I'll be touching down in the Big Easy in 2 weeks for a quick girls weekend. What are the must see, eat and drink spots? I'd like a mix of touristy stuff and local tips!

We ate at Dickie Brennan's Steak House when were were there a couple of years ago - pricey but wonderful. Also, don't forget Cafe Du Monde for breakfast - coffee and beignets (spelling?).

Stayed at the Hotel Maison Dupuy in the French Quarter before we departed for a Girls cruise. Really good location. Within walking distance to Burbon Street. Jackson Square . Cafe DuMonde.....The hotel was old world New Orleans. We had 2 rooms with an ajoining balcony (2nd or 3rd floor?) overlooking the street. Nice pool in the courtyard. I would stay there again.

Definitely Café Du Monde for breakfast Friday morning. We're staying at the Dauphine hotel. It's very old New Orleans too. I can't wait.

read this and this.

They also have ghost tours. We (my husband and I) did one and it was OK; however I think with a bunch of girls (and maybe a little of your own spirits) might make it more interesting.

We used the Hop on/Hop Off. If you know exactly where you want to go and when it is not the best solution, but we initially just rode it all the way along its route and listened to our tour guide, and then made a decision about where we would first like to hop off from that. We also did a riverboat cruise, which was nice. And one night we ate at Manning's, and as it happened Archie Manning was present, so we thought that was pretty cool. There was a little sort of tucked away steakhouse we went to, I think it may be called The Star or something similar. We probably wouldn't have wandered in there if the owner had not been out on the sidewalk encouraging us to come in. One of the best steaks I have ever had, but definitely not a place if you want atmosphere. Lots of places to hear live music too.

And if you have the time and feel historically inclined, do go to the WWII museum. It was a moving experience for the group I went with. But it may not fit the theme of a girls' weekend.

The French Market is worth the walk through too.

So much for the hot balmy weather this weekend. Looks like I'll be blowing into town with a tropical storm. Oh well! We'll still have a blast.

yep, rain slated daily through next week...fortunately the heavy stuff should be over by Thursday night...but still a wet weekend

The weather held out for us. Some rain on Saturday but other than that it was perfect.
We did the jazz brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. It was delicious and the music was wonderful. We did a long city tour and learned a lot about the history of Nola. We also did a guided ghost tour. It was not as interesting as we expected but it was made better by the drinks so plentiful along the route. We wandered on our own on Saturday through Decatur street and onto Frenchmen where was heard some great music and had more amazing drinks. We avoided Bourbon St for the most part as it was just a little crazy for us.
We enjoyed the first few minutes of our New Orleans style hotel but the balcony noise got old very quickly and the rain on Saturday did a number on the carpet even though the balcony doors were closed.
All in all another great girls trip in the books. Next year's destination is already being chosen!

Glad you had a good time! Sorry about all the noise...I'll try and hold it down a bit next time.

if you quit showing your "goods" to get beads, the noise decreases greatly...

::keeps an eye out for the next "bad girls" episode of Cops::

When in NOLA...