The list of reasons I love New Orleans is always growing.
As a native Texan who has visited New Orleans dozens of times over the years, I never get tired of the magic here!
NOLA is truly my home away from home.
These are the top reasons why I love New Orleans so very much:
The People
The people are one of the biggest reasons I love New Orleans.
They are warm, funny, genuine, and wildly welcoming in a way that feels rare anywhere, let alone in a major city.
Conversations with restaurant and hotel staff never feel forced. Everyone seems invested in your happiness as if you have known them forever.
I’ve had some of the best random convos of my life on New Orleans sidewalks, inside coffee shops, and while waiting for a table at a brunch spot.
If you have ever been to a city where everyone feels like they exist in exclusive little circles (looking at you, L.A., Miami), New Orleans is the exact opposite.
You instantly belong here, and that is one of the reasons I love New Orleans most.
The Walkability
Walkability is way high on the list of reasons I love New Orleans.
The French Quarter is unbelievably easy to explore on foot, and the Garden District is just as simple. The St Charles streetcar connects the two for just a few dollars, so you can float between neighborhoods without needing a car.
Read: The Streets of New Orleans
The Food
You knew food would be on this list.
It’s true: food will forever be one of the reasons I love New Orleans.
NOLA takes flavor seriously.
It pulls from French, Spanish, Caribbean, Creole, and Cajun influences, so you know its FIRE.
Crawfish boils in the spring are joyful chaos. Gumbo tastes better here than anywhere else. Beignets are a requirement.
New Orleans understands comfort, and it understands fun. Its food reflects that.
Read: The Food Guide to New Orleans or my Review of Brennan’s
Everywhere You Look, You’re Looking at History
Another reason I love New Orleans is that I’m far from the first to love it.
If you’re an American, you’ve felt it the first time you visited Europe:
That specific feeling that washes over you when you stand near something truly ancient.
Its an awareness that you are just one small moment in a much longer story.
The air feels heavier, the space feels somehow wiser, and the details around you speak without saying a word. You notice worn bricks, softened edges, and colors that have faded in the most beautiful way.
It makes you slow down.
You imagine who walked there before you and what their lives looked like. Being near something old feels grounding yet magical, like time stretches in both directions and you get to stand inside the overlap.
Read: The Truth About the French Quarter of New Orleans
Romantic, Dreamy Architecture
Architecture is another one of the reasons I love New Orleans.
The French Quarter glows with colorful Creole townhomes, narrow streets, and iron balconies decorated with greenery.
Its romance meets nostalgia.
Uptown, grand mansions line quiet streets and show off some of the best preserved antebellum architecture in the country.
Read: 13 Iconic Things to Do in the Garden District
Community for All
Community is one of the most powerful reasons I love New Orleans.
The city celebrates together. It gathers in public spaces. It values connection.
Mardi Gras krewes, second lines, crawfish boils, Saints games, porch parties, neighborhood festivals, even the smallest celebrations make you feel part of something bigger.
As a tourist, you aren’t left on the outside.
Spend a few hours in the French Quarter and you will probably end up in the middle of a parade or party without even trying. You are never alone here.
Which brings me to the next reason I love New Orleans:
Read: The Guide to Jackson Square
Living Life as One Big Celebration
The city comes together for everything and anything.
Festivals fill nearly every month of the year.
From Mardi Gras season to the legendary Jazz Fest, gatherings center around live music, food, and joy.
Even events around life milestones feel like a celebration here, from weddings to second lines honoring death.
If joy were a city, it would be this one.
Read: The Bourbon Street Bucket list
The Music That Follows You
Another big reason I love New Orleans is the music that drifts through the air, no matter where you are.
Its not something staged or polished for tourists. It feels alive and spontaneous, almost like the city is singing to itself.
You can be walking down Royal Street in the morning and hear a trumpet warming up on a balcony or hear a jazz trio at the French Market.
New Orleans treats music a shared language, and it becomes part of your trip.
Read: How to Visit New Orleans on a Budget
Halloween in New Orleans
One of the top reasons I love New Orleans is how the city commits to Halloween.
I have been to New Orleans for Halloween more times than I can count, and it never gets old.
The costumes, the creativity, the decorated porches, the ghost tours, the energy, the way the entire city gets involved, it is unmatched.
No place in America does Halloween like New Orleans.
If you love the holiday even a little, you will love it a lot in NOLA.
Read: How to Celebrate Halloween in New Orleans
All Outfits Are Welcome
Another one of the reasons I love New Orleans is how you can wear absolutely anything and its chill.
This city celebrates individuality in a way that is freeing.
I have worn colorful outfits, goth looks, sparkly pieces, oversized hats, dramatic makeup, simple jeans, slutty mini dresses in cold weather, and costumes on random weekdays, and no one has ever batted an eye.
This city respects expression.
You can show up in something revealing, something wild, something entirely made of sequins, or something you threw together in five minutes, and you will blend right in.
New Orleans gives you permission to be yourself in full color, and that is a rare kind of magic.
Read: What to Wear in New Orleans by the Month
It’s Close to a Different World
What world, you ask?
A world of wildlife, waters thick with secrets, ancient cypress branches drawing close to you, ready to absorb your secrets and keep them for centuries.
I’m talking about the swamps, of course.
Many people miss taking a swamp tour, at least on their first visit to the city.
My advice is, don’t.
Plus, most swamp tours pick you up directly from your hotel, so it is easy to fit into your trip.
Read: How to Take a Swamp Tour in New Orleans
Check in
What do you love most about New Orleans? Share with me in the comments 🙂
Read More
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My Review of Le Richelieu Hotel in New Orleans
11 Creepy & Cool Haunted Sites in New Orleans
Road Trip from Dallas To New Orleans
