If you’ve been to New Orleans, exploring the vibrant French Quarter can turn from what feels like a European dreamscape into an impromptu block party, only to become more chaotic by the hour.
World-famous Bourbon Street is one of those places you have to see (or smell) to believe.
While the aromas of Creole cuisine are one thing, wafts of stale beer and who-knows-what-else are another…
With Mardi Gras shenanigans just around the corner, New Orleans is either a destination you’re planning your whole year around, or you’re an old man like me who’s graduated from such madness.
So, where can you experience the best of NOLA’s delights without the unsightly crowds and all-night rager atmosphere?
Our team of experts here at Travel Off Path put our heads together and have 3 other Southern getaways that perfectly fit the bill.
3) Conyers: Georgia’s Film-Set French Quarter
Look — with over 1200 articles under my belt, we run out of superlatives and clever phrases. So, when we say Conyers, Georgia looks like a film set, that’s because it’s quite literally a film set.
According to Southern Living, over 70 films and TV shows have brought this picturesque townscape to your living room.
Think historic facades, ornate facades, and color-wheel architecture throughout this pint-sized town just 24 miles from Atlanta, making for an easy getaway.
But it’s not just Olde Town’s ‘French Quarter’ dupe that sets this town apart and plucks New Orleans heartstrings — it’s the fact that you can freely wander the streets with a cocktail in hand (as long as it meets certain criteria).
While you might catch a side-eye if you toss beads here, this map-dot charmer is full of surprises, boasting anything from old-school soda fountains to a postcard monastery.
The ‘New Orleans’ of Georgia is truly a hidden gem and one of the least suspecting places to mimic the best of NOLA.
Conyers does hold Mardi Gras events, but nothing to the level of New Orleans.
2) Natchitoches: Louisiana’s Oldest City
If you guessed Louisiana’s oldest city, you’d probably pick New Orleans, right?
Nope! Little-known Natchitoches takes the crown.
This time capsule town offers its own ‘French Quarter’, fitting for its ‘Where History Lives’ slogan.
Unlike Bourbon Street, Natchitoches is family-friendly, with plenty of elbow room to roam freely.
You can enjoy the etched-in-time allure of downtown and savor the flavor of traditional Creole cuisine, typically cheaper than New Orleans too.
Better yet, unlike Conyers, Natchitoches is a destination unto itself — not just a day trip.
Stay at one of many historic inns, such as Judge Porter House Bed & Breakfast, holding an impressive near-perfect Google rating from over 100 guests.
Natchitoches’s Mardi Gras season lasts from now through March 4 this year, so there’s plenty of time to enjoy a similar environment as NOLA without sensory overload, for better or worse.
1) Mobile, Alabama: The O.G. Of Mardi Gras
Just as we asked if you could guess Louisiana’s oldest city, you might assume the roots of Mardi Gras are obvious too.
Once again, it’s a big Fat Tuesday no.
Mobile, Alabama is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. Don’t believe us? Check out the Mobile Carnival Museum, showcasing over 300 years of this tradition’s wild history.
With the newly relaunched Amtrak Mardi Gras, this route lives up to the name for a reason. It connects Mobile to New Orleans and vice verse, with lovely Mississippi coastal towns in between.
Even as the O.G., Mobile gets rowdy for their Mardi Gras revelry, but it’s the best alternative to party without it getting too crazy.
If you’ve been to New Orleans on Fat Tuesday like I have, you know exactly what I’m talking about…
Sorry, Mom, for the slurry-worded call…
Hurricanes…
Mobile’s ‘Bourbon Street’ is Dauphin Street, which is smaller, more navigable, and far less crowded than New Orleans next month.
Think of it more as a celebration of its roots than an excuse to get obliterated. If only young me got that memo…
Mobile’s Mardi Gras festivities take place from January 30 to February 17 this year.
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