Fifty FREE Things to Do in New Orleans

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Fifty FREE Things to Do in New Orleans
New Orleans Online

New Orleans is like no other city in the world. With such an abundance of great music, great food and great attractions, a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to see and do it all. And the best part of it all is that a lot of it is FREE! It’s all out there just waiting to be taken in and enjoyed.

Listed below are fifty of the best free attractions in New Orleans. Pick out the free things you’d like to do, then click on the links for more information.

1.
Art in Bloom
Jackson Square
Take in the sights and sounds of Jackson Square, a good spot to take a rest, too.
2. Gallery hop in the Arts District along Julia Street on the first Saturday night of each month.
3. Join the parades during Carnival Season and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
4. Stroll Royal and Chartres streets and window shop the arts, antiques and boutiques.
5. Enjoy French Quarter Festival every April, the South’s largest free music festival.
6. Watch the ships pass on the Mississippi River from Woldenberg Riverfront Park and listen for the Steamboat Natchez’s calliope.
7. Visit the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Williams Research Center.
8.
Art in Bloom
National WWII Museum
Swing dance every Sunday in the summer at the National World War II Museum.
9. Ride the Canal Street Ferry to Algiers Point and see the New Orleans skyline.
10. Let the kids run around in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park.
11. Volunteer at one of the many organizations helping to rebuild New Orleans’ residences.
12. Celebrate the life and music of jazz legend Louis Armstrong during Satchmo SummerFest.
13. Experience a cooking demonstration at the Crescent City Farmers Market.
14. Jam out at the free Wednesday afternoon concerts in Lafayette Square during the spring and fall months.
15. Dance down Frenchmen Street at night, many clubs don’t have a cover charge.
16. Watch the fireworks on the Mississippi River every New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July.
17. Enjoy free oysters and music by Joe Krown every Friday at Le Bon Temps Roule music club.
18. Attend one of the many festivals that the Jazz and Heritage Foundation hosts throughout the year, like the BBQ and Blues Festival or Congo Square Rhythms.
19. Browse the shops and stalls
throughout the French Market.
20.
Art in Bloom
Saint Louis Cathedral
Tour Saint Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square.
21. Visit the New Orleans Museum of Art free for Louisiana residents.
22. Tour the Louisiana Supreme Court Building on Royal Street.
23. Venture into our "Cities of the Dead" for a self-guided day tour of a unique cemetery, especially St. Louis Cemetery #1, the closest one to the French Quarter.
24. Bring your book on the Garden District and take a self-guided walking tour.
25. Find a Saturday Art Market and check out the local art scene.
26. Listen to live music near the Joan of Arc Statue on Decatur Street.
27. Go upstairs at Arnaud's for a tour of their Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum.
28. Ask Antoine's for a tour of their 160-year-old restaurant.
29. Watch artists demonstrate glassblowing at Rosetree Glass Studio, Studio Inferno, or Glassworks.
30. Sit under 100 year old Oak trees in
Audubon Park and/or City Park.
31.
Art in Bloom
Cafe du Monde
See beignets made through the kitchen window at Café du Monde in Dutch Alley.
32. Sample a praline at a sweet shop.
33. Take a free walking tour of downtown and the French Quarter with the National Park Service at 419 Decatur Street.
34. Try on masks and boas in French Quarter shops.
35. People watch on Bourbon Street.
36. Take a picture with Fats Domino, Pete Fountain, or Al Hirt at Music Legends Park on Bourbon Street.
37. Tour the Global Green house in the Lower Ninth Ward.
38. Get a view of Jackson Square from
Washington Artillery Park.
39.
Art in Bloom
Spanish Plaza
Make a wish in the fountain at Spanish Plaza in front of the Riverwalk Shopping Center.
40. Watch looming at Louisiana Loom Works on Chartres Street.
41. Check out the Fulton Street Mall near Harrah’s Hotel and Casino.
42. Visit the American Italian Renaissance Foundation’s Museum and the Piazza d’Italia, a replica of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
43. Window shop on Magazine Street.
44. See the swans from the Peristyle in City Park.
45. Tailgate outside the Superdome at a Saints football game or join the party before a Hornets basketball game.
46. Walk the nature trail at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve’s Barataria Unit.
47. Watch the sailboats race on Lake Pontchartrain from the Lakefront Park or watch the sunset from Lakeshore Drive.
48. See the Battle of New Orleans reenactment at the Chalmette Battlefield unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
49. Pay homage at the National Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.
50. Catch the holiday spirit with Cathedral concerts, cooking demonstrations and more during Christmas New Orleans Style, the entire month of December.