Author: Victor Block
Published: 2025/03/22
Publication Type: Informative
Topic: Disability Travel America – Publications List
Page Content: Synopsis – Introduction – Main – Insights, Updates
Synopsis: Discover New Orleans beyond Mardi Gras, explore jazz, history, and culture with accessible attractions, immersive museums, and world-class cuisine.
Why it matters: This article provides a captivating look at New Orleans beyond its famed jazz, nightlife, and Mardi Gras festivities, offering insight into the city’s rich cultural and historical attractions. It highlights several museums that showcase the region’s diverse heritage, from the Historic New Orleans Collection to the New Orleans Jazz Museum and Mardi Gras World. The article is particularly useful for travelers, including seniors and individuals with disabilities, as it details accessibility options such as wheelchair-friendly streets, public transport, and rental vans. While acknowledging challenges like cobblestone streets, it reassures visitors that many key sites remain accessible. With its blend of history, food, and immersive experiences, the article serves as a valuable guide for those seeking a deeper appreciation of New Orleans. – Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Quick quiz: Think swinging jazz and soulful blues played in music clubs and by street musicians outside. Picture sidewalks crowded with people sipping beverages from plastic cups as they stroll along.
If you guess that describes New Orleans, you’re right – but there’s more.
Now see yourself visiting museums whose focus ranges from food and festivals to history and mystery. Where? New Orleans again.
Main Item
Many visitors to “the Big Easy,” as it’s nicknamed, are on a quest for fun and frivolity, and both are there in abundant supply. That’s especially true during the Mardi Gras celebration, which marks the end of festivities and start of the traditional Lent fasting season.
But New Orleans has much to offer throughout the year. For those seeking something more educational but no less enjoyable, there’s fascinating history, a rich cultural mélange, and attractions for people with various interests.
A popular French phrase often associated with the “Big Easy,” one of the city’s popular nicknames, is “Laissez les bons temps rouler” (Let the good times roll), which suggests that wheelchair users find the going – well, easy. That’s true for the most part.
Given its age – the French Quarter neighborhood is three centuries old – New Orleans can present some challenges to people with a handicap. Among these are cobblestone streets and missing curb cuts at some corners. Even so, there are ways for those with a disability to take in the sights, and sites.
For starters, many of the major attractions are located relatively close to each other. For example, the riverfront is lined by landmarks which are reachable along a flat pavement. Royal Street is reserved for pedestrians, with no cars allowed.
Many attractions, restaurants and other public facilities are handicap accessible, as are a number of buses and street cars. In addition, some rental vans can accommodate a wheel-chair.
Anyone seeking to delve below the surface of the city’s well-known appeals has an inviting choice of museums that await exploration. They offer insight into aspects of New Orleans for which it’s famous along with less-well-known but no less intriguing tidbits.
My wife Fyllis I spent time walking along Bourbon Street, enjoying music both in bars and outside, and partaking of meals that linger in our minds long after they’ve left our taste buds. We also satisfied our curiosity at museums which, we concluded, too many people may overlook.
A good place for an exploration is The Historic New Orleans Collection. From its modest start, this institution has expanded to occupy 15 historic buildings spread over three blocks in the iconic French Quarter.
Exhibits present the history and culture of New Orleans, Louisiana and the entire Gulf of Mexico region. They document events that have shaped the area as well as the everyday lives of people who passed through and settled there.
Guided tours provide in-depth information for those seeking more than a casual introduction, and changing exhibits offer insight into various aspects of the city’s and area’s stories.
One exhibit is labeled “Backstage at A Streetcar Named Desire.” Visitors get a rare look at the notes of Elia Kazan, who directed the Broadway production. You also may listen to recordings from the original production and see photos from other plays that were presented around the world. Other current exhibits include French Quarter Life and Louisiana’s Coastal Environment and Culture.
You’ll also get a glimpse of the work of 19th century float artists, carnival royalty and Zulu coconuts. These are coconuts that have been drained, shaved and decorated, and are given to float riders who hand them to spectators along the parade route.
Another museum offers an opportunity to experience the wonder of carnival festivities without the wildness. Mardi Gras World is where floats for the parades in New Orleans and other locations around the world have been made since 1947. In a studio so vast it could almost have its own zip code; visitors see artisans constructing lavishly decorated floats literally from the ground up.
The scene is set in a video, followed by a taste of King Cake, a treat closely associated with Mardi Gras. This confection, which is believed to have been brought to New Orleans from France in 1870, is served throughout the carnival season.
During the tour, Fyllis and I felt like Lilliputians in a world of giants. We were dwarfed by larger-than-life likenesses of cartoon figures, movie personalities and fantasy creatures. Oversized animals and flowers the size of trees loomed over us.
Other museums which deal with vital facets of what makes New Orleans such a magnet for tourism rounded out our immersion. The aptly named Old U.S. Mint was built in 1835 and during its decades of operation produced millions of gold and silver coins. Today it houses the New Orleans Jazz Museum, which displays treasure of a different kind. It includes instruments that were played by notable musicians and other memorabilia which traces the history of jazz from its humble beginnings on the city’s streets.
Food has top billing at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, along with local beverages of the city and the South. There’s a separate exhibit area for each southern state, and the story of the various cultures that contributed to the region’s culinary heritage. You may sign up for your own cooking class, where you can learn to make authentic New Orleans dishes like gumbo and jambalaya.
If you’ve ever wondered why New Orleans is called the Crescent City, a new attraction will show you. “Vue Orleans” provides a unique look at the city from the 34th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel. You also may step inside a larger-than-life trumpet shaped listening station to hear Jazz, Blues or Classical music. As you gaze out over the Mississippi River, another exhibit provides the opportunity to virtually pilot a riverboat down its sharp turns and swift currents.
Whether enjoying distinctive dining, listening to world-class jazz or checking out any number of other attractions, New Orleans offers a surprisingly complete menu of choices – a number of which are below the usual visitor radar.
Editorial Note: New Orleans is often celebrated for its revelry, but this article reveals a side of the city that many overlook-one steeped in history, creativity, and culture. From jazz to cuisine and carnival artistry, the city offers a sensory experience beyond its famous parties. Travelers who take the time to explore its museums and lesser-known sites will discover a depth that makes New Orleans a destination worth savoring year-round. – Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Victor Block has been a travel journalist for many years, and has written for major newspapers, magazines and travel websites and served as an editor of Fodor’s Travel Guides. He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the North American Travel Journalists Association. Victor is a regular contributor of reviews to the Disabled World travel section. Visit Victors’s biography for further insights into his background and expertise.