Gastronomy & Wine
Mardi Gras New Orleans — Carnival
The greatest street party in America. New Orleans Mardi Gras transforms the city into an extraordinary carnival of parades, music, masked balls, and Louisiana's world-famous cuisine.
Mardi Gras 2026 culminates on Fat Tuesday, 17 February, but the Carnival season begins in earnest from 1 February with daily parades through the streets of New Orleans. The city's unique French Quarter, Garden District, and Uptown neighborhoods each have their own parade traditions and social character.
For the luxury traveller, Mardi Gras is best experienced through the private krewe balls — invitation-only affairs of extraordinary social complexity — and from the private balconies of the finest Quarter hotels on St. Charles Avenue or Royal Street.
New Orleans itself is one of America's most extraordinary cities: the jazz heritage, the Creole and Cajun cuisine (beignets at Café du Monde, oysters at Dooky Chase's, Commander's Palace), the architectural beauty of the French Quarter, and the Mississippi River all combine to create a destination quite unlike anywhere else.
Why It's Worth the Journey
Mardi Gras New Orleans is the most exuberant city celebration in America — music, food, costume, tradition and joy in a city that is already one of the most characterful and culturally rich in the world. There is nothing quite like it.
Ideal for
Music lovers, food enthusiasts, couples, groups of friends, cultural adventurers
Frequently Asked Questions
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