Field Report No. 13 · Family trip
New Orleans Louisiana, USA
One of our favorite cities in America, with grownups or with kids. Beignets and street performers by day, Preservation Hall at night, and the $20 move that got us the Garden Room at Commander's Palace.
Field Report
No. 13
Family trip
New Orleans Louisiana, USA
Worth the flight.
- Coordinates
- 29.9511° N, 90.0715° W
- Traveled
- March 2026
- Kid-readiness
- Easier than you'd guess. We were nervous about bringing the girls and they loved it: street performers, beignets, jazz. Walk everything from a riverfront-Quarter hotel, one hotel reset in the middle of the day.
- Where we stayed
- The Westin New Orleans, 100 Iberville St, on the riverfront edge of the French Quarter. Walkable to almost everything, felt safe; valet or self-park garage runs ~$45–55/night.
- The non-negotiable
- Preservation Hall. If there are tickets, buy them, and pay up for the front-row ones if they're there. A little house with no air conditioning and old jazz players a few feet away. One of our favorite experiences anywhere.
- What we'd skip
- Don't try to fill the afternoon. The 2:30–3:30 hotel reset is what keeps a packed day from turning into a death march.
- Best season
- March. Mid-50s to low 70s, light layers and a rain jacket. Cool enough to walk all day without wilting.
- Points & hacking
- Drive trip, no flights. We came in from 30A and drove out to Paris, TX: ~470 mi, 7.5–8 hrs via I-10 W to I-49 N to I-30 W, with Shreveport (~4.5 hrs out) as the lunch and stretch stop.
29.9511° N, 90.0715° W
We freaking love New Orleans. It’s one of our favorite cities in America, and it works both ways: we’ve done it as a grownups-only weekend and now as a family stop, and we were honestly nervous about bringing the girls. They loved it. The trick is where you sleep. We stayed at The Westin on the riverfront edge of the Quarter, walkable and it felt safe, and from that one address almost everything is on foot. No car seats, no parking hunt.
The one day, on foot
Breakfast at Stanley on Jackson Square, arrive by 8:30 for the floor-to-ceiling windows with the cathedral behind them. Then wander. Royal Street from Canal to Dumaine in the morning light is the block you’ll photograph, and the girls stopped at every corner musician, so bring dollar bills. Café Du Monde at 11 for the powdered-sugar mess (cash only, ATM on site). A note if your crew runs gluten-free like ours: we hunted for real GF beignets, found one market stall doing a version that was honestly pretty lame, and ended up just letting the kids eat the real thing. You have to. Lunch in the garden courtyard at Café Amelie, booked on Resy with a courtyard request.
If they have the front-row special tickets, pay for it. You’re in a little house with no air conditioning, sitting on benches, hearing these old jazz folks play. One of our favorite experiences ever.
The two things you plan around
Preservation Hall is the non-negotiable. Buy tickets ahead online to skip the sidewalk line, and if the special front-row seats are available, pay for them. The sets run about 40 minutes, all ages, no phones, and it’s the realest thing in the Quarter.
Commander’s Palace in the Garden District is the other one. Jamey went for his birthday, slipped the host $20, and asked for the Garden Room, and it turned into one of the best meals of his life. Pair it with the St. Charles streetcar and an hour wandering the Garden District first; the old oak-shaded mansions are beautiful, and it’s a calm counterweight to the Quarter. Streetcar out for the experience ($1.25, exact change or the Le Pass app), Uber back for speed.
And one more, for lunch or a low-key dinner: Port of Call on Esplanade. Jamey still dreams about that burger: a giant charbroiled patty with a loaded baked potato instead of fries, and a rum drink called the Monsoon that will absolutely knock you out. No reservations, so go off-hour.
The evening with kids
Uber to Frenchmen Street (8 to 10 minutes, do it after dark with kids) for an early set at The Maison. Most of the street is 21-and-up, but The Maison’s early sets let the girls in, no cover, and traditional jazz before the funk crowd shows up after 10. Dinner at Muriel’s over Jackson Square at 7:45; ask for the balcony if the weather’s kind. One last walk down to the river after, cathedral lit behind you. That’s the goodbye.
What we’d skip is trying to cram the afternoon. The hotel reset from 2:30 to 3:30 is what makes the evening work instead of wearing everybody out.
