A New Orleans Itinerary That Gets You Out of the Quarter

⠿Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.

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   Arrive from where are you driving from?MSY is ~25 min from the Quarter · Drive

   Louis Armstrong International is about twenty-five minutes west of the Quarter. You only need a car for day three, so consider renting one for that morning rather than the whole trip.

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   The French Quarter, earlyBest before 9am · route

   Thirteen blocks by six, and a completely different place at eight in the morning than at eight at night. Jackson Square, the cathedral and the river walk take an easy hour or two before the crowds land.

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   The Lafitte Greenway2.6 mi paved rail-trail · route

   A paved path on an old rail corridor running 2.6 miles from the edge of the Quarter toward City Park, through neighbourhoods most visitors never see. Flat, easy and the fastest way to understand how the city fits together.

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   Bayou St. JohnA slow bank to sit on · Water

   A slow waterway with grassy banks where the city actually spends its evenings. It sits between the Greenway and City Park, so it falls naturally on the route.

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   Night in New OrleansTwo nights, one base · lodge

   One base works for all three days. The Marigny and the Garden District are both quieter than the Quarter and still walkable or a short ride from it.

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⠿Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.

1. ⠿↑↓1
   City Park1,300 acres · free · tree

   Larger than Central Park and home to one of the biggest stands of mature live oaks anywhere, some of them several hundred years old with limbs resting on the ground. Free, and never crowded away from the museum end.

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   Couturie Forest60 acres · unpaved trails · route

   A sixty acre patch of woodland inside City Park with a real trail network, and Laborde Mountain, the highest natural point in New Orleans at forty-three feet. Unpaved, and muddy for days after rain.

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   Audubon Park loop1.8 mi · uptown · route

   A 1.8 mile paved loop uptown under another huge stand of oaks, with the zoo at the river end. The flattest, easiest walk in the city and busy with runners at dawn and dusk.

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   Second night in New OrleansSame base · lodge

   Same room again. Nothing in this plan justifies moving hotels.

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⠿Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.

1. ⠿↑↓1
   Drive to Barataria Preserve~30 min south · gates 9am · Drive

   Half an hour south of downtown across the river to Marrero. The parking gates open at 9am and close at 4:30pm every day of the year, so there is no point leaving before eight.

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   Twin Canals TrailThe one Barataria trail open during the rebuild · no restrooms · Hike

   While the rest of the Barataria Preserve is closed for demolition and rebuilding, the Twin Canals Trail stays open. It is day use only and there are no restrooms, so stop before you drive in. For more time on the water, the bayou boat tour on this day is the other way into the swamp.

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   Closed now: Bayou Coquille to Marsh OverlookClosed for rebuilding (NPS) · Twin Canals Trail is the open one · Hike

   The essential walk here. It runs from hardwood forest through palmetto and cypress swamp and out to open floating marsh, mostly on boardwalk. Alligators are commonly in the water right beside it.

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   Closed now: Palmetto and Ring Levee trailsClosed for rebuilding (NPS) · Twin Canals Trail or the bayou boat tour · Viewpoint

   Shorter loops through the swamp forest if you want more time in the trees. Between them the preserve has over twelve miles of boardwalk and trail across more than 20,000 acres.

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   Fly home from New Orleans~40 min to MSY · Drive

   Barataria to the airport is about forty minutes, and since the preserve closes at 4:30pm an evening flight works neatly.

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