 2019, after more than a decade at the helm of Gautreau\u2019s, a New Orleans staple. Recently renovated, the space\u2019s location on an unglamorous stretch of Carrollton Avenue belies remarkable food \u2014 which was recently honored with a Michelin star. Zemanick\u2019s Slovak heritage and use of traditional Louisiana ingredients create unique flavor profiles. Marinated crab claws ($20), pimento cheese and potato pierogies ($35) and red snapper with gnocchi ($44), plus excellent service, make for a memorable evening. Although tempting, hold off on dessert and cross the street (carefully) to Angelo Brocato, a gelateria and pasticceria that opened in 1905 \u2014 a vestige of the city\u2019s turn-of-the-century wave of Sicilian immigrants (cannoli, $3.95; spumoni, $4.25). Sue Zemanick, executive chef and owner of Zasu Cafe Negril 10 p.m. Flit along Frenchmen For a rowdy weekend night, locals skip Bourbon Street and head to the excellent live music spots along Frenchmen Street. Most venues showcase multiple genres and don\u2019t require advance tickets; cover charges usually range from around $10 to $20. Expect jazz on the earlier side, and funk or brass after 10 p.m. Try the Spotted Cat Music Club for jazz, Bamboula\u2019s for Cajun and zydeco, DBA for brass bands, Cafe Negril for reggae and rock, and Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro for bigger names (and higher covers). Get the listings from WWOZ, or the Nola Show app, released last year. In the middle of it all is the charming, late-night Frenchmen Art Market with unique finds like cicada-adorned bolo ties ($25) and hand-printed bandanas ($40). Cafe Negril Live music venues like the Spotted Cat Music Club line Frenchmen Street, an alternative to busier Bourbon Street. Sunday Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden 9:30 a.m. Explore the city\u2019s biggest park In City Park, New Orleans\u2019s largest green space, moss-dripping oak trees older than the city itself rustle with white ibis and great blue herons \u2014 just mind the \u201cAlligators Present\u201d signs. Besides being a great place to jog or take photos, on Sunday mornings the year-round Crescent City Farmers Market pops up, showcasing the producers that are a key pillar of this food town. Grab a pecan croissant ($4.50) at Leo\u2019s Bread tent or, for sugar-dusted beignets ($4.50), take a seat at the less touristy outpost of Cafe du Monde, just in front of the market. Don\u2019t miss the world-class New Orleans Museum of Art\u2019s Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a free, 11-acre collection of around 100 pieces by artists ranging from heavy hitters like Auguste Rodin and Maya Lin to lesser-known names with works referencing the city\u2019s experience with natural disasters. Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden 11:30 a.m. Brunch amid bacchanalia The jazz brunch at Commander\u2019s Palace (three courses, from $44) is a festive way to toast a successful New Orleans weekend. The kitchen at the Garden District institution \u2014 now run by the executive chef Meg Bickford, and a pedigree that includes both Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse \u2014 might just turn out the best gumbo in town, and its bread pudding souffl\u00e9 is unforgettably decadent. Mind the dress code: This is a place to pull out your bow ties and pearls. If you prefer to clutch your pearls, however, try the vivacious drag brunch at the Country Club in the Bywater neighborhood. Reservations are essential at both. Audubon Park 1 p.m. Loop the loop To stretch your legs \u2014 and get a little peace and quiet \u2014 consider boarding the streetcar ($1.25) to Audubon Park, across St. Charles Avenue from Tulane and Loyola Universities, where a wide, paved walking and biking path is almost entirely shaded by a mesmerizing canopy of live oak trees. Embedded among stately old homes, the park also has lagoons, a zoo, a golf course and an island where snowy egrets gather. Turn the volume back up at a second line parade, a freewheeling, nonpareil New Orleans experience that happens every Sunday afternoon starting at around 1 p.m., except during the summer. The procession, led by the clamor of a brass band, grew out of Black social aid clubs of the 19th and early-20th centuries, which were often excluded from other city events. Hollis Burton of Treme Luxury Experience offers spirited guided tours to the parade ($50). Find the route and departure times at WWOZ\u2019s website. Audubon Park",
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