Be sure to check out the New Orleans Main Page for more ideas of things to do while planning your New Orleans Mardi Gras Weekend Itinerary!
*Last updated June 28, 2025
New Orleans Mardi Gras Weekend Itinerary
When Is Mardis Gras 2026?
Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is the final day of Carnival season. In 2026, Mardi Gras is on February 17th, but the Carnival season begins January 6th. (For 2027, Mardi Gras is February 9th).
However, if you don’t love really insane crowds, you might prefer to visit on one of the Carnival weekends prior to “Mardi Gras” . Additionally, you will get to see some of the parades and the atmosphere without the biggest crowds and prices. To find out more information on dates and the parades, be sure to visit the New Orleans Mardi Gras page. In 2026, New Orleans will have 84 different parades all led by different Krewes!
New Orleans, Carnival and Mardi Gras
I know that Mardi Gras is a bucket list item for a lot of people. If you have never been to New Orleans, Carnival or Mardi Gras, I suggest you be honest about what you are interested in, but also open minded. Most people I talk to who did not like New Orleans, visited in summer, when it is hot and humid. Fortunately, New Orleans Carnival season occurs in January and February, when the weather is much more enjoyable! Additionally, most people don’t realize that Carnival, leading up to Mardi Gras, lasts over a month long!
Also, if you want the busiest, craziest, most festive atmosphere, then visit the weekend right before and on Fat Tuesday. However, if you want a little more laid back (and a lot less expensive), consider going in January or early February for one of the other weekends. There are still a lot of parades and festivities going on every weekend during Mardi Gras. In fact, we went a couple of weekends prior to Fat Tuesday and saw three parades in one night. Finally, unless you are only interested in the party atmosphere, a lot of people will also be looking to do some other things than just Mardi Gras / Carnival and the French Quarter.
Technically, our weekend was not on Mardi Gras, but rather in the Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras. If you are planning to be there for Fat Tuesday, then you are spending so much money to stay in the French Quarter, you may want to plan to be there. However, if you are going for one of the previous weeksand looking for different things to do, here is how we spent our long weekend.
Day 1 – Parades
4:00pm – Arrive and check into Q&C Hotel
5:30pm – Dinner at Mothers Po’boys
6:30pm – Krewe du Vieux Parade
8:00pm – Walk the French Quarter, Frenchmen St.
After flying in and arriving, we checked into our hotel, the Q&C, which was a Marriott Signature hotel, so we could use points.
Afterwards, we stopped for dinner at the nearby local institution, Mothers Po’boys, which was a great place to try a New Orleans favorite.
Additionally, as it was Saturday night, we went into the French Quarter to watch the Krewe du Vieux parade, which was funny and entertaining as it is known as one of the more “raunchy” and irreverent parades.
After a few parades, we stopped at a couple of bars around the French Quarter and Frenchman Street, which is hotspot for live music.
Day 2 – WWII Museum & French Quarter
8:00am – Breakfast at Bearcat CBD
9:00am – WWII Museum
12:30pm – Lunch at Killer Po’boys
We didn’t stay out crazy late, so we stopped over for a quick breakfast at Bearcat CBD, in the Central Business District.
Afterwards, we spent the morning at the WWII Museum, which is a giant museum spanning to blocks and definitely worth visiting. There are tons of exhibits and a room with old WWII planes hanging from the ceiling.
We spent close about 3 hours at the museum before heading out to get some lunch at Killer Po’Boys near our hotel.
Day 2 – French Quarter and Preservation Hall
2:00pm – French Quarter, Beignets at Café du Monde
5:00pm – Preservation Hall performance
6:00pm – Dinner and night out
After lunch, we made a stop for Beignets and chicory coffee at Café du Monde in near Jackson Square in the French Quarter. The line always looks long, but it moves quickly.
After beignets, we stopped at the hotel for a little nap. We had planned to see a jazz concert at Preservation Hall, but when we made the reservations we didn’t realize that our Bengals were going to be in the Super Bowl! So we skipped the show to go watch the game out.
Unfortunately, the Bengals lost to the Rams, but we had fun. Next time we are in town, we’ll definitely make it back to Preservation Hall.
Day 3 – Plantations Tours (Whitney and Oak Alley)
8:00am – Car pickup
9:30am – Whitney Plantation tour
12:00pm – Oak Alley Plantation tour
On our last day, we rented a car in town and drove west of the city to visit some plantations. We first went to Whitney Plantation, which we really enjoyed. If you only visit one plantation, I think this is a good one as it is focused on preserving the memory of the slave people who lived in the area and worked at the plantations.
After Whitney, we stopped at Oak Alley Plantation. It is widely recognized with its giant oaks that create a tunnel leading up the main house. Additionally, it has been used as a setting in some movies, like Interview with the Vampire.
Day 3 – Barataria Preserve Swamp Hiking
8:00am – Car pickup
2:00pm – Barataria Preserve hiking
5:00pm – Drop off car
7:30pm – Dinner at Herbsaint
After the plantation tours, we got a quick lunch and drove south of New Orleans to Barataria Preserve to do a boardwalk trail through the swamp. We saw some egrets and other various birds. We did not see any alligators, but I know that you might see them in this area.
Next Time
Next time we visit, I’d love to make it to Preservation Hall for a jazz show since we missed it this time. Also, it would be fun to visit some of the city graveyards, which all burials are above ground since the city sits at sea level. Additionally, it would be fun to make it to some other neighborhoods since we really were mostly in the French Quarter and Central Business District. Finally, I do think it would be crazy, but fun, to visit for Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday!
Additionally, be sure to visit the New Orleans Main Page for more details about New Orleans!