New Orleans Mardi Gras has always been a bucket list item for me. In college there wasn’t a party that you wouldn’t find me at, and there wasn’t a beer that I wouldn’t finish, but my body has been less cooperative with me over the past few years, so binge drinking every weekend is no longer on the list of favorite hobbies. However, Mardi Gras has remained firmly on my bucket list. The thought of everyone wearing crazy masks, nonstop parades, and Cajun cuisine is enough to entice me any day.
The reactions from a lot of my friends was that of a negative nature: “You’d have to pay me to go down there during Mardi Gras,” and “The whole thing just sounds like a massive shitshow,” and “Good luck. That sounds too crazy for me.” Congratulations, guys, for sitting so carefully perched up there on your haughty high horse, but there are actually a ton of reasons to head to the Big Easy for this massive celebration, reasons rooted in Mardi Gras’s rich history and New Orleans culture, reasons extending far beyond sucking down alcohol and flashing people for beads. Cripes.
Unfortunately, I was deathly ill for the entire trip, hacking up a lung with even the slightest chuckle and wandering around delirious from head congestion. While it certainly put a bit of damper on the experience, it didn’t stop us from having a ton of fun and seeing what Mardi Gras in New Orleans has to offer. Here is a guide with everything I learned to help you plan your trip next year!
What is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras, when translated directly from French to English, is Fat Tuesday. It has been celebrated for thousands of years around the world, mainly by Roman Catholic populations, as the day before the season of Lent begins. The practice first began in Rome as debaucherous celebrations of spring and fertility, and when Christianity came to Rome, the traditions became incorporated into the new faith. These traditions spread across the rest of Europe over time, including into France and Spain.
Mardi Gras came to New Orleans right before the turn of the 18th century, when French explorers Iberville and Bienville came to Louisiana a few miles south of what is now the Big Easy, dubbed the spot Point du Mardi Gras, and held a celebration, which turned into annual street parties and balls in the decades to come.
In the early 19th century, the first parade took place in New Orleans, the beginnings of what we know as modern day Mardi Gras. The celebrations and parades today begin several weeks before Fat Tuesday itself, all culminating on the big day in one huge crazy shebang. Mardi Gras remains a legal holiday in Louisiana to this day, drawing visitors from all over the country and the world and considering itself the “best free party in the world.”
What are krewes?
The krewes of New Orleans are basically big social groups that put on the parades or balls during the Carnival season. An interesting tidbit about Mardi Gras is that the city actually doesn’t pay for any of it (beyond the extra police force necessary for such an event). Instead, krewe members are assessed an annual fee that goes towards parade and ball funding. Some of the krewes are super exclusive, only offering membership to relatives of previous members, some hold private parties for members throughout the year, and some donate money to charities. It’s like a sorority, only cooler and way less of a less cliché.
Good Tips for a successful Mardi Gras
Keep up with the parades
While in New Orleans I used the Mardi Gras New Orleans website to check the parade schedule and parade route maps. This is an easy way to keep up with which krewe’s parades are going on when, which neighborhoods the parades are taking place and what route the parade will take, and a little bit about the krewe putting on the parade. You can always wander around and find parades pretty easily, but this helps you plan a little better and make sure you’re hitting the parades you want to hit (Bacchus and Endymion are two of the biggest and most prominent parades of the entire Carnival season, BY THE WAY).
And arrive early
Even if you are rolling your eyes at the mere suggestion of planning out which parades you want to see (maybe you’re one of those “free spirits” who doesn’t NEED planning, ever), keep in mind that some people are staking out spots for parades, especially the big ones, 12 FUGGING HOURS IN ADVANCE. 12 hours!! While I personally feel that is a bit excessive, you’re bound to enjoy yourself far more if you can nab a spot right up in the action, as opposed to four rows of people away from the parade route. There are a LOT of people in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Take your drinks on the road
Mardi Gras has always been a raucous festival, which means that alcohol is prominent and getting drunk is encouraged. New Orleans is one of very few cities around the country that does not have strict open container laws, meaning you can drink alcoholic bevs from a plastic cup on the sidewalk. GREAT NEWS for Mardi Gras attendees. And to be perfectly honest, people were drinking from beer cans and other non-plastic containers all over the place, so it’s kind of a free-for-all.
There are bars and restaurants selling these massive frozen daquiris on every street, and there are booths selling beer and hurricanes, a signature New Orleans cocktail, on the side of parade routes, so you will have no issues finding whatever you want.
Avoid Bourbon Street at night unless you want to live a literal nightmare
Oh my fugging lord. I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly miserable this was. I was close to either bursting into tears or tearing through the crowd and furiously smacking everyone who came near me in the face with the several pounds of beads hanging from my neck (okay, so maybe I don’t handle stress very well). The point is, the place is PACKED to the freakin BRIM with people, mostly drunk people, mostly oblivious people, and you won’t be getting anywhere fast.
It’s also important to note that Bourbon Street is more of a touristy area compared to the rest of the city. This is where you go if you want to drink a lot and stay out until 3 am, not necessarily if you want to experience New Orleans culture. Unless you’re looking for a rowdy night, I’d recommend steering clear of Bourbon at night (during the day it’s slightly better, and it is still cool to see) and spending the evening on Frenchman Street, less overrun by tourists, and where every other establishment is a jazz club or live music venue.
Unless you can get up on a balcony
The one exception to this is if you are feeling peckish and can sit up on a balcony overlooking the street as you eat. We arrived in the evening on Friday, and after washing up and taking several different types of cold medicines, headed downtown for some authentic Louisiana gumbo. Trust me, people are not really going to be looking to be eating gumbo at 10 pm on Friday night on this particular weekend, so look for a restaurant that has a balcony, order a locally brewed Canebrake, and people watch to your heart’s content.
Bring a bag for your throws
There are dozens of floats in each parade, and each float is tossing beads, cups, and toys like there is no tomorrow. They’re sometimes whipping the stuff at you like they’re using you for target practice, so prepare for some bruises. I’m serious, it is painful. You’re bound to end up with a haul, especially if you’re spending all day at the parades. I unfortunately had to leave a lot of my throws behind, so it’s better to bring a bag big enough to collect all your goodies and bring them home with you. There’s no better souvenir.
Collect Doubloons
Doubloons have been thrown from Mardi Gras floats for almost 100 years, each representing their respective krewes. This was one of my favorite throws and one of the few I made sure to fit in my carry-on on the way home.
Dress up!
Literally anything goes during Carnival season in New Orleans, so wear whatever the fuck you want. There were grown men running around in tutus, women wearing unicorn horns, and almost everyone was wearing feathers and sequins in some capacity. There are stores all over the place downtown selling Mardi Gras colored shirts, leggings, sweatshirts, boas, hats, masks, YOU NAME IT. Don’t be afraid to get weird. It’s fun.
Get a free king cake
This year was the first year that Mardi Gras was graced with this amazing pop-up party right outside of Harrah’s, and I am hoping it becomes an annual tradition. Crown Royal held the party in order to collect the unwanted beads of Mardi Gras attendees and exchange them for a free Gambino’s Bakery king cake (brioche dough covered in sweet glazed and sprinkled with sugar – hundreds of thousands are eaten in New Orleans during the Carnival season, and they have been around for about 300 years). At least three pounds of beads gets you one huge king cake. Those beads are donated to the Arc of New Orleans, which is a non-profit running a year-round bead recycling project in order to create jobs and help the mentally disabled gain independence. The beads are sorted and repackaged and resold the next year to krewes looking for beads to throw from their floats. It’s a great cause, and it’s a free king cake.
Regardless of whether you trade your beads for a king cake or not, king cakes are part of the Mardi Gras tradition, a must-eat while in New Orleans, so stop at any bakery throughout the city for one of these delicious treats.
Experience Nola beyond the parades
Don’t think that Mardi Gras is solely limited to getting battered in the head with beads at parades. New Orleans is one of the weirdest, most unique cities I’ve ever visited in the United States. It may even be THE most unique city. There is a ton to do, and never enough time to do it.
Voodoo has been a huge part of Louisiana culture since the African diaspora (and I’m low key a huge American Horror Story fan, so it was cool to see the city and the history that inspired that storyline). There are witchery shops and voodoo museums all across the city. The French Market in the French Quarter, selling meat, fruits, vegetables, fish, art, and other souvenirs, was originally founded as a Native American trading post long before European colonization, making it one of the oldest markets in the country. The Garden District is considered one of the south’s best-preserved collections of historic mansions.
Jackson Square is a National Historic Landmark for being the site where Louisiana was made United States territory through the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans’ cemeteries are one of its most popular attractions, the tombs embellished with designs inspired by French and Spanish architecture. Frenchmen Street is an authentic New Orleans experience in and of itself (go to The Spotted Cat or 30/-90 for live jazz music and drinks).
Phew. See what I mean? This place is full of ways to spend an afternoon.
Getting to Nola
My friend and I planned our trip to New Orleans several months in advance, i.e. in no way last minute, and the freaking flights were nearly $1,000 round trip from DC. I could not find anything cheaper than $500 one way. I could bitch and whine all day and all night about the lunacy of American airlines’ flight prices, but I won’t right now. Because traveling is about being resourceful. If you can find an affordable flight into Nola for Carnival, great. If you are like most humans with limited funds, there are other options available.
Amtrak is a great option if you are coming in from anywhere on the East Coast. Tickets from DC to New Orleans were about $120, over $300 cheaper than a flight, though the trip was over 24 hours long. We had initially booked a seat on Amtrak, but for incredibly stupid and avoidable reasons missed our train. Amtrak is very accommodating in these situations and refunded most of our ticket, which we then used to rent a car last minute through Avis for $197 total. That’s $100 per person plus gas, it is faster than the train, and allowed us to stop a few places in the south along the way. Mardi Gras would be a perfect stop on a longer, more organized southern road trip as well (I am already planning on doing this at some point, especially since I’d love to experience Mardi Gras without feeling like I’m teetering on the edge of death).
How to get around while you’re there
My biggest suggestion is to ditch your car if you’re driving in. You don’t need that thing. In fact, it’ll be nothing but a burden you resent every waking hour you spend in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Most of the streets down by the parades are closed off, and navigating down there is a nightmare. Depending on where you’re staying, walking is your absolute best bet, but if you are staying too far from downtown and are unable to walk, I’d recommend downloading the RTA gomobile app, which allows you to purchase passes and look up public transportation schedules.
For $9, you can get a 3-day Jazzy Pass, which will allow you to ride the Nola buses or streetcars whenever you want. Both a bus ride and a streetcar ride on its own is $1.25. So you can determine how to go about it, based on how much you need help getting around. My only recommendation is to contact the RTA and see which lines are running during Carnival, since there are a lot of restricted access roads. We sat at a bus stop for about 30 minutes past the scheduled arrival at one point because we didn’t know that bus wasn’t running through that stop. Don’t be dumb. Learn from these mistakes.
Staying safe
I’ve heard people say that New Orleans is not a safe city, and I cannot really attest to what it’s like in the off-season. During Carnival season, I’d argue that the city is probably safer than usual, because there are police officers patrolling the streets around every corner. In general, follow all the basic rules: stick to populated areas at night, get away from any area that makes you uncomfortable, and keep your purse or wallet close to your body in crowded areas. There are going to be people out looking to pick-pocket some oblivious drunk person, but if you aren’t an oblivious drunk person, you should be just fine.
Where to stay
Keep in mind that, like flights, hotels get booked up quickly for Mardi Gras, so try to get things booked well ahead of time. Browse here for the best deals on places to stay in New Orleans.
New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration is weird, eccentric, and festive, and it is something everyone, whether you’re old, young, an avid partier or not, should see at least once in their life. Just be sure to load up on your vitamin C first. Trust me.
