Experience New Orleans Like a Local

The first discovery of any stay is how little distance separates the inn from a proper table. Within one or two blocks sit Creole kitchens, Italian institutions, a cocktail room, a coffee bar, and a listening room where the music starts early.

These are neighborhood establishments rather than attractions, which is precisely their value. Walk out, turn a corner, and you are among locals.

An institution since 1911, Parkway is not merely a restaurant; it is a vital piece of the neighborhood's culinary heritage. Overlooking Bayou St. John, it commands a fierce loyalty from locals for its definitive execution of the classic New Orleans po'boy.

The atmosphere is unpretentious and lively. We highly recommend the slow-cooked roast beef with debris gravy, a messy but essential rite of passage. It sits among a wider circle of kitchens roughly three blocks from the inn.

New Orleans keeps its sporting life close to the center. From the inn, Caesars Superdome and the arena beside it are a short drive down Canal Street, which makes game days unusually civilized: no long commute, no distant parking field.

Racing season at the Fair Grounds is the local secret, an afternoon of thoroughbreds a few minutes from Mid-City.

A mere stroll from the inn, this 1,300-acre public oasis is a testament to the city's commitment to nature amidst urbanity. It holds the world's largest collection of mature live oak trees, some draped in Spanish moss and dating back over 800 years.

Wander through the botanical gardens, trace the winding paths around the bayous, or simply find a quiet bench beneath a canopy of green. It is an essential retreat for quiet contemplation, and the natural starting point for the wider city beyond.

The city organizes its year around festivals rather than seasons. Carnival gives way to spring music weekends, summer tributes, and autumn film and food, and Mid-City hosts several of them within walking distance of the inn.

We recommend choosing your dates around a festival, then booking early. Rooms during Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest are claimed months in advance.

Situated elegantly within City Park, NOMA is the city's oldest fine arts institution. Its permanent collection of over 40,000 objects spans centuries, with particular strength in French and American art, photography, and glass.

Do not miss the adjoining Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a masterfully designed landscape where monumental contemporary works are thoughtfully integrated into the natural environment of pines, magnolias, and meandering lagoons.

Shopping here divides neatly between the riverfront galleries and malls downtown and the long commercial streets where the city actually browses: Royal for antiques, Magazine for boutiques, the French Market for everything else.

The Canal Street streetcar passes the inn and carries you toward the river, which makes an afternoon downtown effortless.

Live music in New Orleans is not an event to be scheduled so much as a condition of the evening. Mid-City keeps its own circuit of clubs, bars, and record shops, and the great uptown rooms are a short drive away.

Sets often begin later than visitors expect. Ask us in the morning and we will tell you who is playing that night.