Port guide: New Orleans, US

This dual ocean and river port is one of America’s most historical cities but also has throbbing contemporary excitement thanks to its music and nightlife scenes.

Who goes there

The US’s sixth-largest cruise port sees a whole variety of mostly larger ships from the likes of Celebrity and Disney call in. Norwegian and Royal Caribbean also homeport ships there seasonally, and Carnival year-round, for cruises to the Mexican coast and Caribbean. Meanwhile Viking, American Cruise Lines and American Queen Voyages operate river-cruise ships on itineraries upstream to Memphis and sometimes beyond.

Morning mist on the Mississippi … Port of New Orleans.Credit: Getty Images

Sail on in

The Mississippi is wide, muddy and sluggish and the landscape flat, so the arrival isn’t as dramatic as you might hope for. You’ll mostly see modern office blocks, container ships, iron bridges and, as you approach the dock, vast cruise-terminal car parks that signal America’s devotion to the automobile.

Berth rites

Erato Street and Julia Street terminals are adjacent and a short drive from the downtown French Quarter. Which one you dock at depends on your cruise line. You’ll find a small cafe, souvenir shops, ATMs and plenty of seating. A short walk takes you to a shopping mall with two-dozen restaurants and many more shops. River cruises depart from different wharfs at Thalia Street or Poydas Street.

Before and after

You’ll have abundant accommodation choices, since New Orleans is a major tourist centre. If you want to treat yourself, stay at luxury boutique Audubon Cottages or the oh-so-hip Ace Hotel. B&Bs such as the cute Chimes B&B in the Garden District are generally a more reasonably priced option.

Going ashore

The French Quarter is a masterpiece centred on Jackson Square.Credit: Getty Images

The French Quarter, the original 18th-century New Orleans and one of few surviving historic centres in the US, is a masterpiece centred on Jackson Square. Explore its history, museums and many literary connections from Tennessee Williams to Anne Rice. Gallier Historic House in Royal Street, full of 1850s period furniture, provides an insight into New Orleans in its heyday. You’ll also want to investigate voodoo shops, cocktail bars and jazz and blues venues, and experience the nightlife, which is particularly raucous along Bourbon Street.

Don’t miss

The Garden District, which has a superb assortment of mansions in Italianate, Georgian and other styles, flanked by lush, tangled gardens and shaded by giant oak trees that hang with Spanish moss. Its dilapidated grandeur and slight edge of melancholy provides the perfect New Orleans atmosphere as imagined in vampire stories.

Get active

New Orleans is more pedestrian and bike-friendly than many American cities. You can ride out of the city along the Lafitte Greenway, or along the levee that (not always) protects it from Mississippi floods. You can also kayak on Bayou St John. Among several nearby golf courses are City Park and the Uptown Golf Club.

Best bites

For a contemporary twist on classic southern fare such as pulled pork, boudin balls (akin to arancini) and bread pudding, you can’t beat Boucherie. Arnaud’s restaurant dishes up terrific cocktails and classic but upmarket creole fare, and has an adjacent bistro with evening jazz music. The city has great ice-cream and milkshakes from outlets such as Angelo Brocato and Creole Creamery, where you can indulge in magnolia-flower, blueberry pie and peanut-butter fudge flavours.

New Orleans and its Elms Mansion.

Further afield

Since ships are usually in New Orleans for embarkation or disembarkation day, you won’t find organised shore excursions further afield but, given the city has so many delights, that should be no disappointment. You could however potentially visit plantation homes yourself, or go on a Louisiana swamp tour in a boat or (to the delight of kids) an airboat.