10 Things to Do in New Orleans in September

September is associated with the end of summer, but in New Orleans this month is full of festivals and other cultural activities that will keep you entertained throughout your visit. As the month kicks off, you can celebrate sexual diversity with the Southern Decadence Fest or cool off with a visit to the Cool Zoo 's last show of the year during Labor Day.

If you're into underground cultures, September offers two attractions you won't want to miss: the New Orleans Tattoo Arts Festival and the Burlesque Festival. Each will give you the opportunity to meet the best tattoo artists and Burlesque dancers in the world.

For food lovers, in New Orleans and its nearby towns you will find great options to pamper your palate, since here in September they celebrate the Beignet Fest (or Beignet Festival) and the Alligator Festival, where alligator meat is the main dish. There is always a lot to see and do in New Orleans, but in September you will be even more surprised...

The last show of the year at Cool Zoo, the water park inside the Audubon Zoo, coincides with Labor Day (the first Monday in September), so if you want to take the opportunity to cool off one more time here, don't miss the chance! Tickets for the Cool Zoo can be purchased directly through the zoo's official website, starting at 23.80 euros.

Inside the Cool Zoo you will find from a slide in the shape of a giant white crocodile, to aquatic areas dedicated exclusively for children. The Gator Run, a slow-flowing artificial river and the Roman Candy store are other attractions available.

The NFL season kicks off in September and in New Orleans this means that visitors to the city have the opportunity to go and support the New Orleans Saints in their first game of the year. Tickets for this game can be purchased starting at €129.

This first game is traditionally played at the Caesar Superdome, the home of the New Orleans Saints and one of the most impressive sports stadiums in the world. However, I recommend that you reserve your tickets in advance, as they usually sell out weeks before the game.

French gastronomy is a central element in the culture of New Orleans, so it's no wonder that every year in September, the city celebrates a festival dedicated to one of the most popular French desserts, the Beignet Fest. You can purchase tickets for this event directly on the festival's website.

Come to New Orleans' City Park (the venue of the event) to taste different types of beignets, some sweeter than others, but all definitely delicious! And if you want something more savory, you'll be happy to know that there are also food trucks and craft beers for sale at this event. During the day-long festival you can also enjoy live concerts.

If in addition to eating delicious desserts, you like to support just social causes, then you should know that the Beignet Fest Foundation, responsible for the organization of this event, donates part of the money raised to organizations that serve children with delayed development.

While you're on the subject of French culture, take the opportunity to explore one of the most interesting neighborhoods in the city with one of the guided tours of the French Quarter of New Orleans, where you will learn about the roots of the French and Spanish immigrants who arrived there, giving rise to the Creole roots and cultural diversity of the American city.

Are you interested in the queer world and want to attend a festival that celebrates sexual diversity? Then you should visit New Orleans in September, exactly the week before Labor Day, because the Southern Decadence Festival takes place during these days. This is the largest gay event in New Orleans. Buy your tickets on the official website of the festival.

For six days, the Southern Decadence festival takes over the streets of New Orleans, filling them with color (with the traditional bead throwing) and joy. The main attraction of this event is the big parade on the Sunday before Labor Day, which concludes in the French Quarter, perhaps the most visited tourist destination in the city.

Other attractions of this event also include parties under the open sky and in the night bars located at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann Streets. There, in addition to the typical New Orleans cocktails, you can also enjoy dance shows with the sexiest dancers in town, themed costume parties, and karaoke.

Held every year on a mid-September night, Martini Madness is one of the biggest attractions in New Orleans. Want to know every type of martini there is, from the traditional to some that require more elaborate alcoholic combinations? Well, here you'll find at least 30 varieties of martinis to try.

Tickets are available from 28.3 euros (non-drinkers) and 37.8 euros (drinkers).

Martini Madness takes place inside the City Park facilities, in a special event space where, in addition to drinking, you'll also enjoy live music and delicious appetizers, courtesy of some of the city's most popular restaurants. Also, near the end of the event, a vote is held with the public to crown the bartender who has prepared the best martinis of the night.

To attend Martini Madness you must be at least 21 years old. A detail that you may be interested to know is that all the money raised during this event is administered by the Friends of City Park Foundation, which is responsible for the maintenance of New Orleans Central Park, the main natural jewel of the city.

Culture lovers should know that September 17 is Smithsonian Museum Day, a special date in New Orleans, since during this day people will be able to enter for free to several of its museums. But for this you must first reserve your entrance pass on the official website of the Smithsonian Magazine.

Among the options you have to choose from, my recommendation is to visit the World War II Museum or the New Orleans Museum of Art. Whichever you choose, in both you will find extraordinary exhibits, of history and art respectively, that will make your trip to this city a unique experience.

It is important to remember that for each free pass you have the option of taking a companion with you to the museum. So if you go to New Orleans in September with your partner, a friend or a family member, between the two of you you will have the chance to visit two museums.

Visit the World War II Museum

If you go to the World War II Museum during Smithsonian Museum Day you will have access to several exhibits that explain the challenges the United States had to overcome in both the Pacific and European theaters to win the war. Each exhibit features a display of oral testimony, historical artifacts (such as weapons and uniforms), and much more!

The museum also offers two unique activities that will give you a closer look at the experience of being an American soldier in World War II:

• Beyond All Boundaries movie replay: projected in a 4D theater, this immersive film experience uses sensory effects, such as temperature changes, impacts and even smells, to bring the viewer closer to the scenarios in which the North American Army fought its part of World War II.
• Interactive tour inside the USS Tang: during this tour visitors will learn about the history of the most popular American submarine of World War II (renowned for sinking more enemy ships than any other). The tour includes a live recreation of the submarine's last mission.

Tour the New Orleans Museum of Art

Art fascinates you? Then use your free Smithsonian Museum Day pass to visit the New Orleans Museum of Art. Here you'll find everything from contemporary artists such as Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso to Japanese paintings from the Edo period and ancient African art, with an extensive display of masks and sculptures.

But in my opinion the most precious jewel of the museum is the exhibition dedicated to the Egypt of Queen Nefertari. It displays a good part of the 230 objects that are part of the museum's collection of ancient Egyptian art.

Do you love adult entertainment and are thinking of spending your September vacation in New Orleans? Then you should not miss the Burlesque Festival, an event held in the middle of the month, which brings together the best Burlesque and striptease dancers in the world. Buy your tickets in advance on the festival's official website.

The Burlesque Festival is held in three different locations in New Orleans: the Civic Theater, Harrah's Casino and the House of Blues. Throughout this event you can enjoy different classic, modern and neo-burlesque shows. The Bustout Burlesque, another of the festival's main attractions, is a striptease show set to live jazz.

But the centerpiece event of the festival is the Queen of Burlesque contest, in which several of the world's best burlesque dancers compete to see who is crowned queen of the genre for the year. Due to the explicit content and alcohol consumption during the event, you must be at least 21 years of age to attend the Burlesque Festival.

Just a 25-minute drive from New Orleans is Luling, a Louisiana town that annually hosts the Alligator Festival during the last weekend of September. It is a musical and gastronomic festival held to raise funds to pay for the college education of low-income young people from Luling.

Organized by the Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish and hosted at Westbank Bridge Park, the festival features about 10 local bands each year, whose Southern rhythms allow you to connect with Louisiana's deep roots for four days. The event also features a fair, selling everything from toys to clothing and jewelry.

But ultimately, Cajun cuisine is the festival's central attraction. The are the descendants of a community of French exiles from Canada who came to Louisiana in the early 18th century. Instead of joining their compatriots in the newly founded New Orleans, they decided to go and live in adjacent rural areas, composed mainly of swamps.

The main Cajun dish you should try, and which gives the festival its name, is alligator steak, which is eaten grilled or fried. Other typical foods from this region available at the event are steamed shrimp, crab stew and jambalaya (fried rice mixed with meat and vegetables). Tickets for this event are available from €52.4.

Towards the end of September the Mortuary haunted house opens its doors for those who want to start celebrating Halloween early in the year. Tickets are available online from €23.82. Mortuary is on Canal Street in New Orleans.

Among Mortuary's attractions are animatronics in the shape of monsters and environments specially decorated to scare. An additional interesting detail about this mansion is that it functioned as a real morgue for almost 80 years.

Are you thinking of getting a tattoo but don't know any professional tattoo artists, are you a tattoo artist and want to buy new equipment for your studio, or are you an ink enthusiast and want to know more about the world of tattooing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the New Orleans Tattoo Arts Festival is for you.

Considered the mecca of tattooing, this annual event takes place at the beginning of September. Tickets start at 18.94 euros; children under 12 pay nothing.

This festival brings together the best local, national and international tattoo artists, so if you want to get a special tattoo, you're sure to find the right artist here.

During the event, the public can also enjoy exhibitions with the most creative tattoo designs of the moment, talks, live interviews, plus the traditional body suspension show that will test your nerves. Reserve your tickets here.

In September, summer is a thing of the past, but the typical heat of this season has not yet passed. Because of this, high temperatures in New Orleans in this month vary between 32 and 29 °C, while the low rarely falls below 26 °C.

Considering what the weather is generally like throughout this month, it is important that you always stay well hydrated during your stay in New Orleans and wear sunscreen outdoors.

September is part of the off-season in New Orleans, so the city is less crowded with tourists. This lack of tourists makes the demand for lodging services lower and prices in general in the city are considerably lower.

Traveling to New Orleans during this time of the year can be a great option if you want to have a more economical vacation, while still enjoying an excellent program of activities, full of festivals and other cultural attractions.

Tips for traveling in September

Here are some other tips that can help you make your trip to New Orleans perfect:

• Plan your trip to the city of Louisiana and organize your New Orleans Airport Transfers.
• To get to know the city well and learn about its past, don't forget to visit our post about The 10 best guided tours of New Orleans.
• With the good weather in September, you may be interested in knowing what are the best boat tours in New Orleans or New Orleans Cruises.
• Or if you are traveling for several days to the southern city, why not check out the Excursions and Getaways from New Orleans?

Enjoy the contrast and cultural diversity this city has to offer!