What to do in New Orleans in spring
- Aimee Boudreaux MacIver
- Mar 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 31
Spring in New Orleans absolutely sings. The happy chaos of Mardi Gras has settled into a comfortable ease like perfect blue jeans. Blue skies and sunshine spill through the canopy of ancient oak trees. You can leave your sweaters and jackets behind and let your skin warm outside at endless festivals. New crops of strawberries and seafood harvests fill the air with sugar and cayenne.
If you've been wanting to visit New Orleans, spring is a wonderful time to discover and explore. Here are some of my favorite things to do in New Orleans in spring.
1. Admire the azaleas.
For two or three glorious weeks of spring, the azaleas explode into fireworks of hot pink, deep fuchsia, lavender, snow white, and even striped blossoms. You'll never see colors like these bursting forth from nature anywhere else.
2. Eat boiled crawfish.
If you're not peeling crawfish tails and blistering your lips on cayenne-boiled corn, sausage, and potatoes, are you even in Louisiana? Crawfish are best served steaming hot, poured in giant heaps across a newspaper-covered folding table. Restaurants and local groceries often serve boiled crawfish or other delicious crawfish dishes, but you should strive to eat them with a whole gang of relatives and friends outside. Wear your oldest tee and sunglasses and plan to sit there laughing and slurping together all day long.
3. Take a walking tour of the Garden District.
Spring is the Garden District's annual breathktaking glow-up when block after block of new flowers fills the air with sweet perfume. In fact, the neighborhood earned its name from the lush gardens that edge incredible historic mansions. You can book many great walking tours that take you through dozens of fascinating stories. If you'd like a more Catholic-centric tour of the Garden District, book me! If you're looking for a place to stay, our apartment in the Garden District affords an ideal base for long walks through one of the city's most beautiful and historic neighborhoods.
Whatever you have to pay for a ticket into Jazz Fest, you won't regret it. It's not only the embarrassment of riches in incredible music, but also the unforgettable food, art, cultural features, and pure joy of a thousand new friends. Jazz Fest takes place near Bayou St John, one of my favorite pilgrimage-rich neighborhoods in the city (see my St Frances Cabrini pilgrimage itinerary).
Audubon Zoo is one of the most beautiful zoos in the country. In spring, you'll actually get to see some animals. They'll be outside instead of cooling off inside their habitats like they do most of summer. But you also should go for the magnificent, ancient live oaks and historic, garden-forward design. Audubon Zoo makes an amazing place to spend a day outside walking and talking. And don't miss everyone's favorite feature: the beloved Monkey Hill, built in the 1930s so the children of New Orleans could experience a hill.
How do I love thee, New Orleans City Park? Let me count the ways! Even bigger than New York's Central Park, City Park features an abundance of beauty that comes alive in spring. Rent tandem bikes; enjoy the wonderful playground; stroll the bayou with its fairytale stone bridges and hungry ducks; walk the alley of unbelievably massive, moss-draped live oaks, including the 800+ year-old McDonough Oak; and grab beignets at a Café du Monde location that isn’t overrun with tourists. (Just don't do the swan boats—trust.)
7. Stroll the French Quarter.
My favorite time to wander the French Quarter is spring. The colorful cottages and cobblestones look their best in the fresh spring sunshine, and it's not too hot yet to enjoy a steaming café au lait. And it's no accident that the joyful, soulful French Quarter Festival occurs in spring.
8. Go on the Nine Church Walk pilgrimage.
Every Good Friday, we participate in a beloved New Orleans tradition: praying the Stations of the Cross on a long walk across the city at different churches. The walk takes you through a variety of neighborhoods where you'll pass dozens of other groups conducting their own prayer walks. The experience offers rare chance to go inside some historic churches that are no longer open to the public.
9. Hang on the levees.
Levees run along miles of the Mississippi River and ring Lake Ponchartrain. The levees on the lake are an especially lovely setting for fishing, picnics, football, or just throwing down a blanket and reading. You can catch soft breezes from the higher ground and enjoy watching sailboats on the sun-sparkling water (and also look for the longest bridge in the world). Another great levee park is The Fly, which faces the river behind Audubon Zoo.
10. Celebrate the return of full-time snowball season.
First: snowballs are not the New Orleans equivalent of shaved ice or snocones. Snowballs are made of ice so fine that it's almost creamy, with flavors that totally absorb so you'll never get any ice chunks floating in pools of syrup. Some snowballs stands remain open year-round, but most of them reopen full-time in spring. You'll likely have to choose from 30-plus flavor options at most snowball stands; I recommend starting with wedding cake or nectar. You can find a host of great snowball stands around the city. Some of our favorites are LouLou's (the best sugar-free options); Pandora's (right near City Park); Imperial Woodpecker (creative and elevated flavors); and of course the venerable Hansen's Sno Bliz.
11. Shop and lunch on Magazine Street.
Magazine Street offers miles of antique shops, art galleries, and quirky boutiques as well as fantastic coffee, cafes, and bars from the Audubon riverbend to Warehouse District. Nothing beats meandering from shops to cafes on a beautiful spring day.
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