New Orleans · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Cheap by American standards and generous with free music, provided you stay off Bourbon Street.
Marigny and Mid-City
The hostels sit in Mid-City near the streetcar and along the edge of the Marigny, both quieter and cheaper than anything inside the Quarter.
What a day costs
Bed 30–55 USD, food 15–35 given a po-boy feeds two meals, and a Jazzy Pass covers streetcars and buses all day for about 3.
Getting around cheap
The St Charles streetcar is a tram and a sightseeing tour at once, Blue Bikes cover the flat grid, and the Algiers ferry crosses the river for pocket change.
Free by day
Brass bands play Jackson Square and Royal Street through the afternoon, City Park has ancient oaks and a sculpture garden, and Audubon Park costs nothing.
Where travellers meet
Frenchmen Street from about seven, where the clubs charge little or nothing and the pavement outside is its own party.