Advice on staying in the French Quarter

With kids.

Gonna be there one night. Probably stay in the quarter because the wife wants to. Can we safely walk canal Street with kids or will we be killed and the kids sold into the sex slave trade? Feb 18th. Not sure if mardis gras has fizzled by then.

I wouldn't take them out at night. Everyone will be drunk or high. Daytime is fine though.

French Quarter isn't really for kids. Take them to the hotel pool at night.

Having kids and the wife stay in The French Quarter is about as good of an idea as setting up a pre-school on the strip in Dayona on Speed Week.

GRR Spartan wrote:Having kids and the wife stay in The French Quarter is about as good of an idea as setting up a pre-school on the strip in Dayona on Speed Week.

Would that be a bad thing?

I don't watch racing. I don't know what the strip is.

Have you been to NOLA? Don't take your kids there.


First off the Quarter? Before the first drunk stumbles into your senses have already been assualted.

Dirty and crowded and the entire Quarter smells like urine and stale beer.

Have you considered taking your kids to the Las Vegas Strip instead?

Take the kids to Grand Rapids.  Go watch the guy rake sand. I think it was #20 on that list.

I'm gonna echo what everyone else has said, generally speaking, but with some exceptions:
Nola really isn't a kids town. But there are some things you can do during the day in the Quarter that might keep the kids' interest.
•Take a guided (horse drawn) tour of cemeteries,
•Wander Jackson Square to people watch, hope you see a wedding parading by, and maybe get your future told by one of the street psychics,
• Gotta go to Cafe du Mond. I'm unimpressed with it, but it's a must-go for first-timers and the beignets actually are pretty tasty.
•Take the Canal St. cable car to the Garden District, but make sure to know about return trips. Those cable cars don't run as often as, say, in SF. I also don't know how the gardens will look in mid-Feb.
•Walk Royal Street and hope for street musicians. I actually love Royal St., but it's for reasons adults like things: original art and antiques. The kids would probably only like the music. It's amazing to me that Royal is only a block south of Bourbon. It's like two different worlds.

Couple of notes: Bourbon St. is pure garbage. I agree with Strangelove that Bourbon St. is stale beer, urine, and vomit. But I disagree that that's the entire Quarter. If your wife wants to see Bourbon St., go earlier in the day when the streets don't smell as bad and the drinks are still sleeping off their hangovers.

On safety: I wouldn't walk most places north of Bourbon St. after dark, including on Canal north of Bourbon.

Overall, I love the Quarter, but I go there for the local food. Again, your kids will most likely be bored.

We'd being doing some dining and sight seeing during the day only. Thanks for the tips greenway. I like the cemetery idea. Evening will be spent at the hotel. Omni Royal Orleans send like a nice hotel

kingstonlake wrote:We'd being doing some dining and sight seeing during the day only. Thanks for the tips greenway. I like the cemetery idea. Evening will be spent at the hotel. Omni Royal Orleans send like a nice hotel

Plus if your kids start acting up you can leave them in a cemetary for awhile.
Worked for Dan Patrick.

I've been to New Orleans this time of year and everything tGreenWay posted is spot on. Prepare to have your kids on a sugar high because no trip to New Orleans is complete without a breakfast of beignets covered in powdered sugar and a stiff cup of black coffee.
If your kids are adventerous eaters they will enjoy the city.

kingstonlake wrote:We'd being doing some dining and sight seeing during the day only. Thanks for the tips greenway. I like the cemetery idea. Evening will be spent at the hotel. Omni Royal Orleans send like a nice hotel

Don't walk the cemeteries yourself. People do get mugged and pick pocketed there. It's not really a problem at all with the guided tours, mostly because you're in with a group.

Trip advisor and Yelp can really be your friend vis-a-vis local cuisine. PoBoys and muffulettas. If you're looking at high-end dining, maybe something just for you and your wife after you've slipped the kids a NyQuil shake, let me know and I'll make some recs.
BTW: If you're a coffee fiend like me, you'll hate the scum they serve at Cafe du Mond. Not that far from there, just a couple of blocks north of Jackson Square on St. Peter, there's a tiny place called Spitfire Coffee. It's great. There's also another, more popular local coffee shop close by, but I forget its name.

doesn't sound like my kinda scene.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:doesn't sound like my kinda scene.

It's a great place to have a beer. Or 20.

kingstonlake wrote:With kids.

Gonna be there one night. Probably stay in the quarter because the wife wants to. Can we safely walk canal Street with kids or will we be killed and the kids sold into the sex slave trade? Feb 18th. Not sure if mardis gras has fizzled by then.

Curious why your wife is insisting on the Quarter.....is she looking for new beads?

Son of Sparta wrote:

kingstonlake wrote:With kids.

Gonna be there one night. Probably stay in the quarter because the wife wants to. Can we safely walk canal Street with kids or will we be killed and the kids sold into the sex slave trade? Feb 18th. Not sure if mardis gras has fizzled by then.

Curious why your wife is insisting on the Quarter.....is she looking for new beads?

That's a fair question. Kingston, we'd like photos post-vacation, please.

tGreenWay wrote:

kingstonlake wrote:We'd being doing some dining and sight seeing during the day only. Thanks for the tips greenway. I like the cemetery idea. Evening will be spent at the hotel. Omni Royal Orleans send like a nice hotel

Don't walk the cemeteries yourself. People do get mugged and pick pocketed there. It's not really a problem at all with the guided tours, mostly because you're in with a group.

Trip advisor and Yelp can really be your friend vis-a-vis local cuisine. PoBoys and muffulettas. If you're looking at high-end dining, maybe something just for you and your wife after you've slipped the kids a NyQuil shake, let me know and I'll make some recs.
BTW: If you're a coffee fiend like me, you'll hate the scum they serve at Cafe du Mond. Not that far from there, just a couple of blocks north of Jackson Square on St. Peter, there's a tiny place called Spitfire Coffee. It's great. There's also another, more popular local coffee shop close by, but I forget its name.

Beaner's.

tGreenWay wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:doesn't sound like my kinda scene.

It's a great place to have a beer. Or 20.

I can do that at The Unicorn.

NigelUno wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

Don't walk the cemeteries yourself. People do get mugged and pick pocketed there. It's not really a problem at all with the guided tours, mostly because you're in with a group.

Trip advisor and Yelp can really be your friend vis-a-vis local cuisine. PoBoys and muffulettas. If you're looking at high-end dining, maybe something just for you and your wife after you've slipped the kids a NyQuil shake, let me know and I'll make some recs.
BTW: If you're a coffee fiend like me, you'll hate the scum they serve at Cafe du Mond. Not that far from there, just a couple of blocks north of Jackson Square on St. Peter, there's a tiny place called Spitfire Coffee. It's great. There's also another, more popular local coffee shop close by, but I forget its name.

Beaner's.

It's a hip sip in a zip.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

It's a great place to have a beer. Or 20.

I can do that at The Unicorn.

But puking in front of The Unicorn is highly frowned upon. In a NOLA bar, it's just another line item on the cleanup sheet.

tGreenWay wrote:

Son of Sparta wrote:

Curious why your wife is insisting on the Quarter.....is she looking for new beads?

That's a fair question. Kingston, we'd like photos post-vacation, please.

tGreenWay wrote:

Son of Sparta wrote:

Curious why your wife is insisting on the Quarter.....is she looking for new beads?

That's a fair question. Kingston, we'd like photos post-vacation, please.

To be more accurate, I think you are asking for photos mid-vacation, mid-Quarter....

Son of Sparta wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:


That's a fair question. Kingston, we'd like photos post-vacation, please.

To be more accurate, I think you are asking for photos mid-vacation, mid-Quarter....

Pre-, mid-, post-, it really doesn't matter. Kingston just needs to post the wifey pics, damnit.

Son of Sparta wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:


That's a fair question. Kingston, we'd like photos post-vacation, please.

To be more accurate, I think you are asking for photos mid-vacation, mid-Quarter....

I think mid-Quarter pictures violate the terms of service, and Gomer will start banning people.