New Orleans United States
Things to do in New Orleans in December 2026
By Tripnostic Research · Updated June 3, 2026
For New Orleans in December 2026, build the day around dated events, seasonal conditions, venue hours, and booking windows. Good starting points are St. Louis Cathedral, National WWII Museum, and New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park. Check the dated events and venue hours below before assigning fixed dates.
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New Orleans in December 2026
Weather
Temperature
65°F / 48°F
18.2°C / 9.1°C
Precipitation
9d
4.7in · 120mm
Daylight
10.1h
December is mild and damp, with Reveillon dinners, holiday bonfires upriver, and French Quarter lights drawing weekend demand.
Planning checklist
- 1Use the New Orleans weather, seasonal timing, and attraction list as the spine because the dated December event list is still sparse.
- 2Confirm weekly closed days for museums, markets, and major sights even though United States has no national public holidays in December.
- 3Group each New Orleans day by nearby neighborhoods, then validate the saved places against your trip dates before exporting the checked route to Google Maps.
Build your New Orleans plan for December
Start fresh — type or paste places you're considering — and Tripnostic checks every one against your December dates: opening hours, closures, what needs booking ahead, and which New Orleans events overlap your trip. Already have a list from a friend or an AI itinerary? Paste it and we'll check that too.
Build my New Orleans planAbout New Orleans
City overview
New Orleans sits on a bend of the Mississippi River, where the French Quarter, Tremé, Marigny, Bywater, Garden District, and Uptown turn Creole architecture, brass-band music, Catholic parade calendars, and river commerce into one city. The French and Spanish colonial grid, St. Charles Avenue streetcar, above-ground cemeteries, and festival schedule make the visitor map unlike any other U.S. city.
Food & drink
New Orleans food is specific: gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, po'boys, muffulettas from the Central Grocery orbit, oysters, pralines, and beignets at Cafe du Monde. Use the French Quarter for old Creole dining, Magazine Street for neighborhood restaurants, and the Treme-Marigny-Bywater corridor for music plus late meals.
Top sights
Ranked for December suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.
- ASt. Louis Cathedral
- BNational WWII Museum
- CNew Orleans Museum of Art and City Park
- DSteamboat Natchez and Mississippi riverfront
- EMardi Gras World
- FFrenchmen Street
- GSt. Charles Avenue Streetcar
- HFrench Quarter and Jackson Square
- IAudubon Park
- JGarden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
1St. Louis Cathedral
4.8★ · 5,019indoorOpen dailyThe cathedral on Jackson Square traces its parish to 1720, with the present triple-spired building completed in the 1850s after earlier fires and rebuilds. It anchors Chartres Street beside the Cabildo and Presbytere.
2National WWII Museum
4.8★ · 29,728indoorOpen dailyThe museum opened in 2000 in the Warehouse District and grew from the Higgins Boats built in New Orleans for Allied landings. Exhibits cover the European and Pacific theaters, aircraft, oral histories, and the U.S. Freedom Pavilion.
Wikipedia
3New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park
4.7★ · 5,307indoorClosed MonNOMA opened in City Park in 1911 and holds French, American, African, Japanese, and decorative arts collections. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden sits beside bayous and live oaks in the same park.
Show 7 more sights
- 4Steamboat Natchez and Mississippi riverfront
- 5Mardi Gras World
- 6Frenchmen Street
- 7St. Charles Avenue Streetcar
- 8French Quarter and Jackson Square
- 9Audubon Park
- 10Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
Neighborhoods
1French Quarter (Vieux Carre)
The Quarter is dense and old, with Jackson Square, Royal Street galleries, Bourbon Street bars, hidden courtyards, Creole townhouses, and the riverfront within a tight grid.
2Marigny and Bywater
Marigny and Bywater are downriver and music-heavy, with Frenchmen Street clubs, Crescent Park, colorful cottages, St. Claude Avenue venues, and neighborhood restaurants.
3Tremé
Tremé is tied to Black New Orleans culture, with Congo Square, Backstreet Cultural Museum, brass-band history, Creole cottages, and second-line routes near North Rampart Street.
4Garden District and Lower Garden District
The Garden District is mansion-lined and leafy, with St. Charles Avenue, Magazine Street shops, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Commander's Palace, and streetcar stops.
5Uptown and Carrollton
Uptown stretches along St. Charles and Magazine, with Tulane, Loyola, Audubon Park, Maple Street bars, old oaks, and po'boy counters.
6Warehouse District and CBD
The Warehouse District and CBD feel more modern, with the National WWII Museum, Ogden Museum, Julia Street galleries, hotels, Superdome access, and convention crowds.
Day trips
85km / 1-1.5h by car from the French Quarter
Oak Alley and River Road plantations
River Road sites such as Oak Alley, Whitney Plantation, and Laura Plantation interpret sugar estates, architecture, and enslaved labor along the Mississippi.
30km / 35-45min by car from the French Quarter
Barataria Preserve
The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park preserve has boardwalks through swamp, bayou, marsh, alligator habitat, and birding areas close to the city.
70km / 1h by car across Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
Abita Springs and the Northshore
The northshore route adds Abita Brewery, the Abita Mystery House, small towns, and the long bridge crossing over Lake Pontchartrain.
Getting around
RTA streetcars and buses cover the French Quarter edge, St. Charles Avenue, Canal Street, Rampart Street, cemeteries, City Park, and parts of Uptown using Le Pass fares. Walking works in the Quarter and Marigny, the St. Charles streetcar works for Garden District days, and rideshare is practical for late-night Bywater or airport trips.
Common questions about New Orleans in December
- Will the places on my list be open when I'm in New Orleans in December?
- Not always. Opening days and hours vary by weekday, season, and holiday. Paste your New Orleans list into Tripnostic and it checks every place against the exact dates you're there, flagging closures before the trip instead of at a locked door.
- How do I plan New Orleans days without crossing the city twice?
- Tripnostic groups your places by neighborhood so each day stays in one or two areas instead of zig-zagging. It also flags what needs booking ahead, so timed tickets and reservations don't fall through.
- What to pack for New Orleans in December
Pack for December's weather, not a generic New Orleans checklist.
- Layerable daytime clothes for average highs around 18°C / 65°F.
- A light evening layer because nights average 9°C / 48°F.
- Compact rain gear and shoes that handle wet pavement across about 9 rainy days.
- How many days do you need in New Orleans
- 4 days covers the main New Orleans highlights at a realistic pace. Add 3 extra days if you want the listed day trips.
- Is New Orleans worth visiting in December
- Yes. New Orleans in December: 18.2°C high, 9.1°C low, 120mm rain over 9 days, 10.1h daylight. Mild but rainy — flexible plans pay off.