You have two days in New Orleans? What do you do? If you are visiting the city to explore its off-beat or dark side, I’ve got 13 fantastic and unusual things to do in New Orleans to add to your bucket list.
Yes, you will want to wander the French Quarter, wipe powdered sugar off your face after eating beignets, and grab a drink on Bourbon Street. Then what?
Vampires. Voodoo. Gothic. Gardens. Cemeteries. Cocktails in cool places. If this sounds like your prefect weekend in New Orleans and you’re ready to pack in a whole bunch of spooky fun, read on!
Table of Contents
Find the secret vampire speakeasy
Explore Old Potions and Lotions
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Take a Cemetery Tour
When some people think of New Orleans the first thing that comes to mind is Mardi Gras and Jazz. But I’m a Goth Girl so the first thing I think about is the cemeteries.
If you’re looking for unusual things to do in New Orleans, I would put a cemetery tour on the top of your list. There are more than 40 “official” historic cemeteries all over the city packed with signature above-ground tombs. There’s so much history to explore and with a guided tour that history truly comes alive. (Sorry not sorry!) Your dollars also give back to the preservation of the cemeteries.
I did the 45-minute St Louis Cemetery No 1 Tour and saw the family crypt where Marie Laveau Queen of Voodoo is likely buried and the pyramid that Nicolas Cage had built for when he dies.
I also hope that one day they reopen Lafayette Cemetery to the public (if you take a tour that says it’s going there, they mean they will stop outside the locked gates and tell you stories).
Stroll the Garden District
Leave booze-soaked Bourbon Street and see a quieter side of New Orleans.
Grand mansions from the 1800s. Canopies of green and twisted oak trees. North of the French Quarter, a short ride on the historic St. Charles streetcar, is this neighbourhood of opulence which isn’t about gardens at all, but rather pastel houses festooned with ornate balconies and iron gates. Architecture buffs will delight. American Horror Story fans will recognize a certain house, for sure.
We wandered this area on our own, with an audio guide I downloaded for like 99 cents. I would recommend joining one of the many tours (walking tours, hop-on-hop-off bus tours, bike tours, etc.) if you want to know the stories of the people who built these homes—New Orleans richest merchants and politicians (and at least one horror book author).
Find the secret vampire speakeasy
Where would Anne Rice’s Vampire Lestat go if he was real and wanted a drink in his hometown? Maybe Potions, a secret vampire-themed bar where the lights are low and the absinthe drips freely. To score the address and a password, visit the Vampire Café and ask nicely.
Read my full review of Potions and other Vampire spots in New Orleans.
Visit a Voodoo Museum
On the edge of the French Quarter, The Voodoo Museum has been entertaining and educating visitors since 1972. Voodoo first came to Louisiana with enslaved West Africans, who merged their religious rituals and practices with those of the local Catholic population. Practitioners believe that spirits are part of our lives and can communicate through various rituals such as dance, music, chanting, and snakes and you’ll find potions and talismans in oddities shops around the city but to dive in more, hit up this small museum.
Two rooms on the main floor of a house are jammed with art and artifacts. One card lists a voodoo ritual for love: obtain a glove from desired man, fill it with steel dust, sugar and honey, then place glove under your mattress. I haven’t tried it. I would say this place is more like a large personal collection, or a cabinet of curiosities than a curated museum. Admission is $10 and you simply walk through and read handwritten notes and absorb what you want/need. Open 10am to 6pm seven days a week. 724 Dumaine Street
Shop for something Spooky
Beaded masks and feather boas. Fine art and antiques. Vintage frocks. Tacky souvenirs. Taxidermy!
Wander the French Quarter, like Chartres or Royal Streets west of Jackson Square, and you’ll find independent boutiques reflecting the character (or the clichés) of the city. Some unique and unusual shops include Dark Matter Oddities and Artisan Collective where “everyday is Halloween” and The Vampyre Boutique—your one-stop shop for all things immortal.
Drink at a Carousel Bar
Apparently, I’m not the only grown-up who loves a carousel. This Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter has been spinning since 1949. It’s beautiful! And it’s always packed. So you might need to wait a bit for a seat if you go at night but it opens at 11am so if you want to start your day with a cocktail or mocktail this is one of the most unusual places in New Orleans to do it.
Enter the Museum of Death
Some folks go to museums for fine art. Some of us want to see mortician equipment, coffins and skulls. The Museum of Death has a true crime bent, so expect memorabilia from serial killers and actual cannibalism stuff. You’ve been warned! Open daily to 6pm. Admission is $20. 227 Dauphine St.
Explore Old Potions and Lotions
There’s also the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, a proper olde tyme apothecary filled with more than 18,000 historical artifacts documenting the history of medicine. Open Tuesday through Saturday. Admission $10. 514 Chartres St.
Hang out with an original Banksy
Banksy visited New Orleans in 2008 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and left several artworks. Most disappeared or were damaged over there years. But there’s one you can still see for free in the lobby of the International House Hotel.
The owner of this boutique hotel near Jackson Square spent a whack of money to restore and preserve the piece called “Looters,” which shows two National Guardsmen stealing a TV and had been painted over by anti-graffiti activists when it was on the street. It’s large and quite striking and worth popping in. (The hotel bar is also very good.) Beside the piece is a small room with details about the restoration project and more Banksy inspiration. 221 Camp St
Check out the Great American Gator Museum
A 14-foot taxidermied alligator named Fideaux. Need we say more? OK, they also have every kind of alligator souvenir you can think of. 2051 Magazine Street.
Visit the Séance Room
If you’re dining or drinking at Muriel’s on Jackson Square ask to see The Séance Room. This opulent space may or may not have ghosts.
Get a Tarot Reading
There are so many unusual things to do in New Orleans, but this one is more personal. Visit an occult shop and book a reading. I like Sassy Magick, a fun and sparkly enterprise that offers tarot and ruin readings plus mediumship and energy readings. For something more traditional, check out Hex Old World Witchery.
Sign up for a Haunted Walk
There are So. Many. Haunted. Tours. In New Orleans. One of the most popular unusual things to do in New Orleans is a haunted walking tour. If you like to walk around a city at night, and hear creepy stories about legends, there’s surely one that will suit your interests, schedule and budget. Try one of these: The Bad Broads Tour of New Orleans, New Orleans Evening Small-Group Haunted Walking Tour, New Orleans Vampire Walking Tour, New Orleans Ghost Adventure Walking Tour, or add booze with the Haunted Pub Crawl.
Your visit to New Orleans has come to an end! I hope you get a chance to try some of these out and have a bloody good time!
Where to Stay in New Orleans
I was looking for an affordable hotel close to the French Quarter (but not in it) and ended up staying in two different places, both decent options for a short stay in New Orleans on a budget.
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham New Orleans Downtown was cuter than I expected for its under $100/night price point. All the basics, including free breakfast bar, a rooftop pool (we didn’t use, as it was winter) and snacks for sale at reception, plus an on-site paid laundry. Our room with two queen beds was had some IG-friendly design touches. Nothing fancy, but clean and comfortable. Mostly, I liked the location at the corner of Camp and Gravier, just a few minutes walk from Canal Street. (And right across the street from International House Hotel, a boutique hotel with a chic lobby bar and a real Banksy mural on display. It’s also my bucket list hotel for future trips because there’s a suite with a piano!)
Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Downtown also has a convenient location, right on the St. Charles streetcar line, and steps from Canal St. Our King Bed room was really big, with a spacious work desk, and separate kitchen area with mini fridge, microwave and sink. Free breakfast and very helpful staff. Would stay here again.
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