New Orleans Information
from the New Orleans Cemetery and Voodoo pages

This is a new page, replacing the GeoLinks page. I'd like to add more infomation to the site and thought that some basic New Orleans info might be a good addition. Send Feedback to let me know what should be added.

Note that all comments are my own personal experiences—yours may vary. Staff and ownership changes can affect your experience drastically.

There is also a New Orleans Links page available. The links page has lots of tourist-oriented pages, links to JazzFest, hotels, etc.

Magic Walking Tours gives excellent cemetery and voodoo tours + other New Orleans. I've been on the Quarter tour and the St. Louis #1 Tour. No URL yet. Contact them at:

Magic Walking Tours
P. O. Box 70766
New Orleans, LA 70172
504/593-9693 Fax: 514/522-8523

Historic New Orleans Walking Tours, Inc. has a Cemetery/Voodoo tour (St. Louis #1) and a Garden District/Cemetery tour (Lafayette #1) available. I haven't been, but I have spoken with the company's founder, Robert Florence. Robert is very friendly and extremely knowledgable about the cemeteries. He's written two excellent books, City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1 (paper, about $6) and New Orleans Cemeteries: Life in the Cities of the Dead (hardback, about $30). Photos from the second book are on exhibit at the Presbytere museum on Jackson Square until October of 1998.

Historic New Orleans Walking Tours
P.O. Box 19381
New Orleans, LA 70179
514/947-2120 Fax: 514/947-2130

Commander's Palace	We always thought this would be too "touristy" so we never went. By chance, my wife and I took a cooking class in S.F. with Jamie Shannon, executive chef and his down-to-earth manner and excellent cooking won us over. We went with our 5 month old baby and had a fantastic time. Great food and service and not the most expensive restaurant in New Orleans.
Gabrielle	This little gem in mid-city has been a stop on four trips. The pork chop is excellent! The atmosphere is like a Foster's Freeze converted to a nice restaurant, but the food is fantastic.
Bacco	We had Sunday brunch on two different trips. Excellent both times. Very friendly staff.
Napoleon House	Mufaletto, gumbo, and a portion of jambalaya. Cold Abida amber beer. Hard to go wrong.
Gautreau's
Emeril's and NOLA	Two by Emeril Lagasse. We went to NOLA for lunch, Emeril's for dinner on different trips. Both had excellent food. Both also have hip, modern decor that was fun but not too out-of-place in New Orleans. Emeril's is more sophisticated; NOLA is more casual, but expect at least an hour and a half wait for dinner if you don't have reservations.
Praline Connection	We went to the Fauburg Mariginy location on Frenchmen. Good food, service was pretty good.
Dooky Chase's
Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill
Brightsen's
Clancy's
Christian's
Andrew Jaeger's
Upperline	We've been here twice. Great atmosphere and service to go along with the food.

Faulkner House Books—624 Pirates Alley
St. Charles Streetcar—from Canal Street to Carrolton through the Garden District and Uptown.
Louisiana Music Factory—210 Decatur Street 504/586-1094
JazzFest—in late April/early May. Yes, Zoo-like, but very fun. See a couple of photos of the crowd at Beausoleil and the Gospel tent to get an idea. Also see free shows at Louisiana Music Factory, then buy some CDs.

Chacahoula Tours has a very cool swamp tour. You ride in a small boat so you can get closer to birds and gators than those big tours. Get a copy of Where New Orleans magazine and you normally can find a $5 off coupon. 504-436-2640 or 800/299-7861.

I haven't been on any plantation tours. I did talk to the folks at Le Monde Creole, who do a Laura Plantation tour. They seemed reputable and the shop had a nice mix of music, books, artifacts, and other New Orleans items for sale at reasonable prices.