We are booking a last minute trip to New Orleans and then renting a car and driving to Nashville. Would love a recommendation of a quiet reasonable price hotel in the French Quarter. I have not been back to NOLA for 25 years.
And any recommendations on the 9 hour drive to Nashville?
thank you
Consider including at least part (if not all) of the Natchez Trace in your itenerary. It is a super scenic drive this time of the year. Google it and see if it will work into your time frame. If you decide to travel that route, check to be sure it is all open. There was a time when part was closed due to erosion problems.
What would be 'reasonable price' to you? That's a key to being able to give appropriate recommendations. I saw several nice hotels running about $150-$200/ night for a double room. I just looked at two random nights mid-week at the end of March. For less $$ you might need to look outside the French Qtr.
The last time I stayed in the French Qtr it was at the Place d'Armes hotel and it was wonderful - that was quite a few years ago but I just checked some recent reviews and it still looks good. Rooms around the gorgeous courtyard were quiet when we stayed there. I checked dates in late March and it runs quite high at that time of year, especially on weekends. Mid-week dates were in the $200+ range, weekends much higher. I can't speak to parking situation because we didn't have a car.
We stayed on Decatur St at the French Market Inn. The rooms were spacious and quiet. Most had some original brick walls remaining. The price was less than $200 per night and I see that they have some rooms available for less during the last week of March. It was easy to walk most everywhere in the city center. The tram to explore further was handy. We used the Greyline tour meeting point across the street at the boat dock to book a couple of half day minibus tours as we didn’t have a car when we were there in 2019. We felt safe walking to dinners and music late at night but after walking down Bourbon Street the first night (it had been 30 years since our only other visit to NOLA) we avoided that area completely and were happy with our centrally located, waterfront hotel choice.
We live about 2 hours from New Orleans and go there often; frequently for a long day trip. We rarely stay in the French Quarter, but have done so in the past; however, I am not in a position to make recommendations because it has been so long since we stayed in the Quarter. I do advise to factor in parking cost which can be a significant expense when staying in the Quarter (and the CBD), as well as valet - most places you cannot park and retrieve your own vehicle if your vehicle is being parked as part of your hotel stay.
If you want a quiet hotel, I would expand your search to the Garden District (probably parking will be cheaper there as well).
Montgomery, Birmingham, and Memphis (depending on which route you take) are interesting places to stop for historical reasons.
Another Place d'Armes fan here. I have stayed there many times. Wonderful hotel with a perfect location.
The pricing varies depending on what festivals and celebrations are going on. It tends to be pricey in mid-March because of St. Patrick's Day and sometimes March Madness(?). When I have gone to Nola for St. Joseph's Night (March 19), the prices have sometimes rivaled Mardi Gras prices. Of course, that's true of any hotel in New Orleans.
There are several plantations between NOLA and Baton Rouge you can tour, and having a car makes visiting them a lot easier. I've been to Laura, Oak Alley, and Nottaway (saw them via tours out of NOLA) and they're all excellent. Also consider Destrehan, San Francisco, Madewood, and Houmas House. You'll probably want two days to see them all, as house fatigue may well set in after touring four in a day.
You could also visit Baton Rouge -- the city itself is a bit on the grubby side, but has about a day's worth of attractions. Magnolia Mound is a plantation house in the city, similar to Laura in some ways. The current state capitol building is one of the country's best, and there's a state history museum nearby, the Capitol Park Museum. The Old State Capitol building, which looks a lot like a castle and home to a political history museum, is worth a brief visit as well.
Jackson, MS (also a bit of a grubby city) is on the way between NOLA and Memphis and has about a day's worth of things to see, including the current capitol building (very good), the old capitol (home to a state history museum), a modest art museum, the governor's mansion, and a civil rights museum in the downtown area, plus a few smaller historic houses to the north.
