New Orleans makes honeymooning easy

The French Quarter

Nestled on the high grounds of the Mississippi banks, the city’s historic heart captivates visitors with its blend of Spanish, French, Creole and American architecture. To explore its streets, take a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride from Jackson Square. The peaceful green oasis lies opposite America’s oldest cathedral and Spain’s one-time city hall. Delicately filigreed ironwork balconies grace many buildings such as the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Located on Bourbon Street, jam-packed with jazz and blues clubs, the hotel plants you in the middle of the action. Behind the 1830’s New Orleans row house facade, you’ll find an elegant European-style hotel with crystal chandeliers and French doors.

^{Garden District homes.} 

Many couples marry in the tropical courtyard, followed by a reception in the adjoining Fleur de Lis suite. The hotel has its own jazz club, but at the nearby Court of Two Sisters, you can settle down under trees shading the courtyard and listen to musicians while indulging in an extensive buffet. The Jazz Brunch specialty is seafood and shrimp Creole omelets. The restaurant, previously the Royal Governor’s residence, sits on Royal Street, where the upper crust lived. Their 18th and 19th- century buildings now function as restaurants, boutiques and antique shops, some comparable to museums. Furnishings at M.S. Rau Antiques include an empire-style bedroom suite once owned by King Farouk. New Orleans’ distinctive cuisine ranges from gumbo and jambalaya to beignets introduced by the Acadians kicked out of the Maritimes. Café du Monde has made fried fritters covered in powdered sugar since 1862.

In Arnaud’s, the grande dame of New Orleans’ Creole restaurants, waiters in black tie recommend the signature appetizer, shrimp Arnaud, boiled shrimp topped with a spicy rémoulade sauce, and oysters Bienville. In the quieter residential section, where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie own a property, is Maison Dupuy. Made up of five brick town houses with traditional tall arched windows and wrought-iron balconies, the hotel encloses the quarter’s largest courtyard. A heated pool dominates one section. In another lush tropical foliage and a bubbling three-tiered marble fountain, sets an enchanting setting for many tying the knot as well as diner seating alfresco.

^{Fountain, Courtyard Maison Dupuy. Courtesy: Maison Dupuy}

Tremé neighbourhood

Two blocks from Maison Dupuy in Tremé is St. Louis Cemetery. Ornate, brick and plaster tombs crowd the oldest “city of the dead.” Established in 1789, the cemetery’s most eccentric crypt is Nicolas Cage’s $250,000 grey-stone pyramid-shaped vault.

Faubourg Marigny

Marquis Bernard De Marigny subdivided his huge plantation to form this suburb west of the French Quarter. The world-famous Preservation Jazz Band still play in the French Quarter, but the better clubs are found on Marigny’s Frenchmen Street. You’ll need to reserve to dine at the most popular club, Snug Harbour.