It's rare to have a stretch of rainy days in New Orleans- summer storms are just hour long affairs that lead to clear skies, but every so often we have a full on rainy day. Today was one of those cold, grey January days that, if you only have limited days in NOLA or if it's your day off of work and you were hoping to get out the house... it can bum you out. Turn a "wasted day" into an "almost missed opportunity" with one of these indoor activities. These can also work for those insufferably hot summer days that need a few hours in the a/c:
Museum bang bang: The WW2 Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art and, of course, the Presbytère and Cabildo, are all well known to tourists, but even local's might miss out on these French Quarter gems. You can also check out this post for more recommended museums:
Hermann-Grima House (particularly the Urban Enslavement Tour)
The Historic New Orleans Collection
The Pharmacy Museum
Gallery hopping in the Downtown District: Particularly the galleries through the Warehouse District surrounding the Ogden Museum of Art and the Contemporary Arts Center, the blocks around Julia St. and Camp St. are filled with small galleries that show everything from fine art to craft works.
Map view of galleries concentrated around Julia & Camp streets Bop into shops on Magazine St and Royal St: Magazine St has enclaves of shops at most traffic lights, but my favorites are all the fun, weird shops clustered between the lights at Jackson Ave and Felicity St. Another grouping are the streets between Washington Ave & Louisiana Ave. and again the shopping between Jefferson Ave and State St. Royal St in the French Quarter between Iberville and the St Louis Cathedral have some great fun antique stores like Vintage 329 and a little further down don't skip MS Rau which is a true hidden gem.
Cocoalley (a.k.a. the Opossum Store) on Magazine St. Eat & stroll the French Market: Skip all the tchotchke stalls and head to the produce stall for food souvenirs. Grab lunch at any of the food stalls, or a Miss Loretta's beignet. Close your eyes and try to imagine what the oldest outdoor market in the US was like back in the 1700s.
Check the WWOZ livewire for early afternoon music: Babysit a barstool by checking out this quintessential music calendar for shows that start as early at 2pm seven days a week- you can find somewhere that will be happy to have an audience and interesting conversation with the "daywalkers" over great drinks.
Drinks with friends & live music- daytime edition Activities for "indoor kids": Old school fun at Fulton Alley and Midcity Rock N Bowl, an escape room like Clue Carre or a movie at boutique Broad Theater or historic Prytania Theater
Fulton Alley
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