Treme Show How true to life? (New Orleans, Jackson: crimes, hotels, live)

[oldraider]

How does reality compare to the show? My husband has a birthday Feb. 13th and we want to come to New Orleans. What can we expect? A friend just went there this summer and had a wonderful time. I know s--t happens everywhere, but is there a higher level than normal in New Orleans?

If you were going to come to the city around that date what date would you pick? What date is best with Mardi Gras?

[annie_himself]

Hotels are going to be expensive and are probably already nearly booked for that time frame. You can expect lots of walking, lots of good food, but you wouldn't experience any type of hardship. Crimes happen, but if you stay where the tourists are and generally in nice areas you shouldn't have a problem. Just use the same basic principles for being in an unfamiliar city as you would anywhere else.

[rburnett]

I'm a native and resident of New Orleans. Its not really 100% accurate and they do take some liberties, but it's the closest anyone has come to getting it right.

The weekend before Mardi Gras has all the big parades and parties, but again, hotels will be hard to come by this late in the game. Try looking at the week after the Super Bowl (2/4-7), but before that weekend.

[BeenThereDunThat]

We were having lunch at a Bourbon St. restaurant with semi-outdoor covered seating and a fight broke out across the street in a Drag-Showbar and spilled out into the street as the bouncers & patrons were going at it. This was in the middle of the day as tourists & gawkers were on the street. No cop to be seen anywhere. This was late July at lunch. People in the restaurant were moving closer inside in case anything got uglier. Fortunately it was over in about a minute but it was kinda intense for a second. Made for an interesting memory at lunch. This was during a slow-time in NOLA, we quit going to Mardi Gras... it's just gotten too out there for our tastes. Always been crazy but last couple times, the MG street scene was downright vulgar.

[annie_himself]

Are you planning to stay in Treme?

[rcp11889]

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

We were having lunch at a Bourbon St. restaurant with semi-outdoor covered seating and a fight broke out across the street in a Drag-Showbar and spilled out into the street as the bouncers & patrons were going at it. This was in the middle of the day as tourists & gawkers were on the street. No cop to be seen anywhere. This was late July at lunch. People in the restaurant were moving closer inside in case anything got uglier. Fortunately it was over in about a minute but it was kinda intense for a second. Made for an interesting memory at lunch. This was during a slow-time in NOLA, we quit going to Mardi Gras... it's just gotten too out there for our tastes. Always been crazy but last couple times, the MG street scene was downright vulgar.

That's because Bourbon street is where trashy tourists hang out who intend on getting absolutely plastered. This does not happen any where else in New Orleans.

[globe9]

I was going to say the same thing. Bourbon St. is where the tourists go to get completely wasted and see boobs. New Orleans is soooo much more than Bourbon St. Go to Frenchman(this is where locals hang out) and catch some live jazz bands at the many clubs. Ride the streetcar and check out the Garden District/Audubon Zoo(one of the best zoos in the country). Go to the WWII museum. Check out Mardi Gras World. Walk around the rest of the French Quarter and see the great shops on Royal and Chartes. Check out Jackson Square and the Cathedral.
Bourbon St. is just one street in an entire city. Check it out, sure. But unless ya'll just want to be surrounded by trashy, drunken tourists, I wouldn't hang out on it.

[whatisthedealwith]

Go to Bourbon once for five minutes, just to cross that off your list. Then actually see the city.

No one, and I mean no one takes anything that happens on Bourbon seriously. Folks who go there like to holler about "N'awlins" and act like trash.

[aab7855]

I get really (maybe unnecessarily) upset with TV/movie inaccuracies, and I just don't feel that way at all when I watch Treme. I feel like it's as close as we're going to get in a non-documentary show. To me, summer in New Orleans is the worst time to go, there is a reason why it's so cheap to visit. Even the locals don't want to be out in the heat too long. To me from Thanksgiving to Jazz Fest is ideal, basically the nicer (weather wise) and more happening months of the year. New Year's is an awesome time. Mardi Gras is a great time to visit, but I think people underestimate the other times. I mean the city is essentially turned upside down then, you can't count on seeing certain bands or going to certain places or having things being open during Mardi Gras. You may not be able to move around the city freely either. While Carnival is a wonderful time, the city becomes Carnival and other things fall off. So do both if you have the time and money.

[oldraider]

I want to see the true New Orleans, and prefer to come when its not Mardi Gras, I don't really like big crowds. I was trying to work around his birthday which is Feb. 13th, that is why I ask about that time. I think late Feb/Mar may suit us better. And I want to see the best New Orleans has to offer. Thank you for the help.