Anyone have flights yet? I just got my game tickets.... My girlfriend and I wantto know where other Ravens fans are staying.
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Anyone have flights yet? I just got my game tickets.... My girlfriend and I wantto know where other Ravens fans are staying.
Anyone have tickets yet? We just got our game tickets and are wondering where other Ravens Fans will be staying in New Orleans. This will be my first time there so I am unfamiliar with teh city.:jester:
You have come to the right place! I used to live in N'Awlins and I frequently visit, including two weeks ago.
I am staying at the Doubletree on Canal, along with several hundred other Ravens fans (not all in one room, btw). Don't know their room availability this late. There should still be plenty of other rooms available downtown, as the tourist traffic is down and most hotels have reopened, especially in the French Quarter. Google French Quarter hotels - there are dozens of small & medium facilities. As of my last visit, the streetcars were not running, so you will have to hoof it or get a cab to the Superdome if you stay in a downtown hotel. (Do not stay in the surviving hotels a few blocks from Superdome - high crime area border).
As to flights: you just missed a Southwest Ding! $64 fare last night (which would not have helped, anyway, if you are restricted to Friday-Monday travel plans). Even a standard Southwest flight should still provide a decent fare, and they are the only airline flying nonstop from BWI. If you have time, an alternative you may want to consider is flying into Jackson, three hours north via Interstate, and taking a tour of the antebellum homes along the Miss River via Vicksburg & Jackson. You will likely get better air fares, but, of course, you would have to get a rental car, which would be unnecessary if you flew directly into New Orleans.
Greg and Green Wave52 are also former Louisianans who may be making the game, so they may chime in with some better ideas.
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Mista T, how bout tix? How's that looking?
Beeracuda: contact PhillyRaven. He at one point had access to 40 tickets.
Are you coming down?
Would this include the Holiday Inn Superdome? I believe that's where my Roost booked a bunch of rooms for the game. :( :179421:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mista T
Before Katrina, I would have told you to check out of that place. It's borderline, comparable to the downtown Baltimore Days Inn across from the Civic Center - in the edge of a high crime district. I don't think it's as bad today because I think that the nearby housing projects were destroyed by Katrina.Quote:
Would this include the Holiday Inn Superdome?
I'd still recommend catching a cab if you are going out on the town any evening. Or at least walk in groups a couple blocks to Canal, then turn towards the river down Canal for a couple blocks before going left on Bourbon into the French Quarter.
You should be OK to walk back to the hotel postgame because of the partying crowd, plus it will be daylight.
Thanks for the info Mista T, its much appreciated!
Hello from New Orleans!
The Holiday Inn Downtown-Superdome used to be one of the better choices in the vicinity, at least pre-K: clean rooms, decent buffet (though if you're in New Orleans, what are you doing eating at a Holiday Inn? :laugh: ), and generally a shuttle to and from the Dome. I'm not sure of their status now, but I'd be willing to give them a try; I was a reservations agent for various hotels in the NO area, and the staff and rates at that hotel were always top-flight.
I agree with other posters about taking a cab to and from the Quarter from the hotel--not so much a matter of safety as a matter of distance. The walk to the Quarter seems short, but after partying on Bourbon Street for hours, the walk back to the hotel will become a miserable crawl. Spring for a cab; it's cheap, safe, and lazy. Why burn all those delicious calories you just put down at Emeril's or Mother's?
Please do ask if you have any questions about the city, about what's open and what's not, places to go besides the game, and so forth. I've lived here all my life and am always delighted to welcome more people to our city--now more than ever.
Really looking forward to the Saints-Ravens game; everyone here is psyched about facing a team whom we know to be a tough and worthy opponent. I'd be cheering y'all on if you were playing anyone but our Saints! :D
Thanks . . . . we're coming in on Friday and staying until Monday. We have never been to New Orleans before and are really excited to coming there.
What, besides the Quarter, should we be checking out? How safe is it to walk around down there? Where would you recommend we eat?
:D
Believe me, we are excited to have you here! :D
The French Quarter contains most of what folks coming in for a short stay will want to see; it's a little postage-stamp-sized area, but has some of the city's best restaurants, bars, and local points of interest. Feel free to walk around wherever you like in the Quarter; it's well-lit and very tourist-friendly.
Two of the most "must-see" spots in the city happen to be in the Quarter: Cafe du Monde and Pat O'Brien's. Cafe du Monde has been around since 1862 and closed only during hurricanes and on Christmas. They serve some of the best coffee you'll taste this side of heaven and beignets, which are poufy square hole-less doughnuts topped with drifts of powdered sugar. Pat O'Brien's--often called Pat-O's by locals--is our most famous bar and the origin of the Hurricane, a fruity rum drink served in a glass that's as iconic and familiar to New Orleanians as the shape of a Coke bottle. (If ordering a hurricane doesn't float your boat, they also do something called a Skylab Fallout which is awfully tasty.)
As for food, some of the best in the Quarter is at Cafe Maspero. There's often a line in front of it, but it moves quickly and the food is excellent especially for the price. Expect to pay less than ten bucks for a great meal in pleasant surroundings. It's also just a short walk from Cafe du Monde, so I don't know if they sell desserts; hey, why eat pie when you can eat beignets? :D
Steer clear of Brennan's. The place has become an overrated tourist trap, and though the food's still quite good, it's not as good as their prices are bad; plus, the service is abysmal, very snobby and not how guests deserve to be treated. Instead, try K-Paul's (Paul Prudhomme's restaurant) if you can get in; he hasn't let the fame of his restaurant overwhelm the quality of the food. If you're looking for fine dining in the Quarter, there are none finer than Antoine's; you may not be able to get in for dinner, but they do an outstanding Sunday brunch (and by the way, New Orleans invented the concept of brunch, so you know we do it up right!). Outside of the Quarter, one of the best restaurants in the city is Commander's Palace uptown. Oddly enough, it's owned by a member of the Brennan family, but unlike Brennan's it is excellent in every way. Big prices, but you will get your money's worth there.
When it comes right down to it, though, you pretty much have to work to find a bad meal in New Orleans. There is so much competition for diners' dollars that bad restaurants go under pretty quickly; if a place has been around for a few years (or decades), chances are it's good (with Brennan's being the notable exception there, and they're just coasting on their fame). I could recommend my top 100 restaurants and I'd still be leaving another thousand great ones off the list. :)
Aside from the Quarter, I highly recommend a trip to the Garden District/Uptown New Orleans. Magazine Street in particular has really flowered; it's lined with good restaurants, coffee shops, antique stores, and offbeat little bars. You'd need to take a cab there and back--it's a little too far to walk and our streetcar line won't be repaired until spring--but once there, you can wander the length of it at leisure. It presents a very different side of the city than raucous Bourbon Street; if you aren't the "party hearty" type, you might like spending an afternoon there as much as I do.
Uptown is also where our zoo is; if you're bringing kids, it's sure to be a hit. It was virtually untouched by the storm, thanks to a couple dozen Audubon Zoo employees who stayed there for the duration to make sure the animals were fed and cared for. If you want to spend an afternoon at it, you can visit the aquarium downtown, get on a riverboat, and head upriver to the zoo; they sell all-day passes at the aquarium and the price is good, considering how much sightseeing you get for the money.
As for safety, our police staff is almost back to pre-K numbers while our population is still down from what it was. If anything, you are safer now than before. Any big city's going to have crime, and anyone visiting any city should exercise a little caution, but just about anywhere in New Orleans that you're going to want to be is as safe as can be. We know that visitors are the city's life-blood; we want folks to be happy and safe so they come back to see us again and again.
Baltimore Association of Steeler Haters, huh? Well, we'll do our best to take 'em down for y'all on Nov. 12, as long as you take down the "dirty birds" for us the week after! ;D
Thanks for all the information! I just found out last night that I'm going!! Without Kids or husband.....Really looking forward to it.
We are staying at the Doubletree on Canal St. Can you give me any kind of info on the area?