NOLA, A Great City to Visit for Halloween

The resilient and beautiful New Orleans, LA (NOLA) is one of the best cities to visit for Halloween. I’d always wanted to go, but worried that the shoulder-to-shoulder throngs of revelers during Mardi Gras would be too much.

Instead, my bestie Elaine and I, decided an extended weekend over Halloween would be just the ticket. Boy were we right. NOLA is a great place to visit at Halloween.  

We stayed in the French Quarter about a block from Bourbon Street. As we neared the hotel, I was quickly immersed in the casual, laid-back vibe of the French Quarter. The beautiful old buildings, delicate looking cast-iron railings, cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages are gorgeous.

Our first outing was a stroll around the neighborhood. After visiting several gift shops full of t-shirts, buttery sweet pralines, and an array of hot sauce, we popped into the House of Blues. We went in for a quick lunch, and on our way out stumbled spied some sort of festival in the restaurant’s courtyard.

We stopped in for a look, and quickly realized it was a vampire festival. Vendors had displays for elaborate, life-sized fairy wings, leather bustiers, vampire-like/FX contact lenses, dragon wares, etc.  There was also a vendor hawking vampire fang prosthetics. Not the white, waxy kind. Nope. Custom-made sets featuring incisors that would make any Anne Rice fan proud.

Out of curiosity, I picked up the vendor’s postcard, Teeth By Dnash. As I turned to leave the table, the salesperson deftly plucked it from my hand, bit it, and handed it back to me. Elaine smiled, announced to no one in particular, “Gotta’ go,” and left me there dumbstruck.

And that, was our introduction to the Big Easy.

Royal Street Rules

The weekend was a nonstop blur. Our hotel was on one of the city’s original streets – Royal Street. It is a tourist mecca lined with beautiful art galleries, antique shops, and amazing Creole and Cajun restaurants. It’s also home to the famous rotating Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone.

Our most memorable meals was at Royal House Oyster Bar. For starters I had the Caprese Tower, which was a nice light bite followed by my entrée, the Blackened Chicken and Jambalaya.  Getting to sample local cuisine is one of the best parts of travelling and this meal didn’t disappoint.  But honestly, the food wasn’t the only star.

Elaine fell in love with one of their signature drinks – Voodoo Juice. It was so good we made a version of it for a Halloween party I had three years later. It was a huge hit. The recipe is included in A Trio of Spellbinding Halloween cocktails.  

Bourbon Street

We spent a lot of time our first day exploring Royal Street. As the sun set, we donned our Halloween costumes, carefully selected for walkability, and headed to Bourbon Street. We were there for hours, and it was amazing!

I could spend an entire post just on that part of the trip, but it really defies description. In short, it was crowded but not overwhelming. Everyone was friendly. The costumes were spectacular, homemade creations – no store brought getups here. Complete strangers were more than willing to strike a pose to show off their handiwork.  There was more than enough going on to keep us thoroughly entertained.

Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1

The next morning, after an extensive search for the perfect beignet, we visited Saint Louis Cemetery No.1. Sadly, due to vandalism, visitors must be part of a registered tour group to enter.  It was definitely worth the effort though because the tour guide was amazing and pointed out many things we would have never discovered on our own.  The cemetery, built in 1789, houses the remains of civil rights icon Homer Plessy who challenged Louisiana’s segregation laws in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The renowned Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau is also supposedly buried there.

Because the city sits below sea level, our guide noted, it’s challenging to “keep the dead buried” in New Orleans. NOLA’s frequent flooding means the deceased are often interred in above ground crypts or tombs.  Our guide further explained, since space is at a premium, some family crypts house the cremated remains of multiple family members.       

Frenchmen Street

Later that evening we headed off to Frenchmen Street, which had a distinctly different vide than the Quarter. While there are music venues and musicians all over the city, here you could pop in and out of any bar or restaurant to hear great local bands. We had drinks in one, dinner in another, and dessert in a coffee shop, all accompanied by live music.  We spent the later part of the evening on the second-floor balcony at Dat Dog, a hip hot dog joint. The restaurant is located on a corner, and the balcony overlooked a small plaza which featured a drum band that entertained us and the crowd all night. 

We also squeezed in visits to St. Louis Cathedral in front of Jackson Square, the Garden District, and an evening ghost tour. Whether you’re a foodie, a history buff, looking for something macabre or creepy, NOLA has a little something for everyone and is one of the coolest cities to celebrate Halloween.

This trip was taken prior to the current COVID-19 pandemic or Hurricane Laura. At the time of posting, most of the businesses and attractions were still open while adhering to social distancing restrictions.