Best Time to Visit New Orleans
Weather, Mardi Gras, hurricane season, crowds and prices, broken down so you can pick the trip you actually want.
There’s no single correct month to visit New Orleans, it depends whether you’re chasing good weather, low prices, thin crowds, or Mardi Gras itself, and those rarely line up on the same dates. Here’s how the year actually breaks down.
February-May, or October-November
Spring brings New Orleans’ most comfortable weather, roughly 65-84°F, alongside the city’s biggest festival calendar, Mardi Gras, the French Quarter Festival, and Jazz Fest all fall within this window. It’s also the busiest, priciest stretch of the year, book well ahead if a specific festival is the draw. Fall, October and November specifically, runs a close second, cooling into the 70s with considerably thinner crowds than spring.
June-November: hot, humid, and the cheapest stretch
Hurricane season runs officially from 1 June to 30 November, with August and September the most volatile months. Expect real heat and humidity, afternoon thunderstorms most days, but also the lowest hotel and flight prices of the year. Hurricanes are almost always tracked well in advance, so a trip booked weeks out should let you adjust plans if one’s genuinely approaching.
January-February/March: the city’s biggest party
Carnival season begins 6 January and builds to Mardi Gras itself, which falls anywhere from early February to early March depending on the year. It’s an extraordinary experience and genuinely free to watch on the street, but hotel prices and crowds both spike hard, book a year ahead if you want a room anywhere central.
Month by month, the short version
January: a brief cool, cheap window before Carnival season builds.
February-March: Mardi Gras, the city’s busiest and most expensive stretch.
April-May: post-Carnival calm, French Quarter Festival and Jazz Fest, still comfortable weather.
June-September: hot, humid, hurricane season, but the cheapest prices of the year.
October-November: the other best window, mild, thinning crowds, several food and music festivals.
December: cooler, festive, quieter than the spring rush.
Events worth timing around
Mardi Gras, the city’s signature event, pushes hotel prices and crowds to their yearly peak, book at least six months ahead if attending. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, late April into early May, and the French Quarter Festival, mid-April, both bring their own significant crowd and price spikes. Halloween in the French Quarter has become a major draw in its own right, worth knowing about even if it’s not the reason for your trip.
That’s everything I’ve got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government’s latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
