We’ve talked about the many things that you can do in New Orleans while in town for the conference. If you are planning to come early (for Volunteer Day) and stay on after the conference ends, there are many wonderful possibilities to intrigue and inform!
Aside from the food and the music, you can experience the history, mystery, and charm of New Orleans b
y taking any number of tours (for a complete list, click here). There are swamp tours, history tours, horse drawn carriage tours, ghost tours, cemetery tours, riverboat tours, and even cocktail and culinary tours. Each provides a unique and special view into what makes this city diverse and fascinating!
Many are walking tours, so wear comfortable shoes and carry a supply of water (it gets hot in Louisiana in May!). But if you’d like a relaxing ride on a street car, take a ride out St. Charles Street for $1.25 and pass the Arts / Warehouse District, the Garden District and Audubon Park.
If parks are your thing for biking or jogging, give City Park a try (this is a street car ride from the Quarter). For more outdoor activities, there’s the Audubon Zoo, the Botanical Garden (this part of the south has some amazing flowers to enjoy), as well as swamp and bayou tours…and, of course, there’s golf and fishing in the area as well.
If indoor activities are more your speed, try out the Confederate Museum, the Degas House Historic Home, the Louisiana Children’s Museum, the National World War Two Museum, theNew Orleans Museum of Art or the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.
If you still have some energy and you want to explore the unusual, take a vampire tour or check out the voodoo temple. If you are intrigued by Mardis Gras head over to Mardis Gras Worldfor a fun filled outing where floats are on display!
Bottom line, New Orleans has no shortage of things to do! There’s haunted mansions to explore, wander through the many historic above ground tombs, take a ride on the Natchez or the Creole Queen as your paddle-wheel up the Mississippi while you listen (and dance) to jazz and eat local cuisine, listen to the clip-clopping of hooves as your carriage driver provides his commentary on the sights and sounds of New Orleans, and yes you can experience the different watering holes in the French Quarter on a cocktail tour or visit a Bourbon Distillery too!
Enjoy the city, enjoy the conference … and just remember, you will be shoulder to shoulder with the best and brightest in our business. Take advantage of their knowledge and experience. Exchange business cards, swap stories, compare concerns and share a Crawfish Monica or a sudsy beverage while you’re at it.
Ya’ll come back now. Hear.
Clyde Berger
DRI International Foundation
Director of Volunteerism
p.s. Here are some helpful sites for more information on the tours and places to visit I mentioned!
Trip Advisor: Things to do in New Orleans
New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau
Things to Do in New Orleans- New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau