Playing Tourist in New Orleans

Downtown New Orleans has so many family friendly activities and things to do, yet I am embarrassed to admit we do not take enough advantage. Sure, we head down to the Children’s Museum from time to time, but we do not usually venture beyond there when we are downtown with our kids. Recently, we decided to head out for a day of family fun in the French Quarter.

Here’s Our Day of Family Fun in the French Quarter (aka Playing Tourist in New Orleans)

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We started with the obvious choice for breakfast: beignets! However, being local means not having to eat at Café Du Monde. We opted for the much less crowded (but delicious) New Orleans Famous Beignets which is attached to JAX Brewery. We were able to sit outside and people watch while we enjoyed our beignets.

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Next, we decided to stroll around Jackson Square admiring the Cathedral, checking out the work of several local artists, running in the park and letting the kids dance to some music played by a street performer.

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We then wandered over to Southern Candymakers for some delicious treats. Of course, my kids only wanted pre-packaged ice cream cones. Try as I might, I could not convince them to choose the chocolate alligator. We stopped near a fountain to devour our snacks, then headed into the French Market.

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It had been so long since I visited the French Market … maybe even since before having children! It was just how I remembered it. So many vendors and so much to see. The kids of course wanted to buy all the things. Okay, I wanted to buy all the things. We restrained ourselves though. Only one toy for each child … and a new pair of sunglasses for me.

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A trip to downtown New Orleans wouldn’t be complete without a streetcar ride, so we hopped over to the tracks and caught a ride to the Aquarium. I remember going there when I was a kid, and now I am taking my own. And it is just as fun as it was when I was a child. The kids got to feed and pet the stingrays, then we were able to feed the Parakeets at Parakeet Pointe. They loved that, until a bird landed on my middle son. Then there were tears and laughter. The laughter, of course, coming from me. Poor kid.

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After all that excitement, we were hungry. I originally wanted to eat at a well known restaurant, but it got late so quickly that we really just had to find something. We settled on a little place in Spanish Plaza. We all enjoyed the food and just sitting together in our hometown of New Orleans. It’s so important to spend days like this together, and living in New Orleans, you do not have to travel far to have an amazing, fun-filled day with your family.

When was the last time you played tourist in New Orleans?

Myndee
Myndee is a 35ish year old New Orleans area native. She's an author, speaker and self-love advocate. As an introverted extrovert, Myndee loves being part of the generation where most of her friends live in her computer. She and her husband, Luis, live just outside the city with their three kids.

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