New Orleans is most known for its Mardi Gras celebrations in February, but it’s also wonderful to visit in December. The city feels magical during this time because many hotels and homes are decorated with ribbons, garland, and other Christmas decorations.

In particular, the display in the Roosevelt Hotel is spectacular and definitely worth a visit during the holiday season.

The Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone is also a fun place to stop by, but it can be difficult to find a seat depending on the time of day. The carousel doesn’t spin very fast–one full revolution took about 30 minutes.

Although I visited in mid-December, the weather was sunny for most of our trip (around 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit), so we enjoyed exploring the city.

I love the houses in New Orleans! They’re so colorful and cheery.

For brunch one day, we ate at the well-known Camellia Grill. The food was tasty and everyone working there was friendly–I highly recommend!

We also stopped by the Creole Creamery which has a lot of unique ice cream flavors. I got the Cookie Monster sundae and enjoyed it very much. They only take cash here, and also the line can get quite long. The location we visited is on Prytania Street, and there’s a cool comic-book style mural there.

Beignets at Cafe Du Monde are a must for anyone visiting NOLA. Since we were there on a Tuesday around 11:00am, it wasn’t absurdly busy, and we didn’t even have to wait for a seat! The beignets live up to the hype, and I’ve also heard the frozen cafe au lait is delicious, too. The ambiance here was lovely. Our table was inside, but I could still hear people playing jazz music outside on the streets, and the musicians there were all so talented.

After eating at Cafe Du Monde, we explored the French Quarter. The St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square is stunning! I loved the dichotomy of the red bows with the banana trees. This area is very touristy and there are lots of people taking selfies.

New Orleans has some great shops for vintage clothing and antiques, and we spent quite a bit of time shopping on Magazine Street. My favorite store was the Funky Monkey which has a great selection of vintage clothing and accessories at reasonable prices.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a post on my website if I didn’t include some plant photos!

Lastly, here is a quick mash-up of things I recommend doing/seeing/eating: the macaroni skillet at Fauborg Bistro, the seasonal vegetable pasta at Meril, handmade masks at masquerade shops, Tulane, and trivia night at Bar Redux.