A Pretty Guide to New Orleans

Happy travel Thursday pretty friends! Today I wanted to share a recap of my trip to New Orleans last month. This was a very last minute, quick trip to New Orleans so the guide is fairly short. Nevertheless we packed a lot of fun activities into 24 hours! And of course we ate…A LOT while we were there! But what’s the fun in traveling if you aren’t going to indulge in the local cuisine?

When you think of New Orleans what comes to mind? Perhaps Mardi Gras, beignets and divine cajun food. That’s what comes to my mind! I’ve been going to New Orleans since I was a young girl and have always had a wonderful time there. I went to undergraduate 2 hours away so it was an quick drive to the Big Easy. When I experienced Mardi Gras for the first time it completely blew my mind. It’s actually a very family focused event where families bring their kids to have fun catching beads! Definitely no nudity, well with the exception of Bourbon Street but that’s easy to avoid.

I hope this recap will show you how fun and easy it is to plan a quick trip to New Orleans! Let’s jump right in!

Where We Stayed

We decided to take a trip to New Orleans to celebrate my brother and sister’s birthdays, and a few weeks before the trip, I booked our stay at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. I had never stayed there before, but after reading glowing reviews and seeing how beautiful it looked, I knew it was the perfect choice.

When we arrived, we valet parked the car and headed up to our room. It was fabulous — elegant and timeless with that classic New Orleans charm. The hotel had even set up a little crib for Robinson, so we didn’t have to bring his pack-and-play, which was such a thoughtful touch!

The best part about Hotel Monteleone is its unbeatable location right in the heart of the French Quarter. From our room, we could easily walk to all the main attractions — and, of course, to grab beignets, which was first on our list!

Where We Ate

As mentioned before, the first place we headed to after checking into our hotel was Cafe du Monde. This is one of those restaurants that always lives up to the hype. The beignets are cooked to perfection and the coffee is always served just right. No trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Cafe du Monde.

After eating a few beignets we walked around French Quarter for a while. We shopped around Canal Street {they have local shops and big stores like Anthropologie and Saks!} then headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. I posted on my Instagram that I was heading to NOLA for the weekend and needed some restaurant recommendations. I got plenty of suggestions but we decided to go with Meril. This delicious restaurant is Chef Emeril Lagasse’s newest concept and fourth restaurant in New Orleans. I highly recommend going here for dinner while you’re visiting, especially if you are celebrating a birthday! If you let them know it’s one of your guests birthdays, they bring out cotton candy and a giant sparkler! So neat!

After getting a restful nights sleep, we headed out to grab breakfast at Cafe du Monde. We’re a little obssesed so that’s why we had to have it again! After breakfast we walked around some more and enjoyed a beautiful day in French Quarter. For lunch we went to our favorite tiny hole in-the-wall restaurant called Mother’s. Mother’s offers the best kind of New Orleans creole home style cooking. As mention, it is very small so my advice is to avoid going during peak hours. We ordered the Famous Ferdi Special (original) which came with Mother’s best baked ham, roast beef, debris, and gravy. We also ordered Jerry’s Jambalaya and an order of red beans and rice! Never disappoints!

To finish out our trip we went to another highly recommended spot called Drip Affogato. I cannot even begin to tell you how incredible this experience was! This little dessert shop is very unique because they specialize in creating delectable affogato’s- hence the name! Their affogato creations are made with artisanal ice cream, gourmet toppings, and craft espresso. I went with their vanilla bean ice cream topped with espresso and it was seriously one of the most amazing desserts I have ever had! I cannot recommend this unique dessert shop enough!

I hope this post inspires you to take a trip down to the Big Easy! Trust me, your taste buds will thank you!

Here are a few more restaurants that my awesome Instagram followers recommended trying out! I saved all of them and hope to one day try every single suggestion. Let me know if you go to any of them!