10 Awesome Things To Do in New Orleans with Teens

When people think of family vacation destinations, New Orleans is probably not at the top of the list, but it should be! New Orleans has so much to offer! There are cute neighborhoods, fantastic museums, amazing food and unique adventures for all ages. Read on for 10 awesome ideas of things to do in New Orleans with Teens.

When to Visit New Orleans with Teens:

New Orleans is great year round since the winters are mild.

Mardi Gras will draw in huge crowds. If this interests you, I suggest booking months in advance.

Spring and fall are both pleasant temperature and crowd wise.

Summer will be crowded plus hot and humid.

10 Things To Do In New Orleans with Teens

1. French Quarter

The French Quarter is a favorite among all ages, but especially fun for teens. My daughters loved exploring the streets, looking at the beautiful architecture, watching the street performers, and browsing through the art exhibits and shops during the day.

Jackson Square is a beautiful area to explore. It’s also close to Cafe Du Monde and that is a MUST do! If you don’t eat a beignet, have you even really been here?

2. Bike Tour

One thing about teens is that they enjoy being active. What better way to explore New Orleans and burn some energy than a bike tour?!? I recommend doing this at the beginning of your trip so you can get the lay of the land faster.

Our bike tour was with Free Wheelin Bike Tours. They are rated number one on Google and it showed. My daughter and I had such an awesome time! We chose to do the Creole and Crescent tour.

It was a three hour guided tour full of adventure. We biked through the French Quarter, along Frenchman Street, down oak lined streets with beautiful mansions before stopping for a break at a coffee shop. After the break, we explored Saint Louis Cemetery #3, strolled through City Park, saw the oldest oak tree in NOLA and stopped at Congo Square the birthplace of Jazz.

At each stop, our guide would tell us more about Creole culture and New Orleans history. She was entertaining, and always put our safety first.

We did a LOT in 3 hours. The tour is rated for beginners. You do ride on the street with traffic, so I don’t recommend it for younger kids. My daughter is 16 and had no issues. I haven’t rode a bike in years and did just fine. We ended up biking around 6 miles. Highly recommend them!!! Check out their website HERE.

3. Swamp Tour

This is something you have to do when in the area! There are so many swamp tours to choose from and they go to different areas. We did a regular swamp tour boat that holds a ton of people. Going through the swamp was fun and we ended up seeing 5 or 6 alligators. They feed them marshmallows to get them to come closer.

The tour we were with brought out a baby alligator. He gave us all a chance to hold it if we wanted to. That was the highlight for my older daughter.

Next time I do this, I’ll do an air boat instead. They looked like fun when we saw a couple pass by. Plus it holds a smaller number of people, so I think it would be a better experience.

4. Kayak Tour

This was a highlight for one of my daughters! We both enjoy kayaking, so this was perfect for us. Kayak-iti-Yat is who we chose to kayak with and they are awesome! Plus how cute is their name?!?

We did the Big Easy Bayou tour which is perfect for beginners. It’s a two hour guided tour of the St. John Bayou. We paddled by historic homes and newer mansions. Our guide was great and tried to get to know each of us in the group. He was very knowledgeable about the area and gave us a little bit of New Orleans history.

This is another tour I highly recommend. Next time, we’ll try their longer kayaking tour that goes out to Lake Pontchartrain. Check out their website HERE.

5. Plantation Tours in New Orleans with Teens

Plantation tours are a great way to learn about the history of Louisiana and slavery while viewing beautiful architecture and gardens.

Oak Alley is one of the more popular plantation tours. It has a grandiose mansion with an alley of oak trees leading to the Mississippi. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous! The tour does a great job of talking about both the owners and the slaves. Check out this post on Oak Alley for more info.

Laura Plantation is a Creole Heritage site on a sugarcane plantation. This tour dives into the harsh realities of slavery even more. Check out this post on the Laura Plantation for more info.

Both are about an hour away. If you have time, I recommend seeing both as they are only a 7 minute drive from each other.

6. World War 2 Museum

The National World War 2 Museum is a must see for anyone. We all enjoyed our visit and highly recommend making it a priority especially if you are into history. My daughter enjoys history and the exhibits here are phenomenal! Listening to first hand accounts of the war is not something you can easily forget.

Check out this post for tips on visiting the National World War 2 Museum.

7. JamNOLA

This is a New Orleans themed interactive art exhibit. In other words, selfie heaven for a teen with a New Orleans twist! We had such a good time exploring this and taking fun photos. It’s not every day you get to take a picture with a lobster trying to cook you!

The JAM stands for Joy Art Music. Music is sprinkled through the art exhibits. Not surprising since this is where Jazz was born. Check out their website for more info.

8. Ghost Tour

Our ghost tour through the French Quarter was a highlight of the trip. Definitely the spookiest activity in New Orleans with teens! This tour was entertaining and a great way to check out the French Quarter at night.

Our tour was about 2 hours filled with New Orleans history and crazy stories of spirits and ghosts. Not gonna lie, some of the stories were a little creepy. Would not recommend for teens or really anyone that scares easily.

9. Cemetery Tour

I’m a little bummed because the main popular cemeteries are closed to the public right now. My daughter really wants to do this in the future, so we’ll have to come back when they are open. I recommend checking to see if they are offering them when you plan on going to New Orleans. There’s not many places you can tour cemeteries like the ones in here.

10. EAT in New Orleans with Teens

Not sure about yours, but my teens seem to ALWAYS be hungry! Since I have to feed them anyways, it was a perfect time to introduce them to Cajun inspired food. We spent our week trying different gumbos, etouffee, po boys, fried gator, jambalaya and charbroiled oysters. One word….YUM! A delicious activity to do in New Orleans with teens!

As you can see there are many things to keep you busy while you are in New Orleans with teens. It’s a great city where you can make lifetime memories.