{"id":737,"date":"2016-02-09T10:22:02","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T18:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/?p=737"},"modified":"2025-03-20T08:12:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T15:12:37","slug":"mardi-gras-in-new-orleans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/news\/mardi-gras-in-new-orleans\/","title":{"rendered":"Mardi Gras in New Orleans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Big Easy from a newb\u2019s perspective<\/span><\/h2>\n

When a friend, a recent New Orleans transplant, asked if I wanted to swing by for Mardi Gras this year, I didn\u2019t think twice. I pooled my miles and bought the first ticket out there.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking about checking Mardi Gras in NOLA off your travel bucket list, here\u2019s a quick rundown of the festival, as well as some survival tips gleaned from my fledgling pilgrimage to this wacky annual affair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mardi Gras 101<\/span><\/h3>\n

Traditionally, Mardi Gras (\u201cFat Tuesday\u201d en anglais) is the last, gluttonous hurrah before the fasting season of Lent, and Carnival makes up the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. In New Orleans, it\u2019s also been synonymous with parades, balls, and even debuts for the society set since the 1830s.<\/span><\/p>\n

For outsiders like myself and NOLA insiders alike, Carnival revolves around the parades. They determine both your social itinerary, as well as traffic patterns and how to get to where you\u2019re going on the path of least resistance. There\u2019s even a Parade Tracker App<\/a>. Each parade is put on by<\/span> krewes<\/span>, secret-ish societies that pay annual dues to create floats, don masks, roll down the parade route, and toss various swag (\u201cthrows\u201d) to the eager crowds below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throws can be anything from the iconic beads to cups to doubloons to t-shirts and even hand-decorated (and much coveted) shoes (from the all-female<\/span> Krewe of Muses<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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The night-time parades are lit by gentlemen called<\/span> Flambeaux<\/span><\/a>, who both bear torches after each float and perform for tips.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pro-tip: Head\u2019s up! Some throws can pack a punch. I got a wee\u00a0black eye from a bead catching mishap, and apparently it\u2019s not that uncommon. War wounds like that are well worth it.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Survival guide<\/span><\/h3>\n

All that said, New Orleans during Mardi Gras is intense. Here are my top survival tips.<\/span><\/p>\n

LET THE LOCAL HOSPITALITY IN.<\/span><\/h4>\n

New Orleanais are nice. Like, really, genuinely nice. Mardi Gras is chaotic (to say the least), but you\u2019ll be in good hands. The locals are always ready to give directions, share some throws, pump up a flat bike tire, and even help you cross the parade route with said bike an (ill-advised) half dozen times through crushes of people when you\u2019re trying to make your dinner reservation. What could have been a panic-inducing nightmare turned out to be a lesson in humility and a restoration of faith in people.<\/span><\/p>\n

DITCH THE HURRICANE, SIP A SAZERAC.<\/span><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s no secret that Mardi Gras, New Orleans, and booze go hand in hand in hand, but it takes the right kind of booze to make or break the experience. Ditch the Hurricanes or those ridiculous blue concoctions and savor a Sazerac, a sip-worthy drink of rye, bitters, and sugar, finished with absinthe. Give it a try at<\/span> The Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone<\/span><\/a> \u2014 rumor has it not only is the hotel haunted, but also it\u2019s one of the few bars that uses real absinthe.<\/span><\/p>\n

EMBRACE THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF PHO.<\/span><\/h4>\n

There\u2019s a huge Vietnamese population in New Orleans, and their signature soup dish, pho, is one of the\u00a0greatest saviors for weary, bleary mornings after late night festivities on Frenchmen\u2019s Street or in the Quarter. They can be found everywhere \u2014 uptown, downtown, Mid-City, the Bywater \u2014 so just grab a spoon and some chopsticks and let the broth work its magic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alright, revelers! Stay safe, be aware of your surroundings, never drink and drive, buckle your seatbelts, and get ready for quite a trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Mardi Gras, y\u2019all!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Find a car in NOLA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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List your car in NOLA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Big Easy from a newb\u2019s perspective When a friend, a recent New Orleans transplant, asked if I wanted to swing by for Mardi Gras this year, I didn\u2019t think…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-wayfaring"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t