Planning to visit New Orleans with kids in tow? There are great options for visiting New Orleans with a baby. It may look different than the days of walking down Bourbon Street with a beverage in hand. Having a toddler on your trip to New Orleans does change things. However, with one day to spend in New Orleans, we got to do activities for both the kids and the adults to have fun! Here’s how to spend one day in New Orleans with kids!
This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting our work.
One Day in New Orleans with Kids
We arrived in New Orleans with not much of a plan except trying to do some wandering around, (like the last time) seeing some street performers and eating at Cafe du Monde!
Upon arrival we asked the concierge at at the hotel and he told us the three most popular activities for kids are:
1) The Cool Zoo a fun water park at the Audubon Zoo, with water features and a lazy river!
2) The Aquarium– right on the Mississippi River, the Audubon Aquarium has a huge array of sea animals on view.
3) Storyland– a sculpture park/playground with scenes from classic tales and nursery rhymes.
Since we had recently been to the aquarium and zoo in our hometown of Guadalajara (and they are $$$) we decided on Storyland as our kid-centered activity. We decided to visit Storyland in the morning and leave the French Quarter for the afternoon post nap.
City Park New Orleans
We had a quick breakfast at a diner down the street from the hotel and then drove to City Park. The park is huge and we could tell that there was a lot of exploring to do there, but we had limited time and a destination so we went directly to Storyland.
Storyland New Orleans
In sum, Little Boy absolutely loved it! It was story book characters and structures that he could walk in/on/over. (We also realized that he doesn’t know very many classic fairy tales yet so we need to get on that!)
If I had to do it again, I would probably have us read the books that are represented in Story Land. Here are just some examples, if you want to do the same:
- Humpty Dumpty
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit
- Rupunzel
- There was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe
- The Three Little Pigs
- Cinderella
Carousel Gardens
Adjacent to Storyland is a little amusement park called Carousel Gardens. Little Boy was too small to go on most rides but he did go on his very first carousel and very first ferris wheel ride.
French Quarter with a Baby and Toddler
We had some snacks and headed to the hotel to try for a nap. That was a total fail! So we decided to just leave and head to the French Quarter for lunch and wanderings.
Where to Eat in New Orleans
We had a great lunch at the Acme Oyster House! You can not go wrong with a gumbo or po-boy.
Then we walked down to have beignets and coffee for dessert at Cafe du Monde. How could we not???
We enjoyed just walking around and watching street performances and finally the heat was just too much and we headed back to the hotel for a dip in the pool before dinner.
Of course Little Boy passed out in the stroller on the way back! And Baby Brother? He was a trooper and let us do what we wanted to do. All in all a really great day!
Where to Stay in New Orleans
If you are debating where to stay in New Orleans with a baby and toddler, we can whole heartedly recommend Le Pavillion Hotel. We chose it to be within walking distance of the French Quarter, but not necessarily in it, as we were concerned about space and possible noise.
The standard room was excellent for what we needed- two double beds, one for each parent with a kid. Le Pavillion hotel is known for their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hot cocoa in the lobby every evening! We can attest that it was a fun treat for the parents!
Advice for your trip to New Orleans with kids
If I had to share one piece of advice for traveling with a baby and a toddler to New Orleans it would be this: bring two single strollers rather than a double stroller!
This advice is relevant to a lot of historic cities. Walking around downtown, the sidewalks are narrow. Entering restaurants that have been around for a long time, even an inline double stroller can be quite the hassle.
If you only have one single stroller, and your second child is older, you may be able to get away with a buggy board. If there’s a chance your older child may also fall asleep in the stroller, then you can spring for a cheapo stroller.
Despite being no more than 30 bucks, we used the heck out of this little workhorse. It ended up being particularly helpful when navigating subways in New York, as I could easily fold it up and carry both stroller and baby down the stairs!
Have you been to New Orleans? What was your favorite part? We love just walking the streets!
