The Big Easy Made Easy

Vue Orleans, Bananas Foster and the Voodoo Lady: highlights from a visit to New Orleans

BY BILL MALCOLM

It feels like Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street every day in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Between the great food, the charm of the French Quarter, the amazing history, and the great LGBTQ+ nightlife, you can’t go wrong with a visit at any time of year, especially for LGBTQ travelers. I recently visited New Orleans myself, and learned a lot about the city as well as ideas and tips that will help you plan your own trip.

Getting There

I flew Southwest to the new Louis Armstrong Airport. From there, I took the E1 Jefferson Parish Veterans-Airport bus to downtown for just $2. The Marriott on Canal Street was where I booked my stay, but there are a variety of chain and boutique hotels to choose from. Bargain hunters may also like the nearby LaQuinta.

Getting Around

New Orleans is a very walkable city, but if you want to get from one end to the other in a hurry, take a streetcar. Streetcars travel along St. Charles Avenue and to Audobon Park. The red ones on Canal Street go all the way to City Park’s Sculpture Garden and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Get an all-day streetcar “Jazzy Pass”—it’s a steal at $3.

What to Do

Did you know: Red beans and rice was a dish that was created to eat on Mondays while doing your laundry. Why? It’s easy to make.

That’s just one of the interesting tidbits I learned at VUE Orleans (vueorleans.com), the new rooftop interactive museum atop the Four Seasons Hotel at 2 Canal Street. The interactive immersion goes into the diverse cultures—Spanish, Haitian, African, Italian, Native American, and French, to name a few—that converged to create the New Orleans we love today. The Voodoo Lady, the baby Jesus miniatures in the King Cakes, how the Po Boy sandwich got its name are just some of the things you will learn about.

If you prefer a more hands-on experience, you can take a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking at 524 St. Louis Street (nosoc.com). Lean how jambalaya, gumbo, pralines, and white chocolate bread pudding are really done.

The Nightlife

New Orleans has a lively party atmosphere 24/7 that extends naturally to its LGBT scene. Bourbon Street is at the center of it all, with several well-established gay bars. The Bourbon Pub, which features a balcony over Bourbon Street, is celebrating its 47th anniversary, and Café LaFitte in Exile, the oldest gay bar in the U.S., is still going strong. The Oz Bar is another Bourbon Street staple, with drag shows every Freaky Friday.

There are of course plenty of other bars with a great LGBT-friendly atmosphere, especially if you’re looking for live music. The House of Blues at 225 Decatur has great live music, while the Ritz Carlton Davenport Lounge has a house jazz band that offers a nice break from the honky tonk noise of Bourbon and Canal Streets.

Where To Eat

• Neyow’s Creole Café. Try the barbeque shrimp. Also on the menu: shrimp creole, fried Gulf oysters, pasta on the bayou (fresh Gulf shrimp and craw fish), stuffed crab, and gumbo.

• Landry’s. The red beans and rice and salmon are excellent. They have a great $18 lunch box special.

• 33 Galatorre’s Bar and Steak is a great option.

• Café du Monde. The coffee in New Orleans contains chicory, giving it a unique flavor. This cafe features café Americano and beignets (the fried donut treat).

• The Napoleon House Restaurant. The 200-year-old building is a French Quarter landmark. The building’s first occupant was the mayor of New Orleans from (1812-1815), who offered the residence to Napoleon in 1821 during his exile. Napoleon never made it, but the name stuck. When you’ve nished your meal, you can walk around the French Quarter and along the Mississippi River front.

Travel Tips

• Read the paper. New Orleans’ weekly, Gambit, is available online (bestofneworleans.com) and in print. Pick up the latest copy to see current events and what locals are thinking about.

• Get the LGBTQ inside scoop. The official New Orleans website has a dedicated LGBTQ+ section (neworleans.com/things-to-do/lgbt) with a specially curated list of LGBTQ+ itineraries and attractions. Check out its comprehensive list of gay bars, festivals, and LGBTQ-owned local businesses to patronize.

BILL MALCOLM is North America’s only syndicated LGBTQ+ value travel columnist. Special thanks to New Orleans and Company for their travel tips and passes to VUE Orleans.