Each year, my best friend and I try to take a trip together within North America. Prior to 2012, the trips have been mainly on the West Coast. This year, because of the wedding, new jobs on both of our parts, plus an extended honeymoon on mine, we weren’t able to get away.
In 2012, we visited New York City together, and in 2013 we chose New Orleans.
Many personal finance bloggers are going to FINCON, a financial blogging conference, which will be held in New Orleans in September, so I thought this would be a great time to recap my trip. Better late than never, no? Luckily, New Orleans is a place for cheap entertainment (and even cheaper beer), so the FINCON founders did well to choose it.
New Orleans has been, hands down, my favourite city to visit in the US. I’d say North America but I’m quite fond of Vancouver.
You’ll never go bored in NOLA. There’s everything from culture to amazing food and cheap entertainment, and I’d go back in a heart beat. I’m not attending the conference because I will be on my honeymoon, but here are a few things that we did in the Big Easy that were cheap and so awesome, it would be criminal not to check them out.
Garden District Cemetery Walking Tour ($20/person)
You can’t go to NOLA without hearing a ghost story or checking out a haunted house. American Horror Story is filmed in New Orleans, as was Ravenswood.
We were intrigued by the haunted reputation of the old city, and we were both interested in hearing more about it. We registered for a walking tour of the Garden District cemeteries and haunted houses, which turned out to be, hands down, my favourite activity of our entire trip. At only $20/person, it’s pretty affordable.
You can find many companies offering walking tours of the haunted Garden District in the French Quarter. Wander through to find a discounted tour; be sure to ask if the guide is a local who grew up nearby, since they have the best stories.
We started our tour in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, which is where the above photo was taken. It’s an interesting but creepy place to explore, and convenient in that it’s right across the street from Commander’s Palace and a short walk to stores, restaurants and cafes.
We toured the Garden District, seeing Brangelina’s, Sandra Bullock’s, and Anne Rice’s homes, the house at which the Curious Case of Benjamin Button was filmed, and a whole slew of interesting and supposedly haunted homes and plantations.
If you want to give yourself a walking tour, I am sure you could bring your smart phone and let it guide you through the neighbourhoods. The Garden District is stunning in and of itself, and is worth a look even if you don’t learn about the hauntings.
Rum Distillery Tour ($10/person, including transportation & drinks)
I’m not a huge fan of rum, but I’d heard great reviews about the New Orleans Rum distillery tour, and since the price is so reasonable we booked the tour.
At $10 per person, including transportation, this was the best bang for our buck that we got in NOLA, and it was so worth our time. The driver picked us up in the French Quarter. Since we had a bit of extra time, he drove us around the French Quarter for a few minutes, pointing out some notable spots and telling us a bit about the history from a local’s point of view.
On our way to the distillery, our driver showed us some shotgun houses, told us of the Katrina cleanup efforts, and pointed out some local restaurants and pubs that he’d recommended, including Laffite’s below.
When we got to the distillery, we were all handed a rum cocktail (included in the $10 fee), and chatted with the staff before we started on our tour.
The tour was thorough and informative; we learned about how rum is made and prepared, bottled, and labelled. We were shown the water mark from Katrina and our tour guide told us about the effect that Katrina had on the distillery and the businesses surrounding it. We were even given the opportunity to try some moonshine.
At the end of the tour, we were given different types of rums to sample, as the guide told us about each type. Again, not being a fan of rum, I skipped this part and just drank water, but it was fascinating nevertheless.
Explore the French Quarter & Stop in for a Drink at Laffites Blacksmith Shop ($5 – cost of a drink)
The French Quarter is just a really cool place. It’s incredibly lively. We wandered up and down the streets in the Quarter for hours, never really getting bored. There are amazing old buildings, beautiful gardens, shops and restaurants, and fun, colourful houses.
Music pours out of bars and restaurants and onto the streets, where there are entertainers and people everywhere.
Exploring the French Quarter is free, but I’d strongly recommend that you stop into Laffites Blacksmith Shop and grab a drink or just a glass of water and hang out there for awhile.
We were told Laffites was the oldest standing bar in North America. I’m not sure that it’s true, but it was highly recommended to us by three locals at three separate times, so visiting was really a no-brainer. The tavern is apparently haunted, and has been standing since the 1700s. Apparently the bar was opened by a pirate and is now a National Historic Landmark.
The ambiance was something else, that’s for sure. My friend and I sat out on the patio of the lantern-lit bar and chatted with our server, who showed us pictures from his iPhone of the devastation he witnessed in Katrina’s wake.
Go at night to Laffites to get a true sense of this bar.
I wish I could go to FINCON this year but even if I could, I wouldn’t get my money’s worth. I’d be too busy wandering around in the city, seeing the things I couldn’t cram in last October.
New Orleans is really high on my to-visit list, just haven’t had the opportunity to go there yet… and FinCon isn’t it yet haha
Maybe next year!
Good list though; the rum distillery sounds rad.
It’s a must see, Bridget! Put it on your list for 2015!
We went to NoLa last October too! We didn’t get a chance to do the walking tour or the distillery tour, but I’m certainly taking notes for the next trip. New Orleans is super cheap – we got po’boys and diner food for about $5 a person and found a fifth of Bacardi for $12 so we could make drinks by our pool. Definitely a frugal city! 🙂
It’s SO cheap. $1 beer on Bourbon Street, happy hours with awesome deals on cocktails, and super cheap food everywhere.
Great post! I went to New Orleans last summer and it was a lot of fun. Still dreaming about all the delicious meals I ate 🙂
Delicious but nauseating after awhile. I felt terrible the entire time I was there because of the unhealthy food, haha!
Thanks for sharing this article. I am planning to visit New Orleans with my friends and now I can suggest where to go but not that high expensive. This article such a big help for me. I had fun reading this post.
I wish I attended the Fincon so that I could also explore the New Orleans. It was really a regret. Next time, I will surely attend or visit New Orleans!