26 Free Things to Do In New Orleans

N’Awlins, Crescent City, the Big Easy…New Orleans has many nicknames because there are so many different facets to the city at the tail end of the Mississippi.

In fact, it’s as close as you’ll come to visiting a foreign country without leaving the United States.

Visitors often make the mistake of sticking to the French Quarter and, granted, this is a vibrant part of New Orleans, but there’s so much more to see.

You can easily spend an entire week touring the city while paying nothing for entertainment.

Before you go, check out our list of 26 free things to do in New Orleans…including the French Quarter.

Bourbon Street
You can’t really write about New Orleans without mentioning the French Quarter’s main drag. Start at Canal Street around 6 p.m. and thread your way through the crowds of gawkers. Be prepared for jazz blaring out of open doorways; barkers horsely luring you into their burlesque clubs; buskers hustling tourists for a buck with every imaginable entertainment; and ladies posing prettily from the ornate balconies lining Rue Bourbon. Keep hold of your wallet, however, as pickpocketing is something of a sport here.
Royal Street
Royal Street is located just one block over from the raucous Bourbon Street, but it might as well be miles away. It’s the epicenter of the city’s artistic culture and is lined with art galleries, jewelry shops, world-class restaurants and museum-quality antique stores. Take in the historic architecture, wrought-iron balconies, colorful locals and endlessly entertaining street performers.
Dirty Linen Night
If you’re going to visit Royal Street, this annual gallery walk is the time to go. Dirty Linen Night, scheduled on the second Saturday of August, celebrates the art galleries, jewelry stores and antique shops of the street in a parody of the warehouse-district’s White Linen Night art extravaganza. Shop owners are on hand to give visitors tours and some even provide free dirty martinis and dirty rice (Cajun-style white rice with giblets and chicken livers). Remember to dig your dirty laundry out of your suitcase to fit into the crowd.
Jackson Square
Jackson Square houses three bronze statues of Andrew Jackson and the stunning St. Louis Cathedral but, perhaps more importantly for family tourists, it’s the epicenter of street performers in the French Quarter, as the architectural configuration provides many impromptu stages.
New Orleans Voodoo Shop
The Voodoo Museum charges a pretty penny for admission, but it costs nothing to browse the voodoo dolls, gris-gris bags, ritual candles and other paraphernalia packed into this tiny shop. Located in the French Quarter on Dumaine Street, between Bourbon and Royal streets, the shop recalls the 1880s, when Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau reigned the city with her bewitching style.
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
The history of New Orleans jazz is rich with experimentation, innovation and controversy. Every corner of this city and its suburbs lives and breathes this original American art form. While concerts and bars will cost you at least a two-drink minimum, the Jazz National Historical Park will ensure you know what you’re listening to. If you’re lucky, you might even catch a jazz funeral winding its way through the historical avenues.
The Faubourg Marigny
Faubourg is an ancient French term meaning “suburb,” so you’ll see the word attached to many small neighborhoods. The Marigny is located next to the Quarter and boasts rows and rows of Creole cottages. Most were built from 1790 to 1850 and weathered Hurricane Katrina well. The one-story homes are set at the edge of property lines at ground level and have steeply pitched roofs with wood exteriors and ornate finishes. Mixed in between you’ll find shotgun houses, so called because the rooms are lined up so a shotgun blast would blaze a straight path from front to back. Most shotguns have little more than cement stoops, where residents “Take the breeze” on balmy evenings.
St. Charles Avenue
Considered “The Jewel of America’s Grand Avenues,” St. Charles unarguably boasts the best collection of grand mansions in the South. You could ride the Saint Charles streetcar and get a quick view of the sites, but walking the route allows you to dive deeper into the 19th century architecture and atmosphere. Plan on taking a picnic lunch to eat at the historic Audubon Park along the route and don’t miss the spooky home that once housed vampire expert and author Anne Rice.
City Park
This family oriented destination is distinguished by its 1,300 acres of natural beauty and recreational attractions. You’ll see trees over 800 years old, several playgrounds, a frisbee-golf course, the Besthoff Sculpture Garden, equestrian stables, and more. City Park is also home to such paying attractions as Storyland, the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Mardi Gras Parades
There’s no charge to take in any of the diverse parades that fill the streets throughout the city for the 12-day Mardi Gras celebration. Each parade reflects a particular subject based on the theme of the year for a “krewe” (a Mardi Gras club). Most of the nearly 70 parades explore the colorful worlds of Egyptian, Roman and Greek mythology, but other krewes prefer to focus on everything from underwear to the city’s Native American culture. The standard format includes marching bands, dance groups, clown units, posses and, of course, ornate floats from which members toss necklaces and other gimmies. So stick your hands in the air and join the throng screaming “Throw me somethin’ mister!”
French Quarter Festival
The mid-April festival is the largest free music fest in the South. More than a dozen stages host over 100 performers throughout the three-day weekend, playing everything from traditional and contemporary jazz to Cajun and zydeco tunes. The festival also includes free tours of hidden gardens and patios in the Quarter, the world’s largest praline, and fireworks over the Mississippi River.
Satchmo SummerFest
There’s free music all weekend in celebration of the famous New Orleans jazz great Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. Jazz musicians, brass bands and children’s performers take to the festival’s several stages, while free seminars and discussions help you appreciate what you’re hearing. Other events include a Jazz Mass on Sunday morning; a traditional second-line parade; the Satchmo art show; kids’ activities; and a trumpet tribute to close the fest.
Boats on the Mississippi River
Watch ships lazily float past from the comfort of Woldenberg Riverfront Park while listening to the calliope on the passing Steamboat Natchez. While you’re there, check out the sculptures dotting the dock, picnic in the grass, or simply rest up from cruising the Quarter.
New Years Eve Fireworks
Relax along the banks of the Mississippi River while listening to live entertainment. Count down to midnight as “Baby Bacchus” drops from his perch atop the roof of Jax Brewery. Once the last firework dims in the sky, head over to the French Quarter or Frenchmen Street for a night of street-walking celebration. You’ll see lots of costumed characters and an occasional conventioneer with a toilet seat garlending his neck.
St. Louis Cemetery #1 on Basin Street
You can pay for a tour of the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, known as the “City of the Dead,” but why shell out cash when you can wander around on your own? Don’t miss the final resting places of the city’s Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau and other historical luminaries. The tombs are all above ground because New Orleans is built on a swamp, so there was no place to go but up.
New Orleans Museum of Art
Wednesdays are free at City Park’s “temple of art for rich and poor alike.” The neo-classical, Beaux Arts-style Isaac Delgado Museum of Art opened in 1911 with a collection primarily supplied by its namesake and his late aunt. The original 25,000 square-foot building is still located at the center of the greatly expanded museum. Give yourself plenty of time to cruise the 46 galleries hosting a $200 million collection. Parking is also free.
Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum
The second floor of Creole restaurant Arnaud is a historical repository of N’Awlins biggest party. Named for the successor and daughter of Count Arnaud who reigned over 22 Mardi Gras balls, the museum boasts more than two-dozen lavish costumes, 70-plus vintage photos, fabulous Carnival masks, ball invitations, and much more.
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
If you’re an Audubon member, admission is free year round to this celebration of the earth’s underwater worlds. Looming large over the Mississippi, the state-of-the-art facility hosts 15,000 sea-life creatures representing almost 600 species. Look for the endangered white alligator, one of an estimated 18 remaining in the Louisiana swamps.
Cooking Demonstrations at the Crescent City Farmers Market
New Orleans is known for its spicy and superb cuisine, but recreating these flavors at home isn’t easy. Begin with a walk through the fresh-air market to awaken your taste buds. Then pause for the occasional demo by a local culinary expert that’ll give you something to bring home other than Mardi Gras beads.
Antoine’s Tour
Since 1840, this five-star restaurant has set the standard for New Orleans cuisine. Peek in the door between rush hours and ask for a tour of the historical premises. You just might hit the jackpot.
Superdome Tailgating
This city loves a great party so, naturally, their tailgating parties are legendary. You’ll want to schedule your Superdome visit before a Saints football game.
Glassblowing
This ancient artform is never more beautiful than during the creative process. Stop in at GlassWorks (727 Magazine St.), Studio Inferno (3000 Royal St.) or Rosetree Glass Studio (446 Vallette St.) to see how it’s done.
“Wednesdays on the Point” Concerts
Just a quick ferry ride from the French Quarter is historic Old Algiers, where free concerts are hosted from 6 pm. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays from June 22 to August 10 at the Algiers Ferry Landing. Ferries run about every 15 minutes from downtown’s Canal Street, but they stop at midnight, so keep an eye on the time or you could get stuck with an expensive cab ride.
Battle of New Orleans Reenactment
The Chalmette Battlefield unit is resurrected at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, 419 Decatur St., on the anniversary of this historic battle. More than 100 living-history experts wearing period dress annually bring to life the sights and sounds of Jan, 8, 1815. Free parking with shuttles is provided and there’s on-site handicapped parking.
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Alligators, bayous and swamps…oh my! Check out the trails at Jean Lafitte, but bring your mosquito repellent.
Christmas, New Orleans Style
Snow is overrated, but Christmas in New Orleans sure isn’t. For an entire month, the city lights trees, hosts dance parties, puts on the Krewe of Jingle holiday parade, and celebrates its musical heritage.