The Best Autumn Happenings Around New Orleans
Since we do not have the luxury of changing foliage to announce the arrival of autumn in New Orleans, we have to look to other markers around the city. Thankfully with a little research, you can find a few things to do and the obvious indicators that it is the perfect time to FALL in love with NOLA!
Festivals
With over 130 festivals taking place annually throughout New Orleans and the surrounding metro area, you are sure to come across some sort of fete on any given weekend in the fall. Some autumn favorites include the New Orleans Film Festival, the Po-Boy Festival, and Forestival: A Celebration of Art and Nature. You can also find smaller school and parish festivals throughout the fall months around the city. These festivals celebrate the art, music, food, and joie de vivre we are most known for in New Orleans!
Ghost tours
Exploring the supernatural should not be relegated only to spooky season – any point in the fall is a great time to take a ghost tour! The heat begins to break once the sun goes down, and then the fog rolls in from the Mississippi River, creating the perfect atmosphere for roaming the spirit-filled streets of the French Quarter. Whether it is the scandalous stories of New Orleans’ past or the prospect of seeing shadows and light orbs around every corner that you are most excited about, a guided ghost tour fits the bill.
Fine dining
If you are planning some upcoming date nights, Friendsgiving outings, or a big Turkey Day meal, be sure to fit in some visits to New Orleans’ top restaurants. NOLA is a foodie’s paradise, and there is truly something for everyone. Sample some of our world-famous seafood dishes, learn the finer points of the differences between Cajun and Creole cuisine, dig into sumptuous desserts, and slowly sip on all the best cocktails as you eat your way through the city. Start sampling all that our food scene has to offer and you will find that it really is not hard to have the best meal of your life in New Orleans.
Local parks
Cobblestones and slate pavers might come to mind when you think of the NOLA landscape, but actually New Orleans is one of 50 cities in the US with the most green space per capita! When you are ready for a break from the hustle and bustle of city life, duck into one of the many public parks throughout New Orleans where you can breathe easy and take in the sights and sounds of the nature that surrounds the city. Grab a picnic or bring a hammock and a good book and enjoy the fall breezes. New Orleans also boasts the most significant section of mature live oak trees in the world. Look up in wonder at the incredible canopy these ancient oaks provide, and then marvel at the fact that their root system grows underground just as wide as the branches. All of this green around our city really does provide awesome space to play and relax to both the locals and tourists alike!
Ride a streetcar
Public transportation is one of the best ways to get to know a city, and riding a streetcar through New Orleans in the autumn cannot be beat! From the French Quarter you can hop on the green streetcars and head through the Central Business District, around Harmony Circle, and into the Garden District where you will find incredible mansions, quirky coffee shops, art galleries, and tons of locally owned shops and restaurants. Be sure to put the window down and breathe in deeply as you zip along historic St. Charles Avenue. Even on our warmest autumn days, that streetcar breeze will cool you down.
Attend a sporting event
You have not experienced professional football until you have attended a Saints game in the Superdome. The love New Orleans has for their football team cannot be rivaled, and the experience inside Caesars Superdome, one of the oldest NFL stadiums, is LOUD. In 2013, the crowd actually set a world record for the volume of cheering, and it is easy to understand why once you have attended a Saints game there. You will be swept up in the fan-demonium, and in no time you will be yelling along with the rest of your fellow sports fans. If football is not your fancy, check out one of the Pelicans games just beside the Superdome in the Smoothie King Center. The fast-paced action and boisterous fan base make it easy to understand why sporting events are one of the best parts of fall in New Orleans.
Book a swamp tour
The mild autumn weather in NOLA lends itself perfectly to exploring the swamps surrounding the city. Just a short drive from the French Quarter you will find yourself immersed in a totally different world of murky waters and lush greenery that will take your breath away. Enjoy the warmth and sunshine just like the alligators you can easily spot on our airboat or pontoon tours, and learn all about how these sacred waterways help make life in south Louisiana so rich. You can spot hundreds of different species of plants and animals on your tour, and if you dare, you might even get the chance to hold a baby alligator in your hands!
Celebration in the Oaks
One of the best traditions in New Orleans as fall eases into winter is Celebration in the Oaks, a spectacular lights festival that opens on Thanksgiving night. Started in the late 1980s, Celebration in the Oaks has become a time-honored tradition, drawing in locals and tourists from all over the country to be awed by the sparkling displays built within one of the largest city-owned parks in the nation. Catch sight of the lights draped in ancient oak trees, and be sure to explore all the different interactive areas of the event. It truly is a spectacle to behold!
Whatever you are looking for as you explore New Orleans this fall, we are here to help at Gators and Ghosts! We offer a wide variety of NOLA sightseeing tours, including airboat swamp, ghost, plantation, and city tours, all great options in the autumn, so book yours today!