CHRISTMAS NEW ORLEANS STYLE!

When the Holiday Season rolls around in the final month of the year, New Orleans rolls out the red (and green!) carpet for our visitors and locals. Dozens of fun, festive, exciting and educational events are on the marquee every Holiday Season. So many, in fact, you’ll have to make out a “things to do” list and follow a carefully planned schedule. There’s no way you’re going to get to do everything we have to offer. “Christmas New Orleans Style” is just what the name implies: a Holiday Season served up with the unique New Orleans flair that makes our city so special. Ways of celebrating the holidays that simply aren’t done anywhere else. Ways you can’t possibly imagine until you’ve seen and experienced them. New Orleans is world-renowned for great food, great music, great works of art and – above all – GREAT FUN! Come spend your holidays with us. It will be a memory you’ll always cherish! Start your stay here by taking advantage of special, discounted, “Papa Noel” rate deals at local hotels. Once you’re settled in, you can go out and enjoy the cuisine of any one of the many top-tier New Orleans restaurants serving elegant Reveillon dinners. Special holiday offerings of some of the best food you’ll ever have anywhere! New Orleans is also the ideal place for finding the perfect gifts for family and friends – and even yourself. Christmas Shopping in New Orleans is an adventure akin to a treasure hunt. From the elegance of Royal Street and the rest of the French Quarter to the earthiness of Magazine Street, whatever it is you’re looking for, you’ll find it here in this 300 year old city of living history. And, while you’re here, you might want to tour the magnificent Celebration in the Oaks at City Park, a festive display of nearly two million lights adorning centuries-old oak trees. Ride around on one of the last remaining turn-of-the-century wooden horse carousels or take in the lighting displays aboard a narrow-gauge train. Everything you see will dazzle your senses! In the mood for Christmas carols? You can join the happy crowd, singing and swinging during the annual “Caroling in Jackson Square” shindig. Each caroler is given a song sheet and a lit candle so you can read the lyrics if you don’t already know them by heart. But, if you’re not confident in your own singing voice, you can listen to and enjoy the voices of others. Be sure to stop by St. Louis Cathedral for one of their free Christmas concerts. Some of the city’s top singers and musicians make their appearance in the Gothic architectural masterpiece, taking full advantage of its astounding acoustics. There is plenty more to do in New Orleans during Christmastime. Every year the Preservation Resource Center sponsors a Holiday Home Tour, which will take you inside private Garden District homes exquisitely decorated for the Holiday Season. Or, if you prefer a French Quarter Home Tour, the Patio Planters offer one there as well. Either of these tours will give you a taste of real New Orleans ambiance and creativity when it comes to holiday decorating. There’s so much to do during the holidays in New Orleans that it would be impossible to list everything. Read on for a random sampling of some of the best this old but still young at heart “Queen City of the South” has to offer.