3 Days in New Orleans: First-Timer Itinerary

Three days is the real sweet spot: the French Quarter and the WWII Museum from the two-day version, plus the Garden District and the streetcar you’d otherwise have to skip. Tighter schedule? Drop to the 2-day version . Have more time? Step up to 4 , 5 , 6 , or 7 days .

Book these before you go

Day Focus
Day 1 French Quarter, Jackson Square, Preservation Hall
Day 2 WWII Museum, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Day 3 Garden District, streetcar, Steamboat Natchez, departure

Day 1: The French Quarter

  • Cafe du Monde from 7:15am (cash only), beignets and cafe au lait, $3.60-5.43 for three. It shuts by 11pm most nights and midnight Friday-Saturday, not around the clock
  • Jackson Square (free) and St. Louis Cathedral (free, 9:30am-4pm, last entry 3:45pm)
  • Royal Street’s antique galleries against Bourbon Street’s bar strip, walk both and feel the difference
  • Lunch: a po’boy “dressed,” $8.50-15 depending on the filling
  • Evening: Preservation Hall, door-only, no reservations exist. General admission $15-20 standing or $35-50 reserved, cash only, arrive 30-45 minutes early since there’s no bar, food, or air conditioning. Check tonight’s lineup at preservationhall.com
  • Dinner and a set on Frenchmen Street in the Marigny, the locals’ live-music strip

Day 2: WWII Museum And The Cemetery

  • Morning: the National WWII Museum, $36 adult ($33 senior, $26 student or military), a multi-building campus in the Warehouse Arts District, budget a half day minimum. Arrive at the 9am opening. Confirm current hours at nationalww2museum.org
  • Afternoon: a guided St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 tour, $33, about 45 minutes, departing the Basin St. visitor center 9am-3:45pm daily. There is no walk-in option at all, book ahead. See official listing at neworleans.com
  • Evening: dinner in the Quarter, gumbo ($8.50-17.50) or jambalaya ($12-16.50)

Can you walk into St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 without a tour? No, not since March 2015. The Archdiocese’s cemetery office now requires a licensed guide for every visitor, a rule that followed repeated vandalism including the 2013 defacement of Marie Laveau’s reputed tomb. St. Louis No. 3 and Metairie Cemetery, by contrast, still allow independent walk-ins, so this rule is specific to No. 1, not every cemetery in the city.

Day 3: Garden District, Streetcar, Departure

  • Ride the St. Charles Streetcar ($1.25 exact change, or a $3 day Jazzy Pass) into the Garden District, running continuously since 1835, the oldest such line in the world; see neworleans.com for current route maps and fares
  • Walk the Greek Revival and Victorian mansions along Prytania Street and Washington Avenue, or take the guided walking tour booked above if you want the history explained rather than guessed at
  • Browse Magazine Street’s boutiques and cafes for lunch
  • Late afternoon: a Steamboat Natchez jazz cruise on the Mississippi, from $43.50 adult, a 2-hour narrated ride with a live jazz trio departing the Toulouse St. Wharf
  • Farewell dinner in the Quarter or Garden District before heading to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), budget 25-30 minutes and $35-55 for a rideshare

Three days is enough to stop rushing and actually notice the city: the WWII Museum earns its half day, the cemetery rule catches fewer people off guard once you know it, and the Garden District finally gets the streetcar ride it deserves instead of being cut for time. Want a jazz history deep dive and a full food-crawl day added on top? The 4-day and 5-day versions build straight on this same spine.