There’s no better place to spend a day in New Orleans than City Park, which has playgrounds, pavilions and twenty-four miles of walking trails. Between bikes, swan boats, tennis or pickleball, there is no shortage of activities.
The Botanical Garden was originally built as a rose garden in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration and still has architecture and sculptures from that period. It has a greenhouse with tropical plants, a building with succulents and a sculpture garden. The garden also grows vegetables, herbs and native plants.
Another attraction is the train garden, which is New Orleans in miniature. It displays the neighborhoods of the city and tiny rail lines, including the streetcar system and “Smoky Mary,” an old railroad. Admission is $25 for non-Louisiana residents, $15 for Louisiana residents and free for Louisiana residents on Wednesdays.
New Orleans Museum of Art and Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
The New Orleans Museum of Art has three stories of extensive art galleries with works from around the world. The museum also displays works from local artists and high school students, and has over 50,000 pieces of art in rotating galleries.
NOMA is a great place to go to beat the heat — or the cold — and even has a cafe on the second floor. The museum is free for anyone 19 and under and for Louisiana residents on Wednesdays. It is only eight dollars for Louisiana university students.
Located next to the main museum building, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is filled with winding paths and more than 90 sculptures. It is 12 acres with pedestrian bridges, native plants and sculptures like giant paperclips and the iconic Blue Dog. Admission is free, and there are plenty of benches for sitting and enjoying artwork or the weather.
I am not going to weigh in on who has the best beignet in the city, but if you do want to go to a Cafe du Monde, I would recommend the one in City Park. It sells the exact same beignets and drinks that the Cafe du Monde downtown does, with more trees and fewer people. It is a great place to stop if you want to grab a sweet treat, especially if you are already in the park. There is also a gift shop that sells Cafe du Monde sweatshirts and mugs.
The Crescent City Farmers Market happens in City Park on Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon. It is a great place to get local produce, fish and meat directly from local vendors. The market also features tea blends, soap, fresh pasta and food vendors. All the vendors accept cash and market tokens which you can buy at the market. This farmers market also happens in Uptown on Tuesdays and in Mid-City on Thursdays, though vendors vary by location.
Celebration in the Oaks is a light show that you can drive, bike or walk through and runs from Nov. 28 to Jan. 1 to raise money for the City Park Conservancy. Every winter since the late 1980s, the park is decked out in winter-themed lights. There are regular walking and driving tours in addition to “Bike Nights.”
This is only a sampling of what City Park has to offer. The park is one of the best places to try a little bit of everything, and by attending events and supporting the park, you can get to know the city just a bit better.