BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Many visitors will flock to New Orleans as a new football season begins. The city offers many attractions and restaurants to enjoy during the games.
If you and your family want to stay near Caesars Superdome, there is plenty to do. Families can skip the line on the next tram or visit the zoo.
Out of town and don’t know where to eat? Cafe Du Monde is always a good place to start for coffee and beignets. The French Quarter has shops, street performers, and food for every taste.
Here are some places in New Orleans to eat or spend time with family.
Barracuda (3984 Tchoupitoulas St.)
Barracuda is a neighborhood taco stand and margarita garden that offers outdoor dining. The restaurant features award-winning tacos. The menu includes a taco family meal for up to eight people, fish tacos, pork tacos, quesadillas, and drinks.
This is a New Orleans tradition and should be a stop when visiting the city. Café Du Monde is known for its beignets and cafe au lait. The Decatur location is open Sunday through Thursday from 7:15 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7:15 a.m. to midnight.
Café Navarre is a pet-friendly, cozy cafe located near City Park in Lakeview, New Orleans. The menu includes artisan pizza, eggs Benedict, omelets, sandwiches and pancakes.
Copper Vine is a wine bar in downtown New Orleans. The restaurant offers brunch, lunch, dinner, and happy hour Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
This iconic restaurant has been open since 1941 and is still family owned and operated. The restaurant serves authentic Creole dishes such as crab cakes, roasted beet salad, Creole gumbo, Creole shrimp and Southern chicken.
Dat Dog (601 Frenchmen St.)
According to Dat Dog, it has one of the best balconies on Frenchmen Street. The menu features many hot dogs in different variations, including crawfish sausage, vegan bratwurst, alligator sausage, and Italian sausage.
Emeril’s (800 Tchoupitoulas St.)
Emeril’s is a classic, upscale restaurant ideal for a date night before heading to the next day’s game. Located in the Warehouse District, the tasting menu offers an elegant take on Louisiana cuisine.
According to the restaurant’s website, Gus’s is the current winner of the National Fried Chicken Festival. The atmosphere is ideal for families who want to sit together and enjoy Southern comfort food like potato salad, macaroni and cheese, hand-breaded chicken and sweet tea.
Muriel’s offers modern Creole cuisine and is located just steps from St. Louis Cathedral. The bistro, a casual fine-dining restaurant, includes three dining rooms and is open daily for dinner. The menu includes shrimp and grits, boudin spring rolls, bayoubaisse and pain perdu bread pudding.
Reginelli’s on Magazine Street is less than a 20-minute drive from Caesars Superdome. The pizzeria is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and pets are welcome. In addition to pizza, the menu also includes garlic knots, spinach artichoke dip, salads, sandwiches and pasta.
The Audubon Zoo is one of New Orleans’ most popular family attractions and is located in the city center. The zoo is home to exotic and endangered animals, including a white alligator. The zoo is home to Sumatran orangutans, elephants, more than 60 species of birds, and an alpaca.
The Audubon Nature Institute also includes an insectarium and an aquarium. The aquarium has a tunnel that families can walk through and see different species of fish swimming around.
The Insectarium appeals to all the senses, as families have the opportunity to try insect dishes and listen to the sounds of honey bees. In the Butterfly Garden, butterflies can be seen flying around.
Carousel Gardens amusement park has rides for everyone. Tickets for children 36″ and over are $25. Tickets include unlimited rides and admission to Storyland.
The Louisiana Children’s Museum has plenty of toys. Adults and children alike can play with bubbles, learn about the states, or pretend at the kid-sized grocery store.
The streetcars in New Orleans are a nice and inexpensive way to explore the city. Some lines run through the Central Business District, others take tourists to the French Market or the New Orleans Museum of Art.
The 25-acre New Orleans Botanical Garden is open year-round and is home to over 2,000 plants from around the world. The Historic New Orleans Train Garden is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children ages 3 to 12.
Mardi Gras World gives the public a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into the floats. During the tour, visitors learn about the history of Mardi Gras before heading to the float cave. Adult tickets are $22 and admission for children ages 2-12 is $14.
Did you know that families can explore New Orleans on a double-decker bus? The 1-day hop-on hop-off tour costs $46 per person. The ride takes you around the city and you can hop on or off at any stop.
The Steamboat Natchez offers jazz dinners and daytime jazz cruises year-round. The steamboat takes families down the Mississippi and offers views of the French Quarter.
The National World War II Museum is a great place for families to learn why the war was fought and who was involved. Exhibits show the sights and sounds of the war and explain how it was won.
