When you think of New Orleans, things and events like steamboats with live jazz, the French Quarter courtyards, the Mardi Gras and the many courtyards in the city come to mind. If you're looking for the best location for a romantic getaway in the midst of a fun-loving crowd, the city that passes a good time is New Orleans.

You'll be spending the day walking through what is known as the historic French Quarter. End that experience with a horse drawn carriage ride to one of the award winning restaurants that New Orleans has in abundance; for a romantic dinner by candlelight. You also have a schedule on the afternoon to spend time at the Audubon Zoo which by the way is also topnotch.

If you're looking for some time to laze about, there's always a cruise down the Mississippi that you can go on. Don't forget to take a little stroll down St. Charles Avenue. In the garden district, you'll get to be in the midst of historic and wonderfully built southern mansions. There are also many shops along Magazine Street where you can buy little trinkets to mark this special time.

On the quieter side of New Orleans, you can sip cocktails with the love of your life on a private balcony set in the French Quarter. You might like to swim all your cares away in a pool in one of the gorgeous courtyards sprinkled throughout the city. But when you're relaxed enough, there's more to see and do in New Orleans.

People looking for wonderful beaches, a sunny weather and clear skies in New Orleans need to travel either to Mississippi or to Florida.

The Gulf Coast beach in Mississippi is a one hour drive from New Orleans. The Florida offers white, sandy beaches and is two hours drive from New Orleans.

Visiting New Orleans

http://www.experienceneworleans.com/visiting.html

Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi Gulf Coast consists of the longest man made beach, extended shoreline, golf courses, museums and casinos. The beach is made of soft white sand.

A network of barrier islands makes the strong waves gentle so that the children can have fun to their heart's content. The Mississippi Gulf Coast provides the perfect background for romantic strolls, sunbathing and moonlight get togethers. Enthusiasts can opt for surfing or take a ferry ride to the chain of barrier islands.

A number of water sport equipments are available at the Gulf Coast on a rental basis - wave runners, paddle boats, sail boats, jet skies. Unfold your umbrella, lie down on the chair and relax - Mississippi Gulf Coast is your ultimate Beach getaway.

Mississippi Gulf Coast

http://www.gulfcoast.org/visitors/attractions/beaches-and-harbor-activities/

Destin, Florida, welcomes its visitors with beaches made of soft, white sand, sea with the color of emerald and picturesque backgrounds. The serene and calm atmosphere at the beaches easily makes Destin the center of family holidays and romantic vacations.

Most prominent among the Destin beaches is the Emerald Coast that features water that is emerald in color and crystal clear teamed with beaches made of soft, white sand. The white, sandy beaches create the perfect setting for the sunbathers.

The emerald green, crystal clear water has made activities like snorkeling and fishing to be lifetime experiences. While the fishermen are busy with their catch, it is the snorkelers who have the real fun, swimming amidst shoals of fish, corals and other marine organisms in the crystal clear water.

Destin Area Beaches

http://www.destinfl.com/beaches.htm

New Orleans is one of the few places in the US that offers a huge array of outdoor activities for the tourists. There are so many things to see and do during your vacation in New Orleans.

- Visit the Audubon Nature Institute - Visiting the Audubon Institute will give the tourists one-in-all entertainment experience. The Audubon Institute provides the ultimate outdoor activity getaway for the tourists. Tourists have a wide range of activities to choose from when they visit the Audubon Nature Institute. They can visit the Audubon Zoo, the Aquarium, the Insectarium, catch a movie at the IMAX or perhaps even opt for playing golf at the Audubon Park Golf Course.

Audubon Nature Institute

http://www.auduboninstitute.org/

- Opt for bike cruise - The best way to know New Orleans and its neighborhoods is to opt for a bike cruise. There are organizations that indulge in these kinds of tours. Simply enroll in any such organization. These organizations deliver the bikes at the hotel doorsteps. Often the bikes are loaded with water and baskets.

Big Easy Bike Tours

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60864-d1752439-Reviews-Big_Easy_Bike_Tours-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html

- Go for the Haunted History Ghost Tour - When in New Orleans do not afford to miss the Haunted History Ghost Tour that will take you to an era of the old French Quarter. The French Quarter has been witness to many dark, horrifying and gruesome events. Enjoy the spine chilling haunted tour as the guide churns out haunting, real life events from the past. The tour includes hotel pick up and drop facilities and refreshments.

New Orleans Haunted History Ghost Tour

http://www.viator.com/tours/New-Orleans/New-Orleans-Haunted-History-Ghost-Tour/d675-3252_1

- Go on a river cruise - A river cruise ride along the Mississippi river is an attraction that must not be missed. Tourists can also opt for special packages to opt for more amenities. The river cruise menu features Spanish rice, salads, rotini, fresh vegetables, meat, puddings, brownies, other refreshments and beverages.

Steamboat Natchez

http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/

The soul inspiring landscapes and incredible locations of New Orleans has made this capital city of Louisiana one of the most sought holiday resorts in the country. For spending one of the most exciting and relaxing vacation in New Orleans you must plan your trip systematically in beforehand.

The first and foremost thing you need to do is to plan your tour dates well in advance in order to get the cheapest flights and the best hotel deals as well. Moreover, New Orleans offers huge variety of outdoor activities and wonderful attractions. Thus to make your New Orleans trip absolutely hassle free and most enjoyable you must select the best time of the year for visiting this marvelous vacationing point.

To get the latest New Orleans weather update you must depend on the authoritative websites only. By visiting the New Orleans official website you can easily find out info regarding current New Orleans weather.

New Orleans official website weather report

http://www.neworleansonline.com/tools/weather.html

Between early December and mid May the weather in New Orleans is most pleasant. Avoid Hurricane season (June to November) and the hot and humid summer months. as you decide on your traveling dates you must study the authentic weather forecast reports of New Orleans offered for next 15 consecutive days and make some last moment improvisation in your tour plan. To make your air journey safe you should check the weather forecast reports as well.

Attractions:

New Orleans city is home to various beautiful historic sites, museums, parks and zoo. For planning your compact trip to New Orleans make a list of the most famous attractions of the city.

Some of the Best Online Sites Offering List of New Orleans Tourist Attractions:

Planetware.com

http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/new-orleans-us-la-no.htm

New Orleans official website

http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/attractions/attractions.php

New Orleans Major Attractions:

- Harrah's Hotel and Casino

- French Quarter

- Bourbon Street

- Steamboat Natchez

- Audubon Institute of New Orleans

- National World War II Museum

- Preservation Hall-Jazz

Mardi Gras World of Blaine Kern

Prior to independence, New Orleans was a deserted place associated with lots of mysteries. This notion led to the famous New Orleans tours that attract a lot of visitors annually as well as led to establishment of quality New Orleans hotels around this area.

What are the New Orleans Tours?

- Great Tour of the French Quarter is a tour around the fascinating and numerous attraction sites such as Audubon Aquarium of America, Cajun Queen Riverboat, Jackson Square and Le Petite Theater du Vieux Carre. The place is rich in ancient Louisiana history and mystical secrets. Most of the tours at the French Quarter have an accompanying guide. The tours are categorized as walking, carriage, swamp, music, cemetery, and plantation tours.

http://frenchquarter.com/sightseeing/French-Quarter-Tours.php

- Great Garden District Tour gives the visitors a chance to experience the best ancient Greek and Italian architectural masterpieces. They include homes of former kings and queens of Mardi Gras, renowned author Anne Rice, and the Mannings the premier football family. The Lafayette Cemetery-City of the Dead-is located here.

http://www.graylineneworleans.com/garden.shtml

Hotels near the French Quarters

Hotel Le Cirque, Holiday Inn Express and Embassy Suites New Orleans

Hotels near Garden District

Queen Anne and Prytania Park

http://www.bestneworleanshotels.com/

When in New Orleans, you have got to visit the wonderfully traditional swamps where there are many beautiful memory building activities to take participation in. Air boat tours over some of the vastest swamps in the entire world would be a very nice way to begin the swamp tours while checked into a New Orleans hotel in Louisiana State of the United States. The alligators, Snakes and the other Mammalian wilderness are simply too eye catching and supremely attention grabbing making a visit to the wild swamps of New Orleans very memorable.

What are the best swamp tours in New Orleans?

Honey Island Swamp tours are the most authentic and aesthetically designed for the freshman visitor of all the available tour packages although a comparison simply cannot be made due to the competing features packed into all the tours available all over New Orleans.

This link http://www.honeyislandswamp.com/ should lead a potential visitor to the most comprehensive information about the swamps, all packed into a website for very easy and convenient browsing.

Watch out especially for the "thing" as the local fishermen call it. It seems to be an archetype of the yeti. The other similarly appealing tour package is the CajunPride Swamp tours which offer online registration and reservation for their specialty swamp tours amidst all the wilderness a visitor can ever find anywhere. It seems that the wildlife simply chooses to ignore the presence of the airboats when passing through the swamps in one.

How to register and make reservations?

http://www.honeyislandswamp.com/ this link offers to inform the visitor with all that is necessary to know before making a reservation, while the link http://www.cajunprideswamptours.com/swamp_tours.htm should be a convenient way to book reservations and register for the swamp tours as well as the New Orleans hotels and other activities.

New Orleans is the city to be in if you want to experience thrilling tours and festivals. Apart from the beautiful luxury hotels that offer you comfort and elegance, the fine restaurants that have superb cuisine and the live entertainment and music, there are numerous tours that capture the spirit and culture of this fascinating city.

Travel in New Orleans is not complete without taking one of its haunted tours around the cemeteries, mansions and swamps.

Haunted tours, Vampire and Voodoo Tours, Ghost Tours, Cemetery Tours, Haunted House and Swamp Tours and Ghost walks are extremely popular with most tourists that visit New Orleans.

The New Orleans Ghost and Vampire Tour takes you through the dark shadowy streets of the French Quarter. The New Orleans Spirit Tours is a two hour spirit and voodoo walking tours that help you to see a new side of the city.

http://www.hauntedneworleanstours.com/toptenhaunted/toptenhauntednolaghosttours/

Bloody Mary's New Orleans Tour is a moonlight graveyard tour which is definitely a haunting experience! Save our Cemeteries is a tour of the oldest museums and cemeteries famous for their unique tombs.

Historic Walking Tours lets you visit haunted sites like The Spirit of O'Flaherty's Pub, The Witch of the French Opera and The Ghost of the Quadroon etc.

New Orleans is a great city to visit and an excellent tourist location. The city has several attractions that are suitable for anyone with varied interests to enjoy and relish. A boat tour down the Mississippi is one of the best things to do in New Orleans. A boat tour gives a visitor a vantage location to view and enjoy the city's beauty to the fullest. There are many boat rides and cruises.

The steam cruises are the best as they provide the best classic experience of enjoying the New Orleans city to the fullest. The boat rides are very popular among all tourists as you can get a glimpse of the famous French Quarter and other amazing attractions from this famous river. It is always a great idea to go for a boat ride amidst a New Orleans travel.

1. What is a New Orleans boat tour?

A New Orleans boat tour is a tour taken down the Mississippi river that passes through the city of New Orleans. Most boat tours are great tourist attractions as they showcase the best of New Orleans from the waters.

2. How good are the New Orleans boat tours?

The tours are rally great and a good way to enjoy New Orleans, several additional services are provided in the boat rides like music and entertainment that makes a boat ride through New Orleans a never miss.

3. Where can I find and book a good New Orleans boat ride?

You can find a New Orleans boat ride from a directory or a travel agent, we have provided you with a few links to start out with to make your search easier and streamlined.

http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/

http://www.bigeasytours.us/tours/tourType.cfm?ttid2=1928

http://www.creolequeen.com/

New Orleans city is home to more than 30 museums, and all these museums are world class and have exhibits which shouldn't be missed by any visitor. Most of these exhibits are interactive so that the children will not be bored. From a specialized sculpture museum to the WWII Museum, you must visit as many of the museums as possible while in the city. Whatever you want to learn about the city you will find in the museums of New Orleans. You can also have comfortable accommodations at several New Orleans area hotels located near the museum.

Finding the New Orleans Museums

- You can begin your New Orleans museum tour by visiting the Cabildo and the Presbytyre located at Jackson Square. Here you can view the earliest New Orleans history.

- After that you can visit the Ogden Museum of Southern Art located at 925 Camp Street. This museum has the world's most comprehensive collection of southern art.

- After visiting the Ogden, you can walk across the street and visit the stunning National World War II Museum. The interactive exhibits at this museum will take you to the 1930s to the D Day and the Pacific Islands battles.

- You can walk down a block to the Children's Museum located at 420 Julia Street. This museum is totally interactive and exclusively devoted to children. The museum has several fun activities for the children which the whole family can enjoy.

- After that you can visit the Treme neighborhood which has the New Orleans African American Museum. The gardens around the museum covers an entire block of the city and some of the courtyards are made with original homemade bricks.

- Visit the New Orleans Museum of Art located at the Esplanade Avenue's end. The museum has $ 200 million collections in its 46 galleries with exhibits from around the world.

Here are some links to the Museums of New Orleans:

http://www.visiato.com/neworleansmuseums.htm

http://www.neworleansmuseums.com/

http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/arts/museums/