Romantic New Orleans at Three Budgets
Romance in New Orleans costs whatever you decide it costs. A $2 ferry ride at dusk and a long Creole dinner both end with a skyline and a band playing somewhere nearby. Here is how an evening for two stacks up at three budgets.
Under $15 each
The Canal Street ferry to Algiers Point is $2 for a pedestrian and crosses every 30 minutes, with the last departures in the evening around 20:45 Sunday to Thursday and 22:45 Friday and Saturday. Cross, stroll the Victorian cottages of Algiers Point, and come back with the skyline in front of you.
The green St. Charles streetcar costs $1.25 each way. Ride it under the oaks as the light turns gold. A 1-day Jazzy Pass at $3 covers unlimited rides, and the RTA fares page explains the options.
Frenchmen Street’s 500 block has brass bands playing on corners for tips, and the Frenchmen Art Market runs nightly from about 18:00 to 01:00. Share a plate of beignets at Café du Monde, three for roughly $3.60 to $5.50, and pair them with a café au lait.
$25 to $60 each
A set at Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, is the signature date night. Tickets are sold online in advance only, so nothing is sold at the door and cash is not accepted, and each is for one 45-minute set in a historic hall. Prices start from about $25, and the calendar shows open dates.
Follow it with a classic cocktail at the Carousel Bar in Hotel Monteleone, open from about 11:00 to midnight daily, where Sazeracs and French 75s run $16 to $22. Snug Harbor on Frenchmen Street has shows at about 20:00 and 22:00.
For daylight, the Steamboat Natchez daytime cruise costs about $43.50 for an adult on listings.
Splurge
The Natchez evening dinner jazz cruise puts a buffet, cocktails and the Dukes of Dixieland on the river, and it is priced above the daytime sailing. The Steamboat Natchez site and booking pages show current fares, and you can compare cruise options on GetYourGuide .
Long-established dining rooms such as Arnaud’s, Antoine’s and Galatoire’s serve multi-course Creole dinners from about $85 per person.
Getting home
Streets in the heavily patrolled Quarter are generally fine after dinner, but pickpocketing and scams occur on Bourbon Street, near Jackson Square and along Canal Street. Avoid empty side streets in the Lower Quarter and Treme late at night, and book a rideshare for the final stretch.
When to go
Spring and autumn evenings are mild. Summer is hot, so lean on air-conditioned bars and the breeze on the river. Festival weekends fill hotels fast: French Quarter Fest is 8 to 11 April 2027 and Jazz Fest is 22 to 25 April and 29 April to 2 May 2027. Hurricane season peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
Tip
Reserve the Preservation Hall set first, then drop the cocktail stop and the ferry around it. The 2-day itinerary can host a date-night evening, and the activities page covers music venues.