New Orleans
- Thread starter ISUChippewa
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I always love people that won’t go to a city because of murder rates. If you are going to areas that truly are dangerous, you are doing vacation wrong.
The truly dangerous areas are way up by Lake Ponchatrane. The strange thing is some of the areas look like houses and neighborhoods up there look like they were recently pretty nice but got hit hard by Katrina and never recovered.
I enjoyed going but probably won’t go again any time soon. Just not the type of things I like to do, but it is a truly unique city that everyone should check out at least once.
He's one of the whiniest posters on this board, whether we're talking sports, politics, or life in general. An absolute snowflake of the frailest order.
It's very easy to avoid the bad parts of nearly any city. The other thing people don't realize is that most of the violent crime is the result of specific, targeted, gang related activity. It's rare that innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfires. There's very little preying on of tourists as that draws far more attention from law enforcement.
You're more likely to be harmed by some random mass shooting than urban dangerousness.
Right. You have to exercise some good judgment. There was a team I was part of at ISU as a student that went to a conference in New Orleans. One guy decided to get ****-faced and started wandering around Bourbon Street really late after the rest of us went back to the hotel. He was lured into an alley by a woman crying for help and then was mugged at gun point.
The funny part of the story was that he pleaded with his mugger to take anything he wanted, but to please leave his fake ID because it was a good one.
Basically a FAFO moment. He could have avoided that scenario entirely.
Bourbon Street is mostly strip clubs, hip hop music, mediocre food, and college kids. IMO the music scene on Frenchman St is much better. Frenchman St starts on the NE corner of the French Quarter and within 3 blocks there are 5-6 live music venues that are very good and offer a variety of music.
If you want the best shrimp Po-boy in the world go to Cafe Maspero in the French Quarter. WWII museum is a must see. Plan on at least a whole day there.
If you want the best shrimp Po-boy in the world go to Cafe Maspero in the French Quarter. WWII museum is a must see. Plan on at least a whole day there.
I lived in New Orleans (Okay, Harahan/Elmwood to be specific), for 5 years ('08-'13). Wasn't much of a party person (I think I went out on Bourbon Street only a couple times) but general thoughts/reccomednations:
1. With regards to crime: NOLA is as safe or dangerous as you choose to make it. If you stick to the main thoroughfares and areas you shouldn't have a problem. You go wandering around the 9th ward at 2 AM? You might have an issue. If you are out at night and notice that all of a sudden there are a lot less people around, turn your ass around and go back the way you came. The neighborhoods change really, really quickly. As in within 2-3 blocks quickly. Even to the north of the quarter, you go past the interstate and it turns sketchy quickly. I can really only think of one time that I felt "unsafe" and that was me and my buddies own damn fault.
2. Obviously Bourbon Street and the Quarter are the most well known. I'd also reccomend: St. Charles Ave (If nothing else just ride the street car out to Audobon and back), Magazine Street has some neat bars and is a little bit more "local", Frenchman Street has great music. The University area of Tulane & Loyola is nice as well.
3. The Garden District and the Warehouse district both are neat areas.
4. Restaurants: You'll have to try to find a bad restaurant. That restaurant in a sketchy looking strip mall might have a James Beard winning chef. Dragos & Acme both have great char-broiled oysters (oysters + garlic butter + parmesan cooked over flame) and have downtown locations. Jacques-Imo's is out on the far end of St Charles is good. You should still be in crawfish season so try and find some mudbugs, lots of bars will do boils at night. Dat Dawg is a good local hot dawg / sausage place on Magazine and is a good lunch stop. I also liked the Bulldog for a bar.
5. WWII museum is neat. I wasn't super impressed with the aquarium when I went. If you've got a car, Barataria preserve is over on the west bank and is a neat walk through some swamps on low level boardwalks. Practically guaranteed to see an alligator (there were a couple of 3' like 4' off the boardwalk and then some 10-12' on the other side of the canals. City Park up off Esplanade is pretty nice now I think. You can catch a street car up to that area.
6. For something more action packed, you can try karting at NOLA racetrack on the west bank. They've got some high end go karts that are fun with a group.
1. With regards to crime: NOLA is as safe or dangerous as you choose to make it. If you stick to the main thoroughfares and areas you shouldn't have a problem. You go wandering around the 9th ward at 2 AM? You might have an issue. If you are out at night and notice that all of a sudden there are a lot less people around, turn your ass around and go back the way you came. The neighborhoods change really, really quickly. As in within 2-3 blocks quickly. Even to the north of the quarter, you go past the interstate and it turns sketchy quickly. I can really only think of one time that I felt "unsafe" and that was me and my buddies own damn fault.
2. Obviously Bourbon Street and the Quarter are the most well known. I'd also reccomend: St. Charles Ave (If nothing else just ride the street car out to Audobon and back), Magazine Street has some neat bars and is a little bit more "local", Frenchman Street has great music. The University area of Tulane & Loyola is nice as well.
3. The Garden District and the Warehouse district both are neat areas.
4. Restaurants: You'll have to try to find a bad restaurant. That restaurant in a sketchy looking strip mall might have a James Beard winning chef. Dragos & Acme both have great char-broiled oysters (oysters + garlic butter + parmesan cooked over flame) and have downtown locations. Jacques-Imo's is out on the far end of St Charles is good. You should still be in crawfish season so try and find some mudbugs, lots of bars will do boils at night. Dat Dawg is a good local hot dawg / sausage place on Magazine and is a good lunch stop. I also liked the Bulldog for a bar.
5. WWII museum is neat. I wasn't super impressed with the aquarium when I went. If you've got a car, Barataria preserve is over on the west bank and is a neat walk through some swamps on low level boardwalks. Practically guaranteed to see an alligator (there were a couple of 3' like 4' off the boardwalk and then some 10-12' on the other side of the canals. City Park up off Esplanade is pretty nice now I think. You can catch a street car up to that area.
6. For something more action packed, you can try karting at NOLA racetrack on the west bank. They've got some high end go karts that are fun with a group.
Yep. Don't be stupid. One of my coworkers and her two male friends got mugged (one of the guys got lightly pistol whipped) because as dumb, drunk interns, they willingly got into some guys car who offered to give them a ride for cash. I mean, that's basically asking to get robbed.
I went about 24 years ago during the summer after my senior year of high school with a friend and we met another friend who was stationed in the south. Walked up and down Bourbon Street, bought alcohol and never got carded once. Drank a lot, ate a lot of good food, heard a lot of good music. Probably lucky I didn't end up in jail or robbed in an alley, but had a really good time!
A couple things I hazily remember. It's pronounced Nawlins, and if anyone says they'll bet you money they know where you got your shoes, just say "I got my shoes on my feet on Bourbon Street."
A couple things I hazily remember. It's pronounced Nawlins, and if anyone says they'll bet you money they know where you got your shoes, just say "I got my shoes on my feet on Bourbon Street."
Someone else mentioned Commander’s Palace in the Garden District. Ate there while attending a conference last year. It was an all-time top 5 dining experience for us. Great food and service. Reservation (a ways out) are normally required. Any other advice I have has been covered in other posts.
Thread bump...
I took my trip a couple of weeks ago (the 15th through the 19th) and really enjoyed myself. Good weather, great food! The World War II Museum was the highlight and is simply an awe-inspiring experience. Visit New Orleans for that alone.
And I came through it life and limb intact! Never really felt unsafe, but then again I kept drinking to a minimum and wasn't stumbling around the French Quarter at midnight either.
I took my trip a couple of weeks ago (the 15th through the 19th) and really enjoyed myself. Good weather, great food! The World War II Museum was the highlight and is simply an awe-inspiring experience. Visit New Orleans for that alone.
And I came through it life and limb intact! Never really felt unsafe, but then again I kept drinking to a minimum and wasn't stumbling around the French Quarter at midnight either.
