SECOND EDITION! UPDATED MARCH 2015! Traveling to New Orleans on a budget? Want to see New Orleans for free? Here's a travel guide to New Orleans, with dozens of activities that won't cost you a cent. Whether you're in town for Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras, Halloween or just on vacation, you can enjoy free music, free comedy, free dancing, free food, free museums, free art and free culture. The book includes free friendly advice for visiting - especially during festival season - from locals, including where to go, what to see and how to make friends.
It's easy to explore New Orleans for free. It hosts the 'largest free party on Earth' in the form of Mardi Gras each year, but even outside this there are free music and cultural festivals year round. For instance, you can see many of the local Jazz Fest musicians for free almost any night of the week and in much more intimate venues. You can eat free crawfish during the season if you know where to look, and enjoy free food as you sit back and watch the New Orleans Saints. Free comedy shows are available every single night of the week, as are completely free dance lessons. There are weekly free bike tours as well as local museums that open their doors for free to the public.
The book also contains an 'honourable mentions' section, where we list things that - while not strictly free - still represent phenomenal value to visitors and locals alike. See where locals think the best New Orleans happy hours are, which restaurants offer you the best deals and ways to save money all across the city.
Paul Oswell is an award-winning travel writer, and has been visiting and writing about New Orleans since 2001. Having lived in London for 12 years, writing for national newspapers and magazines, he graduated from visiting New Orleans to living there in 2011, and has updated a number of guidebooks. This is his first book about New Orleans. He is the editor of an online travel magazine, www.shandypockets.com