From a friend of mine who lives in N.O.. I asked him for this a while back and give it to friends visiting there.
There are tours of the "City of the Dead" - cemeteries with above-ground vaults ('cause we have such low water table.) Several tour lines handle that. They will also take you on rides through the historic "Old" garden district along St. Charles Ave. - true mansions and ante-bellum homes.
The places to visit if you are near the French Quarter anyway would include Tipitina's or take a streetcar (rail trolley) down St. Charles STREET (Not Ave as noted above...) to find Michaul's. Either one is noted for Cajun/Creole food and Cajun music.
Most of the French Quarter shops are tourist traps, to be honest. A few of them sell decent trinkets and souvenirs. Try the Riverwalk Shopping Center, which has a couple of up-scale shops that might give better value for the money, not to mention a nice view of the river from the food court.
AVOID K-Paul's and Antoine's - long lines, no reservations, frustrating waits. Food is good but, IMHO, not worth the wait.
Your Father's Moustache is still open, still plays Dixieland jazz. I believe Preservation Hall is also still operating. Haven't been to either in a couple of years. My wife and I can't handle smoke too well and those places are very smokey at times.
Depending on interests, there are some really neat attractions:
- Aquarium of the Americas - considered world-class
- Audubon Zoo - a habitat of considerable size
- any of several music clubs, but be open-minded. In particular, if the sign on the club says something about IMPERSONATORS, don't try to make a date (even from among the audience) unless you are sure of the anatomy of the person who attracted you. Trust me, it will take more than a second look to be sure. And besides, those places rarely have live music. But that isn't to say that they won't put on a good show.
- Central Grocery (on Decatur, which is on the edge of the French Quarter and near Jackson Square) - for the Muffaletta (muff-ah-lett'-ah) sandwich, a diet-killer all by itself and easily a meal for two or three unless you have a world-class tapeworm. Italian cold-cuts and olive salad on an Italian sesame-seed round-top bun about a foot across and it ain't thin, either. Usually toasted and best eaten when warm.
Whatever you do, DO NOT take up anyone on a bet "I bet I know where you got your shoes." (Answer: You got your shoes on your feet - now pay up!) The French Quarter hustler kids will try that in a heartbeat.
With a longer time line and some help in finding the place, the D-Day museum will really sober you up. Tours can find it for you, or a taxi can do so. I don't recall a good bus line passing by there, but I never take public transportation when I'm going there anyway. (My grandson LOVES the place 'cause he's a WW2 nut.)
N'Awlins, if you have the time, is also a rarity - the site of a battlefield in which the USA was invaded - at the Chalmette (shall-met) battlefield. Where Andy Jackson routed the British invasion in 1814. (No offense intended to our friends from the UK - it is just a fact of history.) Like all old battlefields, there isn't much left to see now. Too much has rotted or rusted away, but the old Villere (vill'-er-ray) plantation home is the site of the visitor center. They have some nice displays.