New Orleans on a Budget: 9 Cheap, Free Things to Do
New Orleans on a budget: what actually costs money
New Orleans runs cheaper than most people expect for a city this famous. Jackson Square, St Louis Cathedral, the whole French Quarter, and Frenchmen Street’s live-music strip cost nothing beyond a tip for the band. A streetcar ride is $1.25, a day Jazzy Pass is $3, and the one paid stop worth the splurge is the National WWII Museum at $36. The trap is the cemeteries: St Louis Cemetery No. 1 has been guided-tour-only since 2015, around $33, so don’t plan a walk-up visit there, and don’t assume Cafe du Monde is open all night either, it closes nightly.
New Orleans budget essentials
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Days needed | 2-4 for the highlights; a full week works if you slow down |
| Best months | October-November for weather; March-May is busiest and priciest (Mardi Gras, French Quarter Fest, Jazz Fest) |
| Daily budget (per person) | $35-55 on a free-sight day, $75-95 on the WWII Museum or a cruise splurge day |
| Booking warning | St Louis Cemetery No. 1 requires a pre-booked licensed guide, about $33; there’s no walk-in option |
9 cheap and free things to do in New Orleans
- Jackson Square, free, any hour; street performers, artists, and the view of St Louis Cathedral’s three spires.
- St Louis Cathedral, free, open daily 9:30am-4pm (last entry 3:45pm); Mass at 12:05pm weekdays, 9am and 11am Sunday. It occasionally closes for weddings, so check same day.
- French Quarter wander, free; Royal Street’s antique galleries versus Bourbon Street’s bar strip are two different streets two blocks apart, and Royal costs nothing to window-shop. See our honest read on Bourbon Street before you decide how much time it deserves.
- Frenchmen Street live music, free door at most clubs in the Marigny; tip the band $5-10 a set, cash, and you’ve paid less than a single Bourbon Street cover charge.
- The St Charles Streetcar, $1.25 single ride or a $3 one-day Jazzy Pass covering streetcars, buses, and the Canal Street ferry, the cheapest way to see the Garden District’s mansions. Current fares are always posted on norta.com .
- Garden District walk, free; Prytania Street and Washington Avenue’s Greek Revival and Victorian mansions are viewable from the public sidewalk, no ticket required.
- Woldenberg Park and the Mississippi riverfront, free; a flat walk along the water with a view back at the French Quarter’s rooftops.
- Beignets at Cafe du Monde, $3.60-5.43 for an order of three, cash only. It is not a 24-hour spot, it closes nightly (11pm Sunday-Thursday, midnight Friday-Saturday) and opens at 7:15am.
- The French Market, free to browse; produce stalls, local crafts, and the cheapest souvenir shopping in the Quarter if you skip the stalls aimed squarely at cruise-ship traffic.
Which paid sights are actually worth it
The National WWII Museum is the one unambiguous yes. Book tickets ahead on GetYourGuide or through the museum’s own site to skip the box-office line; adult admission is $36 ($33 senior, $26 student or military), and it’s a multi-building campus, not a single hall, so budget a half day minimum. Preservation Hall is a smaller ask, $15-20 for standing-room general admission at the door (no advance reservation exists for that tier; preservationhall.com lists the “Big Shot” reserved seats at $35-50 if you want a guaranteed spot). Arrive 30-45 minutes early either way; there’s no bar, no food, and no air conditioning inside.
Do you have to pay to see a New Orleans cemetery?
Not always, but St Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the exception. It’s been guided-tour-only since 2015 after repeated vandalism, so book a licensed guide for roughly $33 rather than showing up expecting a walk-in gate. St Louis Cemetery No. 3 and Metairie Cemetery both still allow independent walk-in visits at no charge, the honest free alternative if the No. 1 tour doesn’t fit the budget. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the Garden District is closed to independent access in 2026 for repairs, viewable only from the gates on a guided Garden District walking tour.
Is the St Charles streetcar worth it on a tight budget?
Yes, and it’s the cheapest sightseeing dollar in the city. A single $1.25 ride from Canal Street through the Garden District and into Uptown covers roughly 6.5 miles of oak-canopied avenue and antebellum mansions that would cost far more on any guided tour. Buy a $3 one-day Jazzy Pass instead if you’re making more than two rides; it also covers RTA buses and the Canal Street ferry, confirmed on neworleans.com’s streetcar guide .
Where to stay in the French Quarter or Garden District
The French Quarter puts you inside walking distance of Jackson Square, Frenchmen Street, and the streetcar line, at a premium for the location. The Garden District and the Lower Garden District run cheaper for a comparable room and still sit one streetcar ride from everything above. Check current rates on Booking.com before committing to a neighborhood, since French Quarter rates swing hard around Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest; our Mardi Gras breakdown and festival calendar have the exact 2026 dates if you’re timing a trip around either.
Skip the horse-drawn carriage and the guided ghost walk if the budget’s tight, both cover the same French Quarter you can wander for free, with a narrator attached. For a day-by-day plan built around these prices, see the 2-day , 3-day , or 7-day itinerary; our New Orleans key facts page breaks the same prices down site by site, and the New Orleans as a base guide covers the plantations and swamp tours this in-city list leaves out.