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19 Sustainable Stays, Eats, Shops, and Experiences in New Orleans
Written by Stephanie Stevens | April 21, 2021
From festive parades and all night parties on Bourbon Street to seasonal crawfish feasts and world class jazz festivals, New Orleans is a city with a big personality and an incomparable atmosphere. The Big Easy, as the city is affectionately known, sits on the winding Mississippi River, near the Gulf of Mexico. Once the territorial capital of French Louisiana, you might recall from history class that the state was acquired by the United States in 1803 through the Louisiana Purchase. While the state became American territory, the city’s vibrant French culture still remains, which can be seen through its French architecture, cuisine, and the celebration of Mardis Gras, French for Fat Tuesday. The city’s culture is also heavily influenced by African, Spanish, and Creole cultures, resulting in perhaps one of the most culturally unique cities in all of America.
In the French Quarter, the city’s historic hub for art, history, and nightlife you’ll find Bourbon Street – the infamous thirteen block strip of eateries, clubs, and live music venues where seemingly anything goes. On upper Bourbon Street you’ll find locals, partygoers, and tourists alike enjoying the numerous clubs, souvenir shops, and jazz venues. While on the lower end of this historic strip, you’ll find a thriving gay bar scene, including Cafe Lafitte in Exile, the county’s oldest continuously operating gay bar. No matter where you venture in New Orleans, you’ll be sure to find colorful characters, delicious eats, and hidden historical gems that speak to the city’s life in another time. Discover all this vibrant city has to offer with a look through this guide, which highlights many sustainable places to eat, shop, play, and stay all around the Big Easy!
Eco-Accommodations
International House
Source: International House Hotel
Price Range – $$
Located just a few blocks from the French Quarter, International House is a chic boutique hotel that attracts both local travelers and visitors from around the world. Inside the hotel lobby, you’ll find high ceilings and quirky art either created by local artists or inspired by the region. The lobby also features photographs of local Jazz legends and a green baby grand piano made from recycled materials. Built in the early 1900s, the building itself was once a leading financial institution and in 1943 became “International House”, a center dedicated to world peace, trade, and understanding and the first World Trade Center in the world. Today, International House offers guests a relaxing reprieve from city life with its cozy rooms, fitness center, and spa. The hotel’s candlelit bar, Loa, is a popular local spot where guests can enjoy drinks made with local ingredients, such as honeycomb, bamboo, and citrus.
Madame Isabelle’s House
Source: HotelsCombined
Price Range – $
Madame Isabelle’s House is a fun and brightly colored hostel set in a historic building. Located within walking distance of the French Quarter, this quirky hostel is named after Madame Isabelle, a longtime tenet of the neighborhood. Offering both private rooms and mixed dorms typical of hostel living, Madame Isabelle’s House is a great landing place for exploring all there is to see in the Big Easy. The hostel is tastefully decorated with artwork typical of the old New Orleans homes in the area. The hostel also features an outdoor courtyard garden with an outdoor deck and jacuzzi hot tub, perfect for those late night chats with friends, old and new.
Socially Responsible Eateries
Seaworthy
Source: Seaworthy
Price Range – $$
Located next to the Ace Hotel and just steps from the French Quarter, Seaworthy is an oyster bar serving sustainably harvested seafood and a great selection of cocktails, beer, and wine. The restaurant is situated in a classic Creole Cottage built in 1832 and was created through a partnership between the Ace Hotel and Grand Banks, an oyster bar based in New York. The restaurant is committed to sustainability, sourcing its oysters from the Gulf Coast, East Coast, and West Coast, and preparing them with inventive takes on classic preparations. Perfect for dinner or happy hour, Seaworthy is a great spot to enjoy some sustainable seafood when exploring the Big Easy.
Green Goddess
Source: Green Goddess
Price Range – $$
Green Goddess is an eclectic restaurant located in the heart of the French Quarter, New Orleans’ hub for art, history, and nightlife. The restaurant’s seasonal menu is inspired by both international flavors and Creole cuisine and includes many vegan and vegetarian options. Green Goddess also has an extensive wine list, seasonal cocktails, and many local beer options. With a visit to the restaurant’s outdoor courtyard on Exchange Alley, guests are able to enjoy a meal or drink al fresco while enjoying the lively energy of the city.
Fair Grinds Coffee
Source: Fair Grinds Coffee
Price Range – $
Fair Grinds Coffeehouse is a local coffee shop and meeting spot in New Orleans that seeks to make a greater change in the local community and world at large – one cup of coffee at a time. Set in a cozy space with an outdoor patio, Fair Grinds serves Fair Trade coffee, tea, and chocolate products in addition to a full cafe menu with vegan and vegetarian options. Some of the produce featured on their menu is even grown in the coffeehouse’s own vegetable garden, ACORN farm, located in the lower 9th ward. Fair Grinds believes in Fair Trade products because of the social, environmental, and economic benefits that it provides to farmers and as a mission driven enterprise, Fair Grinds regularly contributes proceeds to fund community projects in Central and South America. With a cup of coffee from Fair Grinds, you won’t just feel like you can change the world – you actually will!
Meals from the Heart Cafe
Source: Meals from the Heart
Price Range – $$
Meals from the Heart Cafe was started in 2006 by Chef Marilyn Doucette as a way to create healthy alternatives to classic New Orleans dishes. Located in the historic French Quarter’s Farmers Market, this cafe has become widely known for its amazing crab cakes and plethora of vegan and vegetarian options. Everything at Meals from the Heart Cafe is made to order, making it perfect for anyone with an allergy or dietary restriction. Nearly everything at the cafe is made from scratch, which helps to contribute to its mission of providing healthy food to the community that is low in sodium, refined sugars and without GMOs and trans fats. If you’re looking for a meal in Nola that will taste good and make you feel good – Meals from the Heart Cafe is for you!
Liberty’s Kitchen
Source: Liberty’s Kitchen
Price Range – $$
At Liberty’s Kitchen, food is used as a vehicle to create greater change in the lives of New Orleans’ youth. Through its kitchen and counter service cafe, this nonprofit organization strives to create healthy futures for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 that are out of work and out of school. In the kitchen, these young members of the community are taught invaluable culinary, customer service, and life skills that translate to opportunities in the real world. With a visit to Liberty’s Kitchen, guests can enjoy a delicious breakfast or lunch while supporting this organization’s amazing mission of bettering the lives of New Orleans youth.
Sneaky Pickle
Source: Sneaky Pickle
Price – $
Located in Bywater, Sneaky Pickle is a quirky and casual eatery dedicated to local and sustainable sourcing. Inspired by international flavors, the menu at Sneaky Pickle features a variety of starters, sides, sandwiches, and entrees that are perfect for lunch & dinner. The restaurant menu is veggie forward offering mostly vegan and vegetarian options, with a few meat options sprinkled in. Sneaky Pickle also has an outdoor patio, which is the perfect place to enjoy a cocktail or one of their non-alcoholic beverages!
Social Enterprise Shopping
Glitter Box NO
Source: Visit New Orleans
Price Range – $$
Glitter Box NO is a retail space and online shop that seeks to empower women and other disenfranchised groups through the sale of artwork and products made by female and non-binary artists. Located steps from the French Quarter, this fun and artsy store offers many one of a kind and handmade pieces from clothing and accessories to gifts, artwork, and home decor. Through supporting female and non-binary artists, Glitter Box works towards its mission of providing crucial empowerment to these groups and as a way to pay it forward, Glitter Box donates 5% of its proceeds to nonprofits that share their mission.
UP/Unique Products
Source: UP/Unique Products
Price Range – $$
Unique Products is an environmentally friendly retail gallery created by recycling artists Mark Kirk and Heather Macfarlane. Located in New Orleans since 1999, this gallery and workshop was created as a response to the growing recycling challenges facing the city of New Orleans. At the gallery, you can find green themed home decor, accessories, and lighting that are individually designed and handmade by local artists. The artists even take the thousands of beads leftover from Mardi Gras and repurpose them into new and exciting items. Unique Products is committed to supporting eco education and encourages its visitors to change the way they view trash.
Goods That Matter
Source: Goods That Matter
Price Range – $$
Goods That Matter is a store in the Lower Garden District that offers the highest quality, eco-friendly, and handmade-in-America goods. The store offers an amazing assortment of clothes, accessories, stationary, home decor, and so much more. All of the products sold at Goods That Matter are handmade and made of eco-friendly materials and give back to social and environmental causes. The shop’s founder, Tippy Tippens is a social entrepreneur, designer, and consultant, who is passionate about building a more sustainable world. Goods That Matter is the first Benefit Corporation (or B Corp) and as a way to give back to the local community, 10% of the shop’s proceeds go to sustainable causes that work to protect the environment, both locally and around the world.
Ethical Experiences
Ninth Ward Rebirth Bike Tours
Source: Catch Carri
Price Range – $
Ninth Ward Rebirth Bike Tours give visitors to New Orleans the chance to learn about the story of the city’s rebirth after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The tours are given in comfortable cruiser-style bikes and last four hours, giving tour participants the chance to learn about the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, an area deeply devastated by Katrina. This tour provides a unique opportunity to explore a new part of New Orleans and experience the strength of those who call this city home. A small portion of the proceeds from the tour also goes to local charities in New Orleans.
Whitney Plantation
Source: Gray Line Tours
Price Range – $
The Whitney Plantation is a museum in Wallace, Louisiana that provides an authentic presentation of the lives of enslaved people on what was once a sugar, rice, and indigo plantation. Through self-guided tours, guests are invited to explore the property and view the exhibits, buildings, and memorial artwork. The plantation’s restored buildings in particular allow for an authentic presentation of how life was on this land for the slaves that were held here on bondage for over 100 years. The self-guided tours on the property are held at the visitor’s own pace and also include an audio tour that can be accessed via the plantation’s app.
The Backstreet Cultural Museum
Source: Curbed NOLA
Price Range – $
The Backstreet Cultural Museum is a museum and cultural experience that educates guests about New Orleans’ African American culture. The museum is home to many collections of costumes, photographs, artifacts, films, and other items that have had historical significance when it comes to African American culture in New Orleans. From displays on Mardi Gras Indians to social clubs and jazz funerals, the exhibits at the Backstreet Cultural Museum shed important light on both the struggles the African American community has faced but also their creative achievements and accomplishments. The museum is located just a short walk from the French Quarter and is open Tuesday through Saturday.
City Park
Price Range – Free
Spanning 1,300 acres, New Orleans City Park provides a place for outdoor play, education, recreation, and so much more. Located right in the heart of the city, City Park is one of the largest urban parks in the United States and has a plethora of outdoor activities to enjoy including tennis courts, a disc golf course, a golf course, Couturie Forest, the New Orleans Museum of Art, just to name a few. The park is committed to preserving natural habitats and biodiversity that exist in the area and the park’s Botanical Garden is home to more than 2,000 varieties of plants. With so much to explore, the park is definitely worth a visit to get your daily dose of nature while visiting the Big Easy.
Swamp Kayak Tours
Price Range – $$
Swamp Kayak Tours offers a unique way to explore the swamps surrounding New Orleans. These beautiful and ecologically sensitive areas, which are often unexplored by visitors to the city, provide an amazing way to take a break from life in the city with a little physical activity in beautiful surroundings. Both the Honey Island Swamp Tour and the Manchac and Maurepas Swamp Tour offer visitors the chance to experience the stunning beauty and active wildlife of the area. Swamp Kayak Tours strives to promote responsible stewardship of the swamps by educating visitors on the issues threatening the swamp and by encouraging visitors to leave no trace.
Crescent City Farmers Market
Source: Visit New Orleans
Price Range – $
Crescent City Farmers Market is a set of weekly outdoor markets that operate throughout the year at different locations in New Orleans. Operated by nonprofit Market Umbrella, the market serves as a place where farmers and growers can connect and build relationships with shoppers and members of the community. While strolling through the market, shoppers will find local produce, fresh baked bread, flowers, wild-caught Louisiana seafood, handcrafted meals, and so much more. The market strives to make healthy food more accessible to the New Orleans community and accepts a variety of payments including cash, card, apple pay, checks, ebt/snap/food/stamps, and their very own market tokens. A visit to any of the Crescent City Farmers Market locations is a great way to secure some fresh & healthy food while supporting local farmers and artisans!
Music Box Village
Source: The Knot
Price Range – $$
No, what you see is not junk – at Music Box Village, nontraditional items are used to create whimsical, interactive, and artist-created music houses intended to inspire a sense of wonder. This quirky and unique village is the flagship project of New Orleans Airlift, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating opportunities to connect communities through arts education and public arts events. At Music Box Village, visitors are invited to explore these interactive musical houses that are filled with music and act as instruments themselves! The Village also hosts regular events with artists from both near and far that help unite the community around music, exploration, and play. A visit to the Music Box Village is an experience like no other and is sure to awaken your childlike sense of wonder.
All Bout Dat Tours
Source: All Bout Dat Tours
Price Range – $$
Want to learn about life in the Big Easy through the Black lens? Mikhala Iversen Afropean has arrived with her All About Dat Tours in New Orleans, Louisiana. Through spoken word and jazz music, Mikhala wants to give guests a history lesson about the Black experience in Louisiana that many other tours would often glamorize or tone down the harsh realities of what many Black people endured. When not discussing their plight, Mikhala also showcases the prosperity of the Black, Louisiana locals via the various Black-owned shops and eateries you’ll see throughout the tour. Due to the current times (COVID-19) there are a limited number of tours and spots to attend said tours in order to be health-conscious; therefore, it’s best to secure a spot for a one-of-a-kind experience swiftly!
meet the author
Stephanie Stevens
Stephanie is a writer and photographer passionate about sustainable living, mindfulness, and exploring the outdoors. She loves microadventures but her favorite part about traveling abroad is immersing herself in other cultures. When she’s not writing, you can find her drinking coffee, playing soccer, or backpacking.
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