New Orleans 3-Day Itinerary

The perfect long weekend in New Orleans: 3 days and 2 nights for about $1,452 for two, flights from New York included.

Three days of must-see attractions, local favorites, and insider tips, with what the weekend costs from where you fly.

Flying from

What 3 days, 2 nights costs

The fare from where you fly, two nights at the typical hotel night and three days of spend. Change it to fit your trip.

Travellers2

Nights2

Travel style

Changes daily spend only; the hotel night stays the same.

Fare · New York to New Orleans × 2
Economy round trip, usually about $368 each
$736
Hotel night · $193 × 2 nights
What a night here usually costs, from hotel prices we check every week. 2 travellers share a room.
$386
Daily spend · $55 × 2 travellers × 3 days
Restaurants, transport and paid sights, per person per day. The hotel isn't in it.
$330

Trip cost: flights + hotel + daily spend$1,452

3 days, 2 nights, 2 travellers, mid-range, flying from New York. Usual prices we track ourselves, not a price you can book.

How we know

Fare: the middle price of the economy round trips we found from New York on our latest check (half were cheaper, half dearer), for departures in the coming weeks.
Hotel night: the middle nightly price of the New Orleans hotels we check three times a week (see our hotel price index).
Daily spend: food, local transport and sights per person, from our city guide, by travel style. The hotel isn't in it.
Total: fare × travellers + hotel night × nights × rooms + daily spend × travellers × days. Prices move, so treat it as a guide, not a quote.

Each day's highlights in order. Want more days or a different pace? The planner at the end reshapes it around you.

1
Day 1French Quarter walking tour
1. Cafe Du Monde
2. Jackson Square
3. Frenchmen Street jazz
2
Day 2Garden District mansion tour
1. Commander's Palace lunch
2. Magazine Street shopping
3
Day 3National WWII Museum (one of America's best)
1. Treme neighborhood
2. po'boy crawl

Verified spots in New Orleans that the classic route skips.

Hidden GemsBackstreet Cultural Museum
This intimate Tremé neighborhood museum preserves the dazzling costumes and living traditions of Mardi Gras Indians, second lines, and jazz funerals with passionate authenticity.
Hidden GemsPreservation Resource Center
Hidden in plain sight on Magazine Street, this organization celebrates New Orleans architecture and hosts free exhibits about the city's endangered historic buildings and unique neighborhoods.
Hidden GemsBacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits
Tucked at the end of a quiet Bywater street, this wine shop spills into a candlelit courtyard where live jazz plays nightly and you can order cheese plates under string lights.
Hidden GemsCrescent Park
A slender riverside greenway in the Marigny offering spectacular skyline views, a striking rusted-steel arch entrance, and a peaceful escape from the tourist bustle.
Hidden GemsNew Orleans Pharmacy Museum
Tucked inside a beautiful 1823 apothecary on Chartres Street, this quirky museum traces the history of American pharmacy through antique cure-alls, leech jars, and voodoo remedies.
Hidden GemsAlgiers Point
A free ferry ride across the Mississippi delivers you to this quiet, historic neighborhood of colorful shotgun houses and a tiny-town feel utterly removed from tourist bustle.

Each place was checked on Google Maps: real address, right city, still open.

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