Few travelers realize that there are actually two major Mardi Gras celebrations: one in the city of New Orleans and another in the suburbs of Metairie.

While New Orleans is the "original" location, Metairie has been growing every year, attracting just as many parade goers. In recent years, more than a half million people have flocked to Metairie for Mardi Gras day. In general, New Orleans is a little bit wilder while Metairie may be more "family oriented" and suitable for those wishing to "take it easy."

However, Metairie can still offer travelers an amazing and wild time, although there isn't as much of a choice of accommodations. (If you wish to head to Metairie, consider the centrally located Landmark Hotel. On the other hand, New Orleans has few public restrooms, whereas the streets of Metairie are lined with hundreds of "port-o-lets" - and that is well worth taking into consideration.

For the Best Experience

Spend a few days for the celebration, and remember that Fat Tuesday is only the end.

The highlights usually begin the Saturday before and end at midnight on Mardi Gras day. The Lundi Gras celebrations on the night before Mardi Gras have been growing every year, and are well worth looking into.

Be sure to get to the parades early so that you can stake out a spot in the crowd. Although sleeping on the route is technically illegal, it is often overlooked the night before Mardi Gras. It is common to arrive early in the morning, say 4 or 5 a.m., and then sleep until the sun comes up. Don't feel shy about cracking open a beer before dawn! Many locals will be drunk well before noon.

If accumulating a mass of throws is one of your objectives, be sure to make a sign saying "I am from ----." Riders will often respond to tourists from faraway places and will pelt them with beads, cups, and trinkets. To help lighten your load, consider giving many of your catches to the children; they go into frenzies scavenging the ground for catches.

Finally, Mardi Gras is a time to be outrageous, so be sure to wear some ridiculous costume. Be creative - walking down the street with underwear on your head is perfectly normal! Long beads are an absolute essential part of the Mardi Gras dress code ,and most people arrive to the parades already wearing a few.

Search for accessible toilets before you start your heavy drinking! In New Orleans they are few and far between, and the lines are long.

Be advised that on Mardi Gras night, Bourbon Street is packed tight. You may find it takes hours to walk a single block, and things can be quite unpleasant even if you do like crowds. Bourbon Street is officially shutdown at midnight on Fat Tuesday, ending the Mardi Gras celebrations. A wall of police will sweep the streets and push the crowds out of the quarter. My advice: do your Bourbon Street thing on Lundi Gras. It is just as fun and wild, but with a less people and more room to move.

Do's and Don'ts

With so many people and so much liquor, fights are not uncommon during Mardi Gras. The locals are extremely friendly, but bumping, smashing, and spilled drinks are all part of the experience, so keep your cool and watch what you say to the roughnecks!

Although popular media would have you believe otherwise, women, exposing your breasts is illegal, and the police have been cracking down in the last few years. They will take you to jail.

If you have to resort to urinating in a back alley or behind a building, be on the lookout for the police, as chances are you will be arrested. Although drinking is legal on the parade route, glass bottles are not, so pour your booze into a plastic cup.

The police do an excellent job of maintaining order during Mardi Gras. They are extremely lenient, but be sure to move when they tell you to.

Aside from the occasional drunken brawl and mini-riot, violence is not much of a concern on the routes. However, sneak thefts and pickpockets are rampant, so keep an eye on your valuables.

Feel free to litter on the parade route; you won't find any empty trash cans anyway. At the end of the day the city is a disaster, but armies of street sweepers and garbage men will have the mess cleaned up with a few hours. It is interesting to know that the number of people on the streets is calculated by weighing the garbage every year.

Costs

Aside from accommodation, Mardi Gras is fairly cheap. The parades are free and open to everyone, and you can save a considerable amount of money by bringing your own food and drinks. Consider buying a cheap, Styrofoam ice chest, and pack it with beer and sandwiches.

If you are flying into New Orleans, consider using a luggage cart to transport an ice chest down the route. If you are driving, bring a dolly or some sort of moveable cart with tie straps. Locals have devised ingenious ways to carry barbecue pits, chairs, ladders, tables, and kegs of beer. However, almost all tourist-oriented hotels in New Orleans are on or near a parade route, so there should be little need for transportation.

For those seeking an all-inclusive deal, there are a few restaurants in town which, for a set fee, offer unlimited beer, drinks, food, parking, and restrooms. They are well worth looking into, if you are traveling light and want to take a lot of the hassle out of carrying an ice chest around all day. In Metairie, The Red Steer Grill (3100 Severn Ave., phone (504) 888-8575) offers an excellent location and friendly management. In New Orleans, try The Superior Grill (3636 St Charles, phone (504) 899-4200). Call ahead for prices, and be sure to book in advance.

Off the Beaten Path

In New Orleans, as well as Metairie, you can usually walk to the beginning of the parade route to watch the riders load and board their floats. Although they usually do not want to be pestered for beads, they are often willing to chat with a visitor. You might even meet a celebrity or two.

Attending a Mardi Gras ball would be an amazing experience for a visitor, but most of them are by invitation only.

If you want to get away from the somewhat tourist New Orleans Mardi Gras, consider heading to Mamou, Louisiana for a Cajun-style celebration like no other. Residents parade and march through the town while gathering livestock, vegetables, and spices for a giant gumbo that they make at the end. The celebration is notorious for hard-core beer drinking and backwoods, friendly Southern mayhem. Big trucks roam the streets at the end of the day to pick up the drunken men along the roadside!

Parade Routes and Schedules

The parades and Mardi Gras celebrations usually start about two to three weeks before the climax on Fat Tuesday. Between Metairie and New Orleans, there is a parade almost every night. Some of the favorites include Rex, Zulu, Orpheus, Bacchus, and Endymion in New Orleans, and Ceasear and Centurions in Metairie.

In Metairie, a few hot spots on the route are on Severn near the Lakeside Shopping Mall, Bonnebal, and the area between Puglia Sporting Goods on Veterans and Bonnebal, which is very popular with the younger crowd.

In New Orleans, the corner of St. Charles and Julia is a popular area for music and dancing in the streets, while anywhere on St. Charles before Lee Circle is a nice spot to lay a blanket on the median. Canal Street tends to be overcrowded and quite chaotic - watch your wallet there! The 2001 parade schedule should soon be up at www.nola.com or www.insideneworleans.com.

Questions?
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