2017-01-06 04:28:14
Family fun begins in the Crescent City with kid-friendly adventures that are abundant and diverse, so finding something that everyone will enjoy is easy! Whether you are young or just young at heart, discover family-friendly restaurants, attractions and experiences that the whole crew can enjoy. EXPLORE Family on Single Surrey ©Wheel Fun Rentals Begin your expedition by checking out the four attractions in the French Quarter and Uptown that make up the Audubon Nature Institute. With a zoo, aquarium, giant screen theater and even an insectarium, the institute allows you to get friendly with bugs, explore ape exhibits, reptile habitats and underwater worlds. Explore the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas’ underwater Great Maya Reef exhibit, and get beak to cheek with some sweet birds at the aquarium’s Parakeet Pointe. Visit the Audubon Zoo to test your agility at the four-story-high ropes course known as Kamba Kourse, and then cool off in an inner tube while floating down the lazy river attraction known as Gator Run. Kamba Kourse ©Audubon Nature Institute Join one of City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off's tours for a second-story view of New Orleans' most famous neighborhoods. Their open-air double decker buses pick up and drop off visitors every half hour at prime attractions throughout the French Quarter and Garden District. Double decker Jackson Square bus tour ©City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Families on the go can select from bikes, trikes or fourwheeled pedal-powered surreys from Wheel Fun Rentals, located in City Park. It’s a great way to see the sights while getting a workout. Cool Zoo ©Audubon Nature Institute 38 Embark on an unforgettable swamp tour — one of the best ways to see Louisiana’s wildlife up close. Whether by airboat, kayak or canoe, you're sure to get your gator fix while touring the Spanish moss-shrouded waterways. Honey Island Swamp Tour ©Cajun Encounters If music, art and handcrafted treasures excite your family, plan a stop by the historic French Market, a treat for the senses that also hosts a free monthly concert series featuring children's music. Face painting at French Quarter Festival ©Greg Long Stroll through the ever-artsy French Quarter, or stop by nearby Dutch Alley, home to the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, where you’ll find live music and programs for kids. Keep the creativity flowing with a visit to Jackson Square, and wander the pedestrian mall to watch artists at work. For a behind-the-scenes peek at the artistic side of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations, drop by Mardi Gras World, where your family can learn about the floats that roll during Carnival season. Take a photo in front of floats, with parade props, or wearing traditional carnival costumes LEARN Get some fresh air with a Royal Carriages mule-drawn carriage tour through the French Quarter. Or take a tour with stories, props and stops geared just for kids with French Quartour Kids, whose new teen tour takes kids on a historical New Orleans journey, seen through the eyes of a 19th-century teenager. Exterior ©The National WWII Museum Still have a hunger for history? Then head over to the Louisiana State Museum's Cabildo, Presbytere and 1850 House, located in the heart of Jackson Square, to learn many of the state’s fascinating, true tales. Longue Vue House & Gardens offers visitors an inside peek at how wealthy New Orleans philanthropists lived decades ago. New Canal Lighthouse is a real working lighthouse and museum where children and adults can learn fascinating facts about Louisiana’s ecology. The National WWII Museum's new Road to Tokyo exhibit is an interactive, aweinspiring peek into Pacific battles the Allies faced. Round out your adventure at one of the many plantations that are open to the public. On your plantation tour, you’ll see and hear about Louisiana history right where it was made. Longue Vue House & Gardens ©Ryan Lips Royal Carriages ©Nancy Landry PLAY A favorite for fast-paced families is Mid City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl. See who can roll strikes and who just can’t keep their ball out of the gutter during a friendly game of bowling. Audubon Zoo ©Miles/Chris Granger Another place for endless fun is at the Louisiana Children’s Museum. Here, kids can step inside a giant bubble or explore a cargo ship — it's an exciting way for children to learn while they play! ©Louisiana Children's Museu New Orleans City Park is home to Carousel Gardens, where children can hop aboard more than a dozen rides including a Ferris wheel and an antique hand-carved carousel. The family can also play a round of 36 holes at mini-golf park City Putt. To get the adrenaline pumping, try a new high-flying watersport that combines jet skiing and snowboarding at NOLA Flyboarding. For a relaxed ride through New Orleans history, hop aboard one of the city’s fabled streetcars. Easy and affordable, these stop at some of New Orleans' kid-friendliest attractions such as the Audubon Zoo and the French Market. Pick up a $3 one-day Jazzy Pass and ride as often as you like. EAT With casual atmospheres and children’s menus, many New Orleans restaurants are made for fun-loving families. Mulate’s was designed to be the ultimate kid-friendly restaurant: The owners’ daughters weighed in on foods for the made-from-scratch kids menu. After your meal, get dancing: Mulate’s presents live Cajun music nightly, and the dance floor does fill up. Beignets at Café Du Monde ©Susan Smith Café Du Monde is a must-taste, serving warm beignets (a French donut, pronounced ben-yays), chocolate milk and chicory coffee. Take a picture of the family member who gets the most powdered sugar on them! Seafood © The Crazy Lobster Swing by Deanie’s Seafood in the French Quarter for fried shrimp and crawfish tails, Central Grocery for their tasty muffulettas or Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. For their Cajun shrimp. Dare the family to try something new like the gator bites at the The Crazy Lobster in the Central Business District. This eatery offers live music nightly, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. Still hungry? Try Mother’s Restaurant, a local joint famous for its po-boy made with bits of roast beef shavings in gravy, known as debris. Debris po' boy © Mother's Restaurant Adventure in City Park Family strolling in New Orleans City Park At City Park, the possibilities for outdoor family fun are endless! Here are just a few of the many activity options you’ll find there: • enjoy coffee and beignets at Morning Call café • head to City Park Boat House, located on Big Lake, to rent a paddleboard, pedal boat, bike or kayak from Wheel Fun Rentals Picking flowers • go on a guided tour of Bayou St. John with outfitter Kayak-iti-yat • see the world's oldest grove of mature live oaks at New Orleans Botanical Garden • ride the narrow gauge train or the Ladybug Roller Coaster at Carousel Gardens (open seasonally) Pedal boat ©New Orleans City Park • play a round of mini-golf at City Putt • let the boys and girls run wild at Storyland (open seasonally), whose 25 larger-than-life fairy tale sculptures are sure to stoke the imaginations of active kids • scale Laborde Mountain, New Orleans’ highest point, in the Couturie Forest
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