Guide to New Orleans City Park

While the energy of the French Quarter can keep visitors entertained around the clock, New Orleans City Park shows off a more serene side of the Crescent City.

Here are the coolest attractions and things to do in New Orleans City Park

Boating on the Bayous

Pack up some sunscreen and bring a hat, because we’re going on a little cruise. City Park is crisscrossed by waterways that allow for easy exploration. Near the park’s entrance, you’ll find Wheel Fun Rentals, where you can pick up pedal boats, kayaks, and canoes. You can even glide in style in their white swan boats. Kayak-iti-yat offers guided tours of nearby Bayou St. John and Bayou Bienvenue, and for those looking for a more luxurious ride, NOLA Gondola will take you on a 50-minute tour of City Park’s lagoons and bayous in an authentic Venetian gondola.

Touring New Orleans Botanical Gardens

New Orleans Botanical Garden is a park-within-a-park that shows visitors why New Orleans’ temperate climate keeps the city in bloom every month of the year. Two thousand plants call the Botanical Gardens home and are arranged in a variety of themed settings that include an impeccably manicured English garden and a bamboo-forested Japanese garden. Reserve your admission tickets before you arrive.

Explore the Wilds of Couturie Forest

If you’re curious to know what New Orleans might have looked like before the city was here, look no further than Couturie Forest. This 60-acre jungle is proudly shaggy and wild. In some places, the only signs that people have been there at all are the trails winding through the forest. Seek out Laborde Mountain, the highest land in New Orleans. No need for climbing gear, though — it’s only 43 feet high!

Find Inspiration at New Orleans Museum of Art

One of the picturesque buildings in town is New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). The city’s oldest fine arts institution contains an incredibly diverse collection of modern and contemporary art, priceless artifacts from throughout the world, and traveling exhibitions that appear nowhere else in the South. Visit NOMA’s website for admission details.

The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is home to over 90 sculptures by renowned artists from around the world. Sitting on almost eleven acres in City Park, right next to the NOMA, this garden design creates outdoor viewing spaces within the picturesque landscape of pines, magnolias, and live oaks surrounding two lagoons.

Biking the Trails and Boulevards

A circuit of narrow paved roads through City Park allows for smooth riding for cyclists. Bring your bike or rent one on-site from Wheel Fun Rentals — they offer a wide variety of rides, including tandems, children’s bikes, and choppers. For more visitors looking for high-speed adventures in Couturie Forest, mountain bikes are available as well. Learn more. 

Ride on Horseback Through the Park

How many city parks have their own equestrian farm? City Park does! The 27-acre Equest Farm welcomes families for horseback riding lessons and even lets visitors bring their own horse for boarding.

Get a Workout (and Bragging Rights) at the Disc Golf Course

Sure, you can see City Park on foot, bike, horseback, or boat. But why not get some exercise by going for a round of disc golf in the oak groves? The park’s disc golf course meanders throughout the park, with some holes that are easy enough for beginners to make under par, and others that will challenge even veteran golfers.

Beignets at Café Du Monde in the Park

Warm beignets (think fluffy square donuts) piled high with powdered sugar and served with café au lait are being served up in City Park. Head to Café Du Monde’s new park location in the Park's Casino Building at 56 Dreufous Drive for these classic Louisiana beignets.
Fun fact: Café Du Monde always serves its beignets in orders of three.

While You’re in the Neighborhood….

The south end of City Park is in Faubourg St. John, a New Orleans neighborhood that is rich with other attractions and dining destinations, including Parkway Bakery & Tavern (famous for its po-boys) and French restaurant Café Degas.

Learn about off-the-beaten-path attractions in New Orleans.