A Guide to Local Mardi Gras Parades and Events

Many tourists center their Mardi Gras season activities on Bourbon Street and the French Quarter; none of the major Mardi Gras parades has entered the French Quarter since 1972 because of its narrow streets and overhead obstructions. Instead, major parades orginate in the Uptown and Mid-City districts and follow a route along St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street, on the upper side of the French Quarter. The parades in New Orleans are organized by Carnival Krewes, the Krewes website: http://www.kreweofzulu.com it is a good idea to get a map of the city and study the areas you wish to visit. New Orleans is a checker boarded city-safe neighborhoods can be within blocks of unsafe areas. Your hotel concierge or front desk can help you with route times, traffic, and parking. http://www.mardigrasparadeschedule.com/

If you are planning a visit to New Orleans during the Mardi Gras season; "try" to make your reservations at least eight months in advance. Do not come to the city thinking you will get a hotel room when you arrive. There are balcony reservations which allow for the evenings events, however, these are very expensive and you will have to reserve a hotel room else where. Nearby towns with hotels might include: Metairie, Kenner, Covington, Hammond, or Slidell. Biloxi, MS and Baton Rouge, LA are 70-miles away, but rooms usually are available. Tip: most hotels in New Orleans during Mardi Gras charge a minimum nights stay. You definitely do not want to come to New Orleans looking for a room. http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/survive.php

If you decide to visit New Orleans, remember that the French Quarter during the Mardi Gras is closed to vehicular traffic. Only French Quarter residents and hotel guests with special parking passes can get by the police barricades. Off-site commerical parking lots are expensive and fill up fast so get there early. Make sure you know how far away your hotel will be and remember taxicabs are more difficult to find at this time of year. If you stay in an outlying hotel, do not depend upon these to support you with transportation to the French Quarter, they are often not in use during the Mardi Gras season. Traffic during the Mardi Gras is unbelievably congested and standard routes are often barricaded to redirect the traffic flow. Subsequently, public transportation can be difficult as bus and streetcar routes and schedules often change during the Mardi Gras, so plan ahead and make sure you know when and how to get back to your hotel. http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/mardi.html

As a last note, visiting the French Quarter during the Mardi Gras is all about planning ahead and doing your homework as to what you would like to see while visiting the French Quarter. The inserted web links are a good place to start as these give much information then this blog could allow. Again, do your homework and plan ahead.

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