New Year's Eve in New Orleans
New Orleans' party scene is the stuff of legend. You don’t need to wait until New Year to have a good time here, where the bars stay open all night, there’s fine live music at nearly every licensed establishment, and (it is said) somewhere in the region of 200 festivals every year. But things really kick off on New Year’s Eve, when the already lively Bourbon Street explodes in a riot of colorful balcony parties and the atmospheric streets of the historic French Quarter come alive with the sounds of jazz and Creole bands and the excited chatter of cocktail-swilling revelers.
Our guide to New Year’s Eve in the Big Easy takes in all this and more, including:
- The Allstate Sugar Bowl Parade
- Bourbon Street and the French Quarter
- The 1850 House and State Museum
- New Orleans Jazz Museum
- The Big Easy’s best Cajun and Creole eats
- Mississippi cruises
- New Year’s Eve balcony bashes
- Spectacular NOLA fireworks
Foodie Nirvana
New Orleans is one of those cities that can easily satisfy even the biggest appetite. Indeed, it may be unrivaled in this regard. We’re talking rich, earthy Creole gumbo, classic New Orleans shrimp po’boys, sweet fluffy beignets (meaning ‘nun’s fart’ in French, language fans), red beans and rice, and some of the finest fried chicken and Cajun jambalaya on the planet. Hit up authentic po’boy joint Domilise’s and get your oyster fix at century-old Uptown stalwart Pascal’s Manale, birthplace of the New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp. The queues outside Willie Mae’s Scotch House tell you all you need to know about the moreish fried chicken and mac’n’cheese that await within, while being a bit of a NOLA cuisine catch-all doesn’t stop Dookey Chase’s being one of the best locations for gumbo and fried chicken in town. Spend New Year’s Eve wandering the streets of Uptown, Treme and the French Quarter and slowly filling your belly with Creole and Cajun soul food – the fortification will serve you well in the inevitably boozy evening ahead. But first...
History, Art and All that Jazz
New Orleans is practically synonymous with jazz, so it would be remiss not to catch a show in a bar, or at least pause to strut your stuff to the street performers while you’re here. But if you want to delve a little deeper into the city’s rich musical heritage, head for the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint. Not only does this fascinating place explore the entire history of Louisiana jazz, it also covers Newcomb pottery and crafts, the Mississippi River and more. Overlooking pretty Jackson Square, the 1850 House and State Museum is a 19th-century architectural marvel, all Parisian flourishes and Antebellum-era art, that also just happens to be the oldest apartment block in the United States.
Sticking with the French Quarter, you can learn all about the area’s diverse culture and voodoo traditions on this cool tour, or call in at Edgar Degas House, briefly home to the celebrated French Impressionist, and admire the paintings he completed while living here. A traditional Mississippi paddlewheeler cruise is also a great way to take in the city’s historical landmarks, including Jean Lafitte National Park and the Chalmette Battlefield.
Kid-Friendly Capers in New Orleans
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that young children are as compatible with late-night partying as Gremlins are with water and bright lights. With that in mind, New Orleans provides a few fun New Year’s Eve entertainments for kids. Audubon Zoo runs its puntastic Zoo Year’s Eve party in the morning, with costumed characters and a New Year’s toast with soft drinks around noon. It’s included in the price of zoo admission so you can also take time to say hey to the resident howler monkeys, komodo dragons and Louisiana alligators while you're here. Over at the Louisiana Children’s Museum, the annual New Year’s Eve bash runs from 9.30AM until 12.30PM and includes a ‘countdown to noon’ involving entertainers, paper hats and lively music. Ideal in other words, for getting kids young and old in the party mood.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl Parade
This annual Mardi Gras-style New Year’s Eve event in New Orleans should be considered a must-see. Kicking off at 3PM at the bottom end of the French Quarter, where Elysian Fields Avenue meets Decatur Street, the procession of marching bands, colorful floats and even more colorfully dressed participants snakes its merry way past iconic landmarks including Jackson Square and the French Market before stopping for a spectacular live show on the WDSU stage in the JAX Brewery parking lot. And if this doesn’t get you excited for the city’s legendary New Year’s Eve fireworks and balcony parties, well, perhaps nothing will.
An Extravaganza of Evening Entertainment
You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to New Year’s Eve revelry in the Crescent City, whether that’s the legendary balcony bashes along Bourbon Street or catching the midnight fireworks from the banks of the Mississippi. Balcony parties are one of the Big Easy’s most popular New Year activities with bars up and down the length of Bourbon Street (and beyond) getting in on the act. The cost of your ticket gets you access to one of the beautiful wrought-iron balconies that overlook the street. Here you’ll mingle with fellow revelers, sup classic Sazerac cocktails and get involved in the favorite local tradition of bead tossing, before enjoying prime views of the New Year fireworks when the clock strikes 12.
You can catch those fireworks from several vantage points along the banks of the Mississippi. One of the best options is Crescent Park at the French Market. This lush green space stays open until 1AM on New Year’s Eve and provides uninterrupted views of the pyrotechnical extravaganza, as it reflects magnificently in the river below. The park exits into the Bywater and Faubourg Marigny neighborhoods, where you’ll find plenty more colorful bars and nightclubs in which to continue the party.
But you’ll find the biggest celebration in Jackson Square. It’s here that New Orleans puts on its own take on NYC’s ball drop, dropping the city’s fleur-de-lys emblem as the countdown concludes and the fireworks start to pop. It’s free to enter the square, but get there early if you want to avoid being squeezed out into the side streets.
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