Streetcars, Fresh Beignets, Mardi Gras: New Orleans Caters to Kids
South Florida Parenting
If you think New Orleans is just for grown-ups, think again. The Crescent City offers lots of fun for little ones, including a Storyland playground, delightful children's museum, riverboats and trolley cars and a Six Flags theme park.
The Borrero family of Fort Lauderdale has discovered a vacation destination with cool weather, bargain prices, and free entertainment. —
They pack up the kids and head to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
"People don't realize that the city is family-friendly," says Anita Borrero. "We fill a cooler with groceries and watch the parades. My kids love catching the beads and coins. The riders have even jumped off the float to hand us stuff."
When the Borreros - Mom, Dad, daughters ages 12 and 14, and son, age 2 - aren't waiting for a parade, they explore the city.
"My daughters love seafood. Angie had her first shrimp in New Orleans from a riverfront vendor. It was unpeeled, a huge 3 or 4 inches and served in a paper bag," Borrero says.
That was when she was 2. Angie still thinks New Orleans is the ideal family vacation.
With good reason. There's a lot for a family to do in the Crescent City. Families can eat inexpensively at small cafes and several hotels cater to families.
One of the Borreros' favorite restaurants is Evelyn's Place, 139 Chartres St., which is mainly a bar, but serves up an inexpensive po-boy with red beans and rice.
A trip to New Orleans is not complete unless they visit Caf&eaute; du Monde for beignets (powdered sugar-coated French doughnuts).
"The kids love the street vendors who paint faces and make balloons. It feels like a party," Borrero says.
Families don't have to wait until Mardi Gras comes around again to enjoy New Orleans. Southern hospitality and kid-pleasing fun can be found in the Big Easy year-round.
If your family wants to jazz up its vacation, head north to the Deep South of New Orleans. The city and the surrounding area are filled with activities to entertain, educate and never bore the kids.
Fun for Kids
Streetcar ride — Catch the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar and ride for miles, much farther than any amusement-park ride. Along the way, you'll see some of the most beautiful homes in the city. Can you spot the wedding-cake house or the replica of Tara, the mansion in Gone With the Wind?
Audubon Park and Zoo — Jump off at Audubon Park, great for a run or a picnic or relaxing in the grass, and take the complimentary shuttle to Audubon Zoo, one of the nation's top-ranked zoos. See rare white tigers from Asia, visit a real Louisiana swamp and play in an African tree house on Monkey Hill. Audubon Zoo also features an aviary of native birds and a petting zoo. Wagons, wheelchairs and stroller rentals make getting around easy for everyone.
Paddleboat to the Aquarium of the Americas — Kids will love hopping aboard the John James Audubon paddleboat and riding downriver to the Aquarium of the Americas.
The world-class aquarium, considered one of the eight best in the United States, is home to more than 7,500 species of fish. Walk through Amazon rain forests, a Caribbean reef and get a closer look at the Gulf of Mexico. Hands-on exhibits allow children to handle sea creatures for themselves and even pet a baby shark — without getting wet! Next door to the aquarium is the amazing Entergy IMAX Theatre.
Great shopping is just a few feet away at the Riverwalk. A large food court overlooks the Mississippi River. Your kids can wave to passengers as they board the cruise ships.
Hands-on museum — Children 10 and under will have fun playing for hours at The Louisiana Children's Museum in the Warehouse Arts District, 420 Julia St. This is one museum where you will never hear the words "Don't touch!" Almost every exhibit is a hands-on experience from the First Adventures area for toddlers to a math and physics lab for older children. There are also opportunities to shop in a kid-sized grocery store or captain a tugboat.
Remember D-Day — Older children will appreciate the National D-Day Museum, 945 Magazine St. The museum has three floors of artifacts, exhibits, theaters and interactive displays. The first floor of the National D-Day Museum houses a reproduced Higgins Boat, an LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked), a Sherman tank and WWII aircraft. An Academy Award-nominated film, Price for Peace, a documentary produced by Steven Ambrose, Steven Spielberg and James Moll is shown several times daily. "Personal Account" or oral history stations are located throughout the museum. Visitors can hear the stories of veterans and home front workers while watching film footage that relates to their experiences.
French Quarter
In the historic French Quarter, kids can have a caricature created, their faces painted in Jackson Square, and shop for the perfect souvenir in the French Market. Outdoor performers change regularly, but usually you can catch a magic show or a juggling act on the street.
For dessert or a really sweet morning snack, let the kids have beignets at Café du Monde. Parents can sit back and enjoy a cafe au lait, coffee with chicory and milk, while street musicians play and the kids get a balloon animal from a passing clown.
For a touch of year-round Mardi Gras, take the kids to the Louisiana State Museum's exhibit at the Presbytere in Jackson Square. This display explores the history and traditions behind Mardi Gras.
From the foot of Canal Street, ride the free ferry to historic Algiers Point. A bus from Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World will be waiting to take you to the place where Mardi Gras is made. Visitors to the studio can see floats being crafted, authentic costumes, and enjoy some tri-colored King cake.
Fairy tale playground
For more great outdoors attractions, visit the 1,500-acre City Park. Enjoy the magnificent oaks or play in one of Child magazine's 10 best U.S. playgrounds, Storyland. The fairy tale-themed playground features 26 larger-than-life exhibits from traditional children's stories. For a little excitement, ride a restored 1906 carousel or miniature versions of amusement park rides like the ladybug roller coaster.
And, of course, a meal
If all this activity leaves you with an appetite, then you are in luck. New Orleans is a city known for its food. Great choices for kids include:
• Mother's Restaurant, 401 Polydras St., for the best po' boys in the city. Prices range from $10 to $15, cash only.
• Camellia Grill, 626 S. Carrollton Ave., a great local spot for breakfast. Open late and early.
• Copeland's, 4338 St. Charles Ave., offering a wide variety of food for $15-$20. Try the chicken fais-do or blackened redfish. Kids can get great burgers, too. Voted favorite Cajun restaurant in New Orleans magazine.
• The Palace Café, 605 Canal St., for classic Creole cuisine for $15-$20.
• Commander's Palace, 1403 Washington Ave., in the Garden District. For a special outing, check out the Sunday jazz brunch, pricey at more than $25 per person, it's a New Orleans tradition that you'll remember and treasure for ages. That is, if your kids will behave for a long, slow brunch.
Where to stay
Loews New Orleans Hotel is in the heart of the New Orleans Riverfront. All guestrooms and suites in the 21-story hotel have commanding views of either the magnificent Mississippi River or the New Orleans skyline. Call 800-23-LOEWS for reservations. (Rates start at $149 based on availability.)
The newly renovated Hilton New Orleans Riverside is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the hotel is offering rates as low as $89 (based on availability.) Ask the front desk about the free stroller rentals. Call 800-774-1500 or 504-561-0500 for reservations.
The Queen and Crescent is a historic European style boutique hotel located two blocks from the French Quarter. Rates start at $79 (based on availability.) Call 504-587-9700 or 800-975-6652 for reservations.
Worth-the-drive outings
Thrill-seekers will enjoy America's newest theme park, Six Flags New Orleans, located just minutes from downtown. Or take a ride out to Slidell, and take the Honey Island Swamp Tour, hosted by Dr. Paul Wagner, a wetlands ecologist.
A favorite excursion with locals is the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, one hour north of New Orleans. Visitors take a guided covered wagon tour through a 900-acre preserve with free-roaming wildlife. During the 11/2 hour tour, you'll come face-to-face with bison, giraffes, zebras, camels and more. Feed the animals from a souvenir cup. (Buy an extra one; excited kids have been known to drop theirs.) Bring plenty of film, the pictures will be priceless.
Jim & Barbara Twardowski are freelance travel writers who live near New Orleans.
