Nana's Tour of New Orleans: The No-Backtracking French Quarter Loop
New Orleans is more than Bourbon Street. This is how locals do it. Follow this order and you'll walk 6 miles instead of 12.
Baby, if you only got 2 days in New Orleans, you don't have time to get lost or waste money on Ubers and tourist traps. Nana's been walking these streets for 57 years, and this is the way we do it — slow, smart, and with good food every few blocks. We start with beignets and end with hurricanes, and we never, ever walk the same block twice...
unless it's for more pralines.
This 2-day French Quarter walking itinerary saves your feet, your wallet, and gives you the real New Orleans.
The music, the food, the magic — without the headaches.
This is 2 days: Day 1 is the French Quarter loop. Day 2 is the WW2 Museum and poboys.
🛒 Get packed right: Nana's NOLA Travel Kit on Amazon has the crossbody bag, water bottle, and phone charger below in one place.
Day 1: French Quarter Walking Loop — 3.2 Miles Total
Nana's Rule: Do this in order. Each stop is 2–8 minutes from the last. You'll be done by 4pm with time for a nap before Pat O'Brien's.
8:00 AM — Café du Monde 800 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116 Line is shortest before 9am. Cash only. Get beignets and café au lait, sit by the river, and watch the city wake up.
Powdered sugar shows up in photos for days — lean over the table, and bring wipes or you'll be sticky with humidity and powdered sugar all day. Ask how Nana knows.
A travel coffee tumbler keeps your café au lait hot for the walk ahead.
8:45 AM — St. Louis Cathedral 615 Pere Antoine Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116 A 2-minute walk. Free to enter. Oldest cathedral in the US — light a candle for Aunt Joyce. Opens 8:30am. For the best Jackson Square photo, get the whole cathedral plus you in frame —
A portable phone charger means you're not down to 12% by lunch.
9:30 AM — Ride the Algiers Ferry Canal Street Ferry Terminal, 1 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130 A 6-minute walk from the Cathedral. $2 each way. Best skyline photo of New Orleans, 30-minute round trip — you don't even have to get off in Algiers. Runs every 30 minutes; check the RTA app for times.
10:30 AM — Shop at Jax Brewery 600 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130 A 3-minute walk from the ferry. It's not a brewery anymore — it's shops and clean bathrooms. Buy pralines here. The Riverwalk upstairs has A/C and more skyline views.
11:30 AM — Lunch at Maspero's 440 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130 A 4-minute walk. The oldest family restaurant in the Quarter. Get the jambalaya or muffuletta — dark, cool, and full of locals. The line might wrap around the corner, but it moves fast and it's well worth it. Trust Nana on this one.
1:00 PM — French Quarter Phantoms Cemetery Tour Meeting point: 941 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70116 A 7-minute walk from Maspero's. Book the 1pm "Haunted Cemetery Tour" ahead of time — they take you into St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to see Marie Laveau's tomb. You can't enter the cemeteries without a guide anymore, but it's worth every penny.
3:00 PM — Streetcar Tour Start: Canal Street at Bourbon St, Stop ID 108 An 8-minute walk from the tour's end. Take the St. Charles Streetcar #12 ($1.25 cash or the Le Pass app) through the Garden District. Get off at Washington Ave for the mansions, then hop back on to loop home. Sit on the right side heading uptown for the best house views.
6:00 PM — Pat O'Brien's 718 St Peter St, New Orleans, LA 70116 A 2-minute walk from the Canal streetcar stop. Home of the Hurricane — sit in the courtyard, where the flaming fountain starts at dusk. One Hurricane limit if you're walking; they're strong.
Day 2: WW2 Museum + Real New Orleans Food — 1.5 Miles Walking
9:00 AM — The National WW2 Museum 945 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 Streetcar or a 10-minute Uber from the Quarter. The #1 museum in the US — buy tickets online. See the 4D film Beyond All Boundaries, narrated by Tom Hanks, and plan for 4–5 hours. Eat lunch at The American Sector inside the museum — John Besh is the chef, and the fried chicken is the move.
2:00 PM — Poboys at Danny & Clyde's 1429 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 An 8-minute walk from the museum. Gas station poboys are law in Louisiana — get the fried shrimp or roast beef "dressed" (that means lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo — say yes). Cash preferred.
December Bonus: Christmas in City Park
If you're here in December, don't miss Celebration in the Oaks (1 Palm Dr, New Orleans, LA 70124). Take the Canal Streetcar labeled "City Park/Museum" to the end for horse-drawn carriage rides through a million lights. Book ahead — it's worth the Uber back to the hotel after.
Nana's New Orleans Safety Tips
This is a city — stay alert and safe so you can have fun:
Crossbody bag, worn in front. No back pockets, no open totes — pickpockets work Bourbon St. Nana's anti-theft crossbody bag is built for exactly this.
Stay in groups after dark. Royal Street and Decatur are fine — avoid side streets alone past 9pm.
Take the streetcar over Uber at night. $1.25, well-lit, and runs till midnight. Safer and cheaper. Bring a reusable water bottle to refill along the way.
Heat and Hurricanes are a bad mix. One drink to two waters is the rule — June through September heat and humidity is no joke, and you'll pass out otherwise.
Cemetery tours only. St. Louis No. 1 requires a guide — don't hop fences, the police will find you, and tours need to be booked ahead.
Wear shoes with straps. Cobblestones eat flip flops — Nana's seen tourists lose toenails. Wear good walking shoes.
New Orleans will either hug you or mug you.
Walk like you belong here, and she'll hug you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the French Quarter safe to walk at night? Main streets like Royal and Decatur are well-trafficked and generally fine. Avoid side streets alone after 9pm, travel in groups after dark, and take the streetcar over rideshares at night — it's cheaper, well-lit, and runs until midnight.
Do I need a car for this itinerary? No — this entire 2-day route is built around walking, the streetcar, and the Algiers Ferry. A car adds parking costs and hassle without saving time in the Quarter itself.
What's the best time of year to do this itinerary? Spring (March–May) and fall (October–November) bring the most comfortable walking weather. If you're visiting June through September, follow Nana's heat rule — one drink to two waters — and plan indoor stops (the WW2 Museum, Jax Brewery's A/C) during the hottest afternoon hours.
How much should I budget for this trip? Outside of hotel and flights, expect roughly $15–20 per person for transportation (streetcar, ferry), $60–80 for the two days of meals covered in this guide, and around $30–40 for the cemetery tour — most of the itinerary itself, from the cathedral to the safety tips, costs nothing beyond food and transit.
New Orleans Is More Than Mardi Gras
It's beignets at 8am. It's a ferry at 9:30. It's a cathedral that's seen 300 years of prayers. It's a gas station poboy that beats any $40 entrée.
Follow this order, save your steps, save your money, and you'll see the city that raised me — not the one on the postcards.
Final Thoughts from Nana
New Orleans isn't about checking boxes. It's about sitting on a balcony, listening to a trumpet, and eating until you're full. This itinerary gives you the must-sees without running you ragged — leave room for magic.
That's where the best memories happen.
Be Smart. Stay Safe. Laissez les bons temps rouler! 💜
Laissez les bons temps rouler (lay-say lay bon tom roo-lay) —
"let the good times roll."
Use it before you eat, before you dance, before you pop the cork on PawPaw's wine. If you can't say it, just smile and pass the boudin.
The good times will roll anyway.
🛒 Ready for your trip? Shop Nana's Complete NOLA Travel Store on Amazon → [HERE]
Comment below and tell Nana when you get to Pat O's — I want to know what color your Hurricane was.
More from Nana's Louisiana Road Trips
Boudin Roadtrip Guide: How to Eat, Store, Reheat & Cook Cajun Boudin Like a Louisiana Local
Louisiana Plantation Road Trip: River Road Guide
Pawpaw's 7 Rules for Chasing the Rougarou: Louisiana Nana's Swamp Guide
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Comments
Most helpful and entertaining guide I’ve read in a long time!
Hi Debbie,
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! My blog is definitely a work in progress. It makes my heart happy that someone enjoyed it and found it helpful! If you do the tour, let me know how your experience was! Take care!