Top five things to see and do in New Orleans, USA - Top 5 in Nawlins
Top five things to see and do in New Orleans, USA
Top Five ways to experience New Orleans from a local's perspective
Be Happy!
Smile - Just be happy, because it's basically a prerequisite in the Big Easy. Maybe the best thing to do in New Orleans is to just wander around in the French Quarter with a cheesy grin. You are sure to be amused by the characters that will no doubt astound you on nearly every block, and be swept up in the genuine camaraderie that exists as a constant throughout the city. Everyone you meet is a friend and the feeling that your "all in this together" pervades the collective. It won't be long before your chatting with a stranger as if you've know them your whole life and making a connection that may well last forever. Even if you managed to keep to yourself the city would be your friend because it has a life all its own. Personified, New Orleans would be an incorrigible optimist that lives solely for revelry and delight.
Dance away!
Dance - New Orleans isn't a place for inhibitions. Anything truly goes and the farther away you cast your self awareness the more you will be celebrated. The music flows thick as gravy in the air, pouring out of nearly every window, doorway, or rooftop. It's almost as if the buildings themselves are swaying to the rhythm and your feet will be stepping with the beat before you even realize whats happening. Even if its a Tuesday afternoon in May you won't be far from a veritable party anywhere in the city. New Orleanians live to live and the most important aspect of our lives is our passion for having a good time. No matter your musical taste you will be satiated with the plethora of options from the myriad bars. Actually you don't even need to go to a bar because sometimes the party will come to you in the form of a sidewalk brass band or an impromptu second line down the street. This is simply everyday in the life of New Orleans and we love nothing more than having visitors join us in our bliss.
Famous Bourbon Street
Go to Bourbon Street anytime for the pandemonium of thousands of binge drinkers putting it all on and over the line. You will find everything from small Jazz and Blues dives to Hip Hop clubs and Techno Rave parties there, or just party on the street. Go to Frenchman Street (on the backside of the French Quarter across Esplanade Ave.) for a slightly more sedate, mostly local version where you can hear great local Jazz, brass bands, Reggae, and rock. Also you can find many scattered bars and clubs throughout the Quarter -> House of Blues (International Acts, 225 Decatur), One Eyed Jacks (Rock, 615 Toulouse), the CBD -> Red Eye (Dance music, 852 S Peters), Republic (Club music, 828 S Peters), & (Techno,pronounced ampersand, 1100 Tulane) and Uptown -> F & M's (College dance bar, 4841 Tchoupitoulas St.), The Boot (College bar, 1039 Broadway). Just ask around for the latest and greatest because the scene is always changing.
Cultural Exhibitions
Marvel - Being one of the oldest cities in America, New Orleans has a lot of history. It also has a lot of culture. The world renowned music scene isn't the only art we are passionate about. Take a stroll down Royal street and you will find art galleries galore and artists producing masterpieces on the sidewalks. From contemporary to classical and abstract there are all kinds of forms to peruse and be impressed by. Also the area around St. Louis Cathedral is a great place to watch artists work. Check out the beautiful Art Museum in Mid City and have a relaxing walk through the grand city park. While in Mid City have a look at the exquisite architecture of the old houses along Carrolton and Esplanade. Uptown, in the Garden District, along the major thoroughfares, on St. Charles and near Audubon Zoo you will also find spectacular mansions, some of which date back to the Civil War. Since Hurricane Katrina the landscape has changed somewhat in many of the neighborhoods but you will be surprised by how far we've come since (although due to the governments ineptness not far enough). A tour through the 9th ward, Lakeview, Gentilly, and New Orleans East may dampen the joviality of the overall experience but is a must see if you want to understand the reality of the current situation. Even in the hardest hit areas though you will still find the same unflappable demeanor that all New Orleanians share.
Local gastronomy
Eat - It doesn't even really need to be said, but when in New Orleans, eat your heart out. The Cajun and Creole specialties (jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish etouffee, shrimp creole) are sure to leave you craving for more long after you've gone. Go to the famous places for the best of course (Commander's Palace, Arnaud's, Antoine's, Brennen's) if you have the money. If you don't then do what the locals do. Find a small joint somewhere (they're absolutely everywhere, you won't have to look too hard, but Mother's on Poydras is very popular if you don't know where to start, Port of Call on Esplanade has the best hamburgers on earth, or try Magazine Po Boy's on Magazine Street Uptown for a very authentic local meal) and order a sloppy roast beef po boy (every po boy is great actually, just make sure to get it dressed), a bowl of red beans and rice, and some boiled crawfish. If you happen to know someone local and its the right season make sure you go to a real Louisiana crawfish boil, I guarantee you will never forget it.
Cool Down
Chill - Just take it easy. The tempo of New Orleans is a soothing cadence and the best way to enjoy it is to slow down. There's never a rush to do anything in Nawlins so throw itineraries and concrete plans out the window. Wing it. Go to the lakefront (Lake Ponchatrain) and relax with the cool breeze, have a picnic by Bayou St. John in Mid City, go to "The Fly", which is a nice grassy stretch of riverfront behind Audubon Park, and throw a football, hang out at the downtown riverfront near the Aquarium and watch the people go by, have a beignet at Cafe du Monde next to the St. Louis Cathedral, wander down Magazine St. and survey the many boutique shops, or just simply breathe in the atmosphere anywhere you happen to be. Its all good in New Orleans.
Great recommendations Joseph, it sounds like New Orleans offers quite a lot!