New Orleans Date Guide | Alcohol is Your Ticket to Music 🎷

I went to New Orleans after rewatching La La Land — figured it was time to visit the birthplace of jazz. It was a spontaneous trip, and I quickly booked a stay at the maximalist-style Maison Métier 🏨 — a hotel filled with mysterious animal motifs and a stunning red velvet bar hidden behind a secret door. Summer in Louisiana is unpredictable — humid, moody, and lush ☁️🌧️. The sugar-dusted beignets at Café du Monde tasted just as they did a century ago. At Oak Alley, ancient oaks and winding vines coexist. The most popular restaurants in the French Quarter came with thunderstorms and long lines 🍽️⚡. Couples whispered over plates of oysters, while the alligator on my plate felt far less lively than the ones in the swamp 🐊. In a tucked-away bookstore, I found Nietzsche next to botanical anatomy prints 📚💮. This fertile land has carried generations of sorrow, yet it pulses with the most vibrant rhythms. At dusk, the sun broke through thick clouds and set the palm-lined boulevard on fire 🌇🌴. One moment, people were waiting for the streetcar to take them home — the next, they vanished into the flow of life. We were just strangers sharing a one-of-a-kind, breathtaking sunset. On Bourbon Street, jazz spills out from every corner 🎶. Alcohol is your ticket to the music, and jazz is the echo of the soul. At Preservation Hall, no videos were allowed. It was small, hot, and packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder 🥵👥. But we loved it. Everyone swayed, smiled at strangers, and clapped with all their heart ❤️👏. If anyone asks me what romance feels like — I’d say: It’s a 1953 cherry red guitar 🎸, the oak groves of New Orleans, a song playing from a corner bar 🎵, fiery clouds after a storm 🌄, and tipsy souls wandering the streets with paper cups in hand. As for the photos... let’s just say some moments are better left un-retouched 😅📸. Featured & Wishlist Spots 🐚 Maison Métier – the perfect stay Elysian – a gorgeous church-turned-restaurant (check their IG for jazz dinner events!) 🦪 Peche 🌟 Seaworthy 🌟 ACME Drago's Felix Cochon Willa Jean Napoleon House 🥂 Preservation Hall 🌟 The Carousel Bar & Lounge Pat O’Brien’s ...and many more whose names I’ve forgotten but whose vibes linger. #NewOrleans #NOLA #DateGuide #RomanticTravel #USATravel #NOLAFood #TravelDiaries