New Orleans, Louisiana: things to do on a girls weekend

The best things to do in New Orleans with a group of friends are a 45 minute set at Preservation Hall, a Creole dinner at Brennan's or Antoine's, a guided walk through the Garden District, a jazz brunch on the Steamboat Natchez and a drink at the Carousel Bar, which turns while you sit. Go in March, April, October or November, when highs run from about 70 to 79 degrees.

Our handbook puts it in one line: Creole courtyards and iron balconies, a city where you leave the car parked and walk to dinner.

When is the best time to visit New Orleans?

March, April, October and November. NOAA's 30 year averages for the New Orleans Lakefront Airport station put the average high at 71 degrees in March, 78 in April, 79 in October and 70 in November. October and November are also the driest months, with about 3.6 inches of rain and 4 to 5 wet days each.

Summer is hot and wet. June averages 89 degrees, and July and August 91. July has the most wet days, about 10, and August the most rain, about 6.5 inches. If you go then, do the outdoor walk before noon and spend the afternoon at a spa or a museum. Winter is mild, with highs of 61 to 65, and it is Mardi Gras season.

Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit. NOAA normals 1991 to 2020, station USW00053917.

What does a weekend in New Orleans cost?

From $200 per person per day, by our handbook's estimate. That figure is a room at the Hotel Provincial shared by 2 friends, with tax, plus about $65 for food. Our 2 night plan at the Hotel Monteleone comes to about $950 to $1,550 each, also a handbook estimate.

The room decides most of it. The rest is 2 dinners, a jazz brunch, a spa treatment, a Preservation Hall show and a river cruise. Some stops cost little or nothing. The Historic New Orleans Collection is free, the Sazerac House pours free samples, a streetcar ride is $1.25 and the Garden District walk is $15.75 for seniors and students.

Where to stay in New Orleans

Stay in the French Quarter and you can walk to dinner, to Preservation Hall and back. The Monteleone is the easy base: both dinners on our plan are within 5 minutes' walk of it. If you would rather be among the Garden District mansions, pick a hotel on the St. Charles streetcar line.

We may earn a commission if you book through the links in this section.

Hotel Monteleone, at 214 Royal Street, has been in the same family since 1886, now five generations. It has a heated rooftop pool for guests and the Carousel Bar off the lobby. There is full wheelchair access through the Bienville Street entrance and one accessible king room on each floor, some with roll in showers. Check in is 4 PM and check out is noon. Valet parking is $50 a night plus tax.

Check dates and prices

Hotel Provincial belongs to a local New Orleans family, the owners since 1961. It is five restored buildings on Chartres Street, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a courtyard pool. Valet parking is $45 a day plus tax.

Check dates and prices

Audubon Cottages has 7 suites around private courtyards and a saltwater pool, the French Quarter's oldest hotel pool. Cottages 1 to 5 have two bedrooms and sleep up to 4 adults, so 2 cottages hold a group of 8. Each has a kitchenette, and there is a butler on call 24 hours.

Check dates and prices

The Pontchartrain Hotel is a 14 story tower from about 1927 in the Garden District, right on the streetcar route. Its rooms page says ADA room types are available, chosen at booking. Valet parking is $55 a night plus tax.

Check dates and prices

Hotel Saint Vincent was built in 1861 and restored in 2021. It has 75 rooms at Magazine and Race Streets, around a brick courtyard with a pool and a pool bar.

Check dates and prices

Henry Howard Hotel has 18 rooms in an 1867 mansion designed by the architect Henry Howard, in the Lower Garden District, steps from the St. Charles streetcar. It charges no amenity or parking fees. Check in is 3 PM and check out 11 AM.

Check dates and prices

What the rooms cost by season

Lowest nightly rate for 2 adults on each hotel's own booking site, checked October 1, 2026. Rates move, so check your dates. A dash means we did not check that season.

Hotel Provincial adds 14.5% tax to its rates. Henry Howard's rate is before taxes and fees. A two bedroom cottage at Audubon Cottages was $1,398 for the same 2 nights.

Every decision, already made for you

Where to stay, eat and go, plus a ready made 48 hour plan for every town. Pick one and send it to the group.

See the handbookOne time payment. Love it or full refund.

Where to eat in New Orleans

Brennan's has been a New Orleans dining tradition since 1946, and Bananas Foster was invented there. Breakfast and lunch run 9 AM to 2 PM Monday to Friday and 8 AM to 2 PM on weekends, and dinner runs 6 to 10 PM every night. Reservations open 60 days ahead, and parties larger than 6 call 504 525 9711. The dress code is dressy casual, with jackets preferred at dinner.

Antoine's, from 1840, is New Orleans' oldest restaurant, still owned by the founder's family in its fifth generation. Oysters Rockefeller were first made here. Dinner is Monday to Saturday, 5:30 to 9 PM, and its private rooms seat from 2 to 300.

Commander's Palace is Haute Creole, run by the Brennan family since 1974. Jazz brunch is Saturday 11 AM to 2 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 2 PM. The Wine Room seats 8 to 14, and parties of 15 or more order a set menu. A table can split the bill 4 ways at most. Wear business attire: no shorts, flip flops or T shirts.

Muriel's Jackson Square serves casual fine dining in the heart of the French Quarter, at 801 Chartres Street. Its Wine Room seats 10, and the second floor holds up to 500.

The Court of Two Sisters, at 613 Royal Street, serves a jazz brunch buffet every day in its courtyard, with a live jazz trio. Groups of 9 or more reserve through a separate link on its site.

Arnaud's opened in 1918 and is run by the fourth generation. Its Mardi Gras museum is free to see during restaurant hours.

Criollo, inside the Monteleone, serves breakfast daily from 6:30 to 10:30 AM and has two private rooms for a group breakfast.

Cocktails, tastings and the Carousel Bar

The Carousel Bar, in the Monteleone lobby, has been spinning since 1949 and makes one turn every 15 minutes. It is open daily, 11 AM to midnight, and only guests 21 and over after 6 PM. Its page is plain about it: "Carousel Bar does not accept reservations." Go early in the evening for a seat.

The Sazerac House is open 11 AM to 6 PM, with free daily samples for guests 21 and over. Tours and tastings book ahead online for groups under 10. Groups of 10 or more contact the event team 5 days ahead, and private tastings take up to 20.

Seven Three Distilling pours local gin, vodka and bourbon, open daily from 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM.

Bacchanal Wine pours wine all afternoon on weekends in the yard, with live music.

A spa afternoon

The Windsor Court Spa is on the hotel's fourth floor, open daily 9 AM to 5 PM. Spa guests get the steam room, an infrared sauna, the relaxation lounges and the rooftop saltwater pool during spa hours. It schedules groups together. Book ahead for a weekend.

Spa Aria is a cozy spa inside the Monteleone, with Pevonia and Cinq Mondes products. Book online.

Thrive NOLA Spa is a French Quarter day spa for massage, facials and a head spa.

Spa Isbell, on Magazine Street, welcomes group visits. It is closed Sunday and Monday.

Things to do in New Orleans

Preservation Hall has played traditional New Orleans jazz since 1961. Each ticket is good for one 45 minute set, with shows on Friday and Saturday at 5, 6:15, 7:30 and 8:45 PM. Tickets are sold online only, with none at the door, so buy them ahead. A mobility ramp into the room is available from venue staff on request.

The Garden District walk is Destination Kitchen's small group walk, 2 hours on foot, every day at 9:30 AM. It passes famous houses, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and Commander's Palace, with a glimpse of the old City of Lafayette. Adults are $25, and seniors and students are $15.75. Meet at 9:20 at Prytania Street and Washington Avenue, in front of Still Perkin' at The Rink, and book on Destination Kitchen's site. From the French Quarter, take the St. Charles streetcar.

The Steamboat Natchez is a paddlewheeler that leaves from 400 Toulouse Street with live jazz on board. The Sunday jazz cruise with brunch is a 2.5 hour cruise that boards at 11 AM or 2 PM. It is $80 for an adult with brunch, or $43.50 for sightseeing only, according to the Natchez site on October 12, 2026. Saturday cruises run too.

The National WWII Museum is open daily, 9 AM to 5 PM. Adults are $37 and seniors 65 and over $34. It is indoors and 0.8 miles from the Monteleone, so it is the place to go if rain or heat cancels the garden walk.

The Historic New Orleans Collection is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and Sunday 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Its visit page says it in one line: "Admission is free, but tickets are required." Pick one up at the front desk.

Leah's Pralines sells pralines, bacon pecan brittle and chocolates, open 10 AM to 6 PM every day.

Shops and quiet corners in the Quarter

M.S. Rau has sold antiques and fine art since 1912, in a 40,000 square foot showroom at 622 Royal Street.

Faulkner House Books is at 624 Pirate's Alley, across from the rear garden of St. Louis Cathedral, open every day from 10 to 5.

Trashy Diva makes limited edition styles inspired by vintage and antique clothing, in sizes 00 to 26.

St. Louis Cathedral is open to visitors daily, 9:30 AM to 4 PM, with the last visitors at 3:45.

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum is an 1823 apothecary, open Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 4 PM. Adults are $10 and seniors 65 and over $7.

Getting around and getting there

In the French Quarter, walk. On our plan every evening stop is within 5 minutes' walk of the Monteleone, and nobody needs a car.

For the Garden District, ride the St. Charles streetcar, RTA line 12. A ride is $1.25 with a 2 hour transfer, and $0.40 for priority riders, which includes anyone 65 or older.

From the airport, the Monteleone posts the taxi fare: $36 for 1 or 2 people, or $15 each for groups of 3 or more. If you drive, leave the car parked. City meters in the French Quarter are $3 an hour, Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 7 PM. They are free on Sundays and major holidays, according to the city's parking page.

Times to the Hotel Monteleone from Google Routes, without traffic, checked October 1, 2026.

The nearest emergency room is University Medical Center New Orleans, 2000 Canal Street, open 24 hours, 0.9 miles from the Monteleone.

Coming up

Dates from each organizer's own page on October 12, 2026. Check before you go.

• Mardi Gras, Tuesday, February 9, 2027, with parades across the city. Brennan's and Commander's Palace close on Mardi Gras Day. Mardi Gras page
• French Quarter Festival, April 8 to 11, 2027, on more than 20 stages in the Quarter. Festival page
• Jazz Fest runs two weekends from late April into May at the Fair Grounds Race Course. The 2027 dates are not out yet. In 2026 it was April 23 to 26 and April 30 to May 3. Festival page
• Satchmo SummerFest, July 31 to August 1, 2027, near Louis Armstrong's birthday. Festival page
• Sunday second line parades return most Sundays from late August through late spring. Parade listings

What a New Orleans girls weekend looks like

Friday is check in at the Monteleone, then a tasting at the Sazerac House, the early show at Preservation Hall and dinner at Brennan's. Saturday starts with breakfast at Criollo, then a streetcar ride to the Garden District walk. Jazz brunch at Commander's Palace is a 2 minute walk from the end of the tour. Then the streetcar back for the Windsor Court Spa, a rest at the hotel, a drink at the Carousel Bar and dinner at Antoine's. Sunday is pralines at Leah's, the jazz brunch cruise on the Natchez and a last hour at the Historic New Orleans Collection.

The full plan, with the bookings in order, is in The Girls' Trip Handbook.

New Orleans is one of the towns in our town guides. For towns that feel like a trip abroad, see the Feels Like Europe Index.

Frequently asked questions