Each year, more than 4 million people come to New Orleans from all over the world to be part of what is often touted as “the greatest party on earth” – the Mardi Gras, or Carnival, which is celebrated just about everywhere, but certainly in New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana, it has a very special flavor.
It’s a very long celebration, starting in January (from after Epiphany), and culminating with Mardi Gras Day – the day before Ash Wednesday. During this time, festive floats, men in costume, music, dancing, and singing are the order of the day. The hustle and bustle is such that it can be difficult to visit New Orleans during this time.
So here are our tips for planning a stay during Mardi Gras.
Contents
- The best time to enjoy Mardi Gras in New Orleans
- How to plan a stay for Mardi Gras
- The routes of the New Orleans Carnival floats
- How to arrange transportation and travel
- Carnival New Orleans: Parking Tips
- Get there early!
- Mardi Gras for Families
- Carnival “behind the scenes”
- Finally, a bit of history: the tradition of the festive floats of Marid Gras
The best time to enjoy Mardi Gras in New Orleans
The festival in New Orleans, as mentioned, is quite long, lasting about a month or so, so you will probably have to choose the period to enjoy the celebrations. Parades and festivities take place all over the city and intensify especially in the last 2 weeks and especially on weekends, but perhaps the peak of the celebration is the last 5 days (starting on the Friday before Mardi Gras).
How to plan a stay for Mardi Gras
Most hotels in the Central Business District and the French Quarter require a minimum stay of 4-5 days and rooms are booked consistently starting in August. In brief: book as early as possible!
What if it’s too late?
If you have to wait until the last minute to book a hotel, there is still hope! Hotels in the days leading up to the festivities receive numerous cancellations of reservations and also have a waiting list to resort to as soon as a room is canceled. To succeed you will have to spend some time on the phone, calling back, but in the end, your persistence may be rewarded!
In any case, waiting until the last minute to book is not a good idea. If you don’t want the minimum overnight stay required in most hotels, it is possible that facilities that haven’t filled all the rooms yet will eventually decide to remove the minimum threshold, however, there is no guarantee about that.
Finally, remember that the parades and festivities begin well before Mardi Gras, and there is more chance during those days of finding vacant rooms in New Orleans hotels. To search for lodging we recommend 2 links:
Accommodations in the Mardi Gras area
Tips on where to stay in New Orleans
The routes of the New Orleans Carnival floats
To be better organized, you should know the route taken by the parades of floats. Given the presence of many krewes, you should consult this page where you can find all the detailed routes to be on the safe side.
One thing that all Mardi Gras parades have in common is that the leaders of the float throw various objects into the crowd. Among these, the most sought after ones are the Mardi Gras beads and plastic doubloons with the date and krewe theme for the year (members of the Zulu krewe make beautifully hand-painted and decorated coconuts).
A Zulu coconut is probably the most coveted and prized prize of the parade, and if you’re lucky enough, you’ll have one to show off to your friends when you return from your trip.
How to arrange transportation and travel
If you are coming from a suburban hotel, remember that the French Quarter during Mardi Gras weekends is closed to road traffic. Only residents and hotel guests with special parking passes can pass the police barricades. Outside parking lots are expensive and fill up quickly (get there early!) and remember: cabs are harder to find this time of year.
It’s a good idea to get a map of the city and study the areas to visit. New Orleans is a “checkerboard city,” with safe neighborhoods just a few blocks away from less salubrious areas. The concierge at your hotel will help you with travel times, traffic and parking.
If you’re staying in a suburban hotel, don’t rely on it too much on hotel transport when it comes to commuting; it’s true that some hotels have shuttles to New Orleans, but it’s also true that they’re often not used during carnival season. Traffic during this time is incredibly congested, and standard routes are often blocked to redirect the flow of traffic.
Using public transportation can also be tricky: bus and streetcar schedules and routes often change throughout the season, so before you leave your hotel, it’s a good idea to plan ahead, informing yourself not only how to get there but also how to get back.
One means to seriously consider is a bicycle, which will allow you to access areas where cars are not allowed or where parking is complicated.
Carnival New Orleans: Parking Tips
Do not park in:
- double parking
- private streets
- in front of fire hydrants
- within 50 feet of bends
- too far from the sidewalk
- on the parade route within three hours of the start of a parade
- no parking at Napoleon and St. Charles on either side of the roadway from 2 hours before the parade
Your car will be towed and you risk a fine of biblical proportions!
Get there early!
Parade routes may seem empty, but the streets quickly get crowded. For the largest parades and evenings during the weekend before Mardi Gras, arrive about four hours early to grab a good spot.
If you arrive late, don’t move any empty chairs or steps you find along the parade route to create a good spot for yourself. Families tend to end up in the same place year after year, and neighbors know their spots pretty well. Someone is always watching in that spot, trust me! If you move a chair or ladder, it won’t go unnoticed.
Mardi Gras for Families
Contrary to popular belief, Mardi Gras is family-friendly, just be careful to avoid the more uninhibited krewe (e.g. Krewe du Vieux) and settle in the more appropriate areas, avoiding the French Quarter. Most families congregate around St. Charles Avenue, midway between Napoleon Avenue and Lee Circle. If you gather here, you will find many families dedicated to picnicking, complete with barbecues all along the parade route.
The area that the media gives the most prominence to is the French Quarter, however this area is not the true core of the celebration. Instead it is an area where more uninhibited behavior is tolerated.
Carnival “behind the scenes”
There is a very unique way to enjoy Mardi Gras in New Orleans, a behind-the-scenes tour that will allow you to learn the secrets of the carnival, also suitable for families. For more information go to this page.
Finally, a bit of history: the tradition of the festive floats of Marid Gras
In 1857, a group called Mistik Krewe of Comus (krewes later) created a torchlight procession with floats illustrating the themes of mythology and classical literature. After the American Civil War (1861-1865), many new krewes, or clubs, began to join the parades and offer gifts to the crowd (candy, colored balls, etc…). The Rex Krewe, which dates back to 1872, is now the most prestigious Mardi Gras club in New Orleans, and it is this group that initiated the traditional coronation of the Carnival King (for more historical background click here).
Today, Mardi Gras has become a major tourist attraction, a must-see among the things to do in New Orleans, with hotels and restaurants booked months (sometimes years!) in advance and with all of the state’s jazz, blues, and Dixieland bands gathering in this charming city to celebrate on every street corner, in bars, in hotels, parties and masquerade balls.
All this explosion of colors suddenly deflates, ending ineluctably at midnight. At the stroke of the hands, Lent begins and the party ends, with the police arriving and bringing with them another parade: that of the street sweepers who come to clean up the streets.
