Woldenberg Park — Attraction in New Orleans

What a beautiful spot amidst the hustle of New Orleans' downtown hubbub! Plenty of places to sit, large area for kids to run/play, and a splash pad area for those really hot days! There's also a fresh lemonade stand right outside the aquarium and it was a popular stop for many!

A couple of tips for consideration:

1. A word of caution for conservative travelers/travelers with young children: be prepared for the city of New Orleans to express itself in many, many ways. While most of these are amazing and very NOLA, some things may not be a welcome sight for your small ones. Some young women were dressed very, very scantily and people of all shapes and sizes are in various costumes, adornments, and all manner of accessories. Some of these costumes are animals which can be scary. There are voodoo shops with skulls, masks, fake blood/bloodied weapons or masks in the windows. While the parades are magnificent, they can also get very loud so if you have babies, I would pack earplugs.

2. There is a large homeless population in the city and you will likely be asked for/have the opportunity to give money/food/help to someone in need. If you're traveling with children, explain this to them before you go. Let them know these people exist and need help. While you can't help every one, you can help some. Just like recycling or doing things to save the planet, you can help our economy by helping the homeless. Pack some quart-size or gallon-size Ziploc bags and fill them with toiletries, non-perishable food items, and maybe a Subway or McDonald's gift card. We walked by so many people - sitting on the street, walking, even sleeping on the cement outside of whatever building hadn't kicked them out yet. We parked downtown near Harrah's and not far from the Riverwalk shops, and we had plenty of opportunities to give.

Enjoy your visit to this...

We came to New Orleans last weekend for a Fried Chicken Festival in Woldenberg Park. The day before the festival we took a walk through the park to check out the setup. There were vagrants everywhere, laying on benches and the ground, which I expect in a city park, but there were so many around, you could not stroll the park sidewalk without people stepping out in front of you to scam you about the shoes you're wearing. Not only does this happen every where you walk in NO, it's at it's worst in the park, where these scammers are staggering around barely able to walk, but stand in your way with the "Nice boots, bet I can tell you where you got em" over and over again. These people wait to prey on the more naive tourists, so they can win these "bets" by telling you that you got em on your feet, see what's in your wallet/pocket, and mark you with a beaded neckless as a gullible idiot for the pickpockets nearby. We even met one such lady who after she gave me the over used shoe line, I told her I had already heard it. She proceeded to tell me she would take my shoes with an attitude. We decided that a 200,000 person festival with these sketchy people around was a bad idea and headed elsewhere the next day. Enjoy this park at your own...

Named after philanthropist and park investor Malcolm Woldenberg (1896-1982), the park is a sliver of green space that stretches about four city blocks along the Mississippi River in the French Quarter.

EXPERIENCE: We ended up here by chance as we wandered the city with daiquiris-in-hand. From the street, we couldn't see what was beyond this oddly tall staircase which seemed to lead to nowhere, but turns out it's part of the area's strong levees.

There was lots of space to spread out and enjoy the views of the muddy river and iconic riverboats going by. A handful of benches are peppered throughout, with gardens, grassy areas, jogging paths, and a small holocaust memorial.

There's a good-sized aquarium and IMAX theater at the west end but we didn't go in. If you're wanting to jump on one of the riverboats, you'd access the piers from the west side of the park as well. Opposite on the east end is a gazebo that looks like it doubles as a stage for special events.

OVERALL: A quaint little park perched on a levee. How often do you get to...