NEW ORLEANS FLORA & FAUNA:A UNIQUE SOUTHERN EXPERIENCE
By New Orleans CVB
08/11/2008
Grasp the land in Louisiana as you pass modern man made architecture to the awe inspire marsh, wetlands and scenic landscaped. Enjoy the local dished and people that make New Orleans a special corner of the world.
Contact Information:
t: view phone 800-748-8695, ext. 5053
e: view email lholland@neworleanscvb.com
w: view URL http://www.holland.org
- Audobon Park
- Traveling By Street Car
- Dining at the French Quarter
- New Orleans Botanical Garden
- Visit Plantations & wetlands
Tour Dates:
Number of Days: 4
Let’s Get Acquainted: Day 1
Start the first day with breakfast “al fresco” in the courtyard of your hotel or B&B.
Then, take a City Tour and get acquainted with the City’s 16 different historic neighborhoods, such as the Garden District, Faubourg Marigny, and Esplanade Ridge.
Included in the tour is a stop at one of our unique cemeteries, our “Cities of the Dead”, to learn about our unique system of above ground burials. How about a Jazz Brunch for lunch? Dine on authentic Creole cuisine to the sounds of a strolling jazz trio amid splashing fountains under a trellis of wisteria vines in a beautiful French Quarter courtyard. What could be better?
Spend the afternoon strolling through the French Quarter with a
guided tour, or be more adventurous and try a self-guided walking
tour. Visit the sculptured gardens of Jackson Square. Tour the many historic homes and museums in the French Quarter, and during your stroll don’t
miss the lush hidden courtyards and laced balconies dripping with greenery.
This evening, why not experience dinner from a different point of view? Feast on
genuine New Orleans cuisine while seated on a secluded balcony overlooking the
Mississippi River or French Quarter.
St. Charles Avenue Streetcar: Day 2
Take a ride on a National Historic Landmark, the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, which has rumbled up and down this picturesque avenue for over 160 years. During your ride, take a look at the many stately mansions that line the avenue, and view the many varied and eclectic styles in the original American section of town.
Stop at Audubon Park, known for its moss-draped live oaks, scenic ponds and laid back ambiance. Stroll or bike along the Avenue of Oaks or hang out like the moss and enjoy a picnic lunch. Walk over to the Audubon Zoo, one of the top
5 zoos in the country, and visit with animals of all shapes and sizes in their natural habitat areas.
Around the Bend: Continue on the Streetcar to the sharp curve and enter the
neighborhood called Riverbend, an enclave of eateries and waterholes and specialty shops. While there, take advantage of Louisiana Tax Free Shopping for international visitors. Or stop in somewhere for a snack or beverage.
On your way back to your hotel, stop in the Garden District and take a guided walking tour or self-guided walking tour of the area, including a look at some gardens. The Garden District got its name from the expansive gardens surrounding many of the Greek revival, Italianate, Antebellum and Victorian mansions of the Americans who originally settled there. Also while in the neighborhood, you way wish to stop and sip something cool on a grand front porch under the ceiling fan, or in an open-air café, or maybe in a quaint bar.
After being tantalized with your day on the Avenue, you may be in the mood for a carriage ride up the avenue to a quaint restaurant for a romantic dinner. The perfect end to a perfect day of exploring St. Charles Avenue.
Canal Street Streetcar: Day 3
There’s no better way to start the day than with a time-honored New Orleans breakfast of beignets (a square doughnut without the hole, fried to crusty perfection and generously sprinkled with powdered sugar) and creamy café au lait (equal amounts of hot coffee & chicory and hot milk) at Café du Monde, an open-air café on the edge of the French Quarter.
Hop on the streetcar and chug along Canal Street and Carrollton Avenue to City Park at picturesque Bayou St. John. View some of the world’s largest and oldest live oak trees. Meander through City Park’s scenic trails dotted with fountains and lagoons.
While in City Park, visit the New Orleans Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden is in bloom year round due to the mild climate we have here in the Big Easy. The superb collection of tropical and subtropical plants has its roots in the Great Depression as a project of the WPA (Works Progress Administration). You will see over 2,000 varieties of plants from all over the world in original Art Deco designs along with themed gardens like aquatics, ornamental and a conservatory.
Also, while in City Park, don’t miss the Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. This five-acre garden is located to the rear of the New Orleans Museum of Art, adjacent to the Botanical Garden, and will feature 60 sculptures by major 20th Century European, American, Israeli and Japanese artists. The sculptures are nestled among meandering footpaths and pedestrian bridges, reflecting lagoons, Spanish moss-laden 200-year-old live oaks, mature pines, magnolias and camellias.
Pick-up a picnic lunch at one of City Parks concession stands and dine outdoors in the shade of one of 14,000 mature trees spread throughout the park. Or, maybe stop at one of the local restaurants in the neighborhood for a quick lunch.
Continue the New Orleans Garden Experience with a visit to Longue Vue House &
Gardens, a Classical Revival Estate featuring eight acres of gardens, a Palladian style house and outbuildings with a magnificent collection of American and English antiques.
This unique “city estate” boasts gardens that are among the largest and last remaining public gardens designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, the “Dean of American Landscape Design”. Due to the variety of the plant life that is featured, you can usually find something in bloom at any time of year.
Eating is an art form here in the Crescent City, and if you are going to splurge anywhere, let it be here. Dine at one of the Grande Dames of Creole cuisine in the French Quarter. And, for the grande finale, set the night on fire with a serving of incredible Café Brulot.
If you have time – Plantation & Cajun Country: Day 4
There’s nothing like a Swamp Tour to wake you up first thing in the morning. You will see acres of lush swamp & marsh, and old-growth cypress trees. The adventurous will discover the secret life of swamp creatures in the bayous and wetlands and marshes of Louisiana. Cruise via airboat or tour boat past gators and cottonmouths slithering through the murky waters around the cypress keeps. A close encounter with a Louisiana alligator will sure keep you on your toes! Afterwards, take a break and have lunch at one of the many Cajun restaurants in the area.
Spend the afternoon revisiting antebellum glory. Drive along scenic River Road while and visit one or more of the many plantation homes dotting the banks of the Mississippi River.
Or if you prefer, you can rent bicycles and pedal along the paved path atop the levee. New Orleans is inextricably linked to the Old South. Plantation life began in the early 18th century and Louisiana’s rich cotton and sugar crops were an integral part of the economy.
Now that we have whetted your appetite for the Cajun experience, you are ready to get a taste of down-home Cajun joie de vivre. Have dinner at one of our live Cajun music restaurants, and learn how to dance in the Cajun way (lessons are free with dinner!).
Young kids and adults alike get out on the dance floor to work off that fried catfish and bead pudding with some Cajun and Zydeco two stepping.
