Finding entertainment in New Orleans when you are traveling alone is easy with this list of tourist attractions, group sightseeing tours and activities that you can do when you're on vacation by yourself.
It seems that when most people these days think of New Orleans, they immediately think of Mardi Gras, and the wild side of the French Quarter - non-stop partying and drunken debauchery with huge crowds of people available at a moment's notice. This kind of image could easily give somebody the idea that going to New Orleans alone would not be a very fun time. However, the city holds many attractions that are just as enjoyable when experienced by yourself as they are when you are with friends, family, or loved ones.
Of course there's plenty of food to eat, should you desire some delicious Cajun cooking, or just about any other cuisine you should desire. One of my personal favorites is the Camellia Grill, in the city's Garden District - the Garden District itself being a great place to visit when you're by your lonesome. Right near the corner of where South Carrolton bends into St. Charles Avenue, the Camellia Grill has the excellent combination of tasty (albeit not the most healthy) food and an entertaining atmosphere. It is almost impossible to eat by yourself there, because the staff of the old-style diner will keep you company and hopefully bring more than a few smiles to your face. Just make sure to keep some cash handy - they don't take personal checks or credit cards there.
After eating lunch, a short drive or streetcar ride down St. Charles can deliver you to the beautiful Audobon Park, across the street from the universities of Tulane and Loyola. The park boasts huge ancient oaks, a golf course, a lagoon, tennis courts, and a widely used 1.75-mile trail that leads around the perimeter of the park. This trail is perfect for jogging, biking, or just taking a scenic and peaceful walk by oneself. It's not a bad way to work off some of that famous New Orleans cuisine, either.
From the park, getting back on the streetcar and riding it all the way downtown in the early afternoon can itself be a very pleasant experience. Passing by magnificent, beautiful houses, listening to the clanking and buzzing of the streetcar, surrounded by natives and tourists, feeling the slight breeze from the open windows on either side of you - and it only costs a dollar and a quarter for however far you want to ride. Plus there is just something enchanting about riding on such an antique vessel of transportation in the modern era of sports utility vehicles and foreign-made cars.
Once you reach Canal Street downtown, the options are pretty vast of things you can do to entertain yourself. Depending on the time of day, you might be able to catch one of the famous Haunted Ghost Tours of the French Quarter - certainly an activity that can be done with a friend, it is a lot of times spookier when you are left by yourself at the end of the tour, with visions of phantoms of the city's past running through your head. There is a plethora of shops of all varieties all over the French Quarter, including the large open-air French Market, where you can get anything from souvenirs to old records to kettle corn to fresh produce. If it is getting late and the shops have closed, perhaps you'd rather catch some live music at the House of Blues, Tipitina's, or any of the city's other concert venues. Or maybe try your luck at the Harrah's casino, right at the end of Canal Street. And, of course, there are countless bars and clubs readily available if you'd like to have a cocktail before you head back home.
New Orleans is often seen as nothing more than a gigantic tourist trap, or a den of iniquity rivaling Las Vegas - but the city has a rich and varied culture, a fascinating history, and plenty of attractions to offer that have nothing to do with partying or people trying to make a buck off of unwitting visitors. It is a fun city to explore regardless of whether you are alone, with your significant other, or visiting with a whole group of people.
