Last updated August 13, 2026 · Editorial policy
Things to Do in New Orleans, LA: What Is Actually Worth Your Time
Quick answer: This is an honest look at New Orleans, LA: which popular attraction to think twice about, what to do with that time instead, and the spot most visitors never reach.
Bourbon Street is the one stretch you can safely shorten. The frozen-daiquiri bars and cover bands draw the crowds, but the live music locals actually go out for sits a few blocks downriver on Frenchmen Street, in the Marigny. Drop into The Spotted Cat Music Club for trad jazz, d.b.a. for brass and blues, or Snug Harbor for serious sit-down sets. It runs quieter, the players are better, and you can hear the band over the room.
For beignets, skip the photo line snaking off Cafe du Monde and walk to Cafe Beignet on Royal Street, set in an 1800s carriage house with a calmer courtyard and the same fried dough and powdered sugar. The pick most visitors never reach is the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park, run by NOMA: free to enter, around 90 sculptures threaded under live oaks, and almost empty on a weekday morning.
One money move that adds up:
- Buy a 1-day Jazzy Pass for about $3 in the Le Pass app for unlimited streetcar and bus rides, instead of paying around $1.25 each way to ride the St. Charles line out to the Garden District.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
