New Orleans is full of dog-lovers and offers activities for the whole family, two and four-legged alike. The city’s walkability provides the perfect setting for your dog to get exercise while the family is able to visit famous landmarks, like Jackson Square and the riverfront. All members of the family can enjoy green spaces like Audubon, Crescent Park, City Park, and Lafitte Greenway.
One of the most important contributors to a good vacation is finding good hotels. Does New Orleans have many pet-friendly hotels in a variety of price points?
New Orleans offers over 30 pet-friendly accommodations for every price point.
Hotel Monteleone offers a pet package that treats your four-legged friend like royalty. Dogs will enjoy monogrammed food and water bowls, mat, a chew toy, gourmet treats and more. Guests are invited to take these items with them when their visit is over. In addition, Hotel Monteleone offers pet-friendly floors, so that guests’ furry friends can mingle with other pets as they come and go. Kennel services are also available upon request. There is a non-refundable fee of $100 in addition to a $25 fee per night.
More luxurious hotels like The Roosevelt and Windsor Court welcome your pets for an additional fee as well as properties like TownPlace Suites, Drury Plaza and Homewood Suites Metairie-New Orleans for varying fees.
When you forget a sweater or coat, you can always buy something you have forgotten when traveling. What about for dogs? Is there a good number of pet stores in the Crescent City?
Choose between Southern Paws in the French Quarter or NOLA Bark Market in the Bywater to pick-up last-minute needs for your best friend. These stores are also perfect for getting your dog a special New Orleans souvenir or Mardi Gras apparel.
When visiting a city, my dog and I like to hang with the locals. Where is a good place to take your dog and meet other two and four-legged New Orleanians?
NOLA City Bark is a 4.6-acre piece of land within City Park designated for dogs to exercise and play. The Park includes a double-gated entrance, separate areas for smaller and larger dogs, dog-level water fountains, shaded pavilions, and other seating areas, paved walking paths, doggie pools and “mutt mitts” for bathroom break clean-up. The park is open from 5:30 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. every day except Tuesdays when the park opens at 1:00 p.m. A permit is required to enter the park. Temporary tourist permits can be acquired for $10.
Ideal for your furry companion is New Orleans’ walkability. Taking the dog on a walk through the Garden District, or along the river at Woldenberg Park. Aside from NOLA City Park, there are a variety of other green spaces throughout the city that are ideal for your pet to run and play including the Lafitte Greenway, Crescent Park Dog Run, Wisner Dog Park, Audubon Park and the Levee Dog Park.
Enjoy a drink with locals at places like Tchoup Yard and Bayou Beer Garden where pets are allowed on the patio and in the courtyard. Breweries such as NOLA Brewing, Port Orleans Brewing Co. and Urban South Brewery have water bowls scattered throughout in case your dog is thirsty as well.
Can you give us a few ideas of things that we can do with our dogs while in New Orleans?
A trip to New Orleans isn’t complete without a delicious meal. The quaint courtyard at Café Amelie provides an oasis for brunch, lunch or dinner where your furry friend will also be treated with bacon. Flamingo A-Go-Go even offers a dog-centric menu packed with a variety of treats. For a more upscale dining option with your pet, Herbsaint offers seating outdoors covered by an overhead balcony.
Cool off this summer by heading to Ike’s Snowballs to treat you and your pup to a New Orleans favorite. They even have a meat-flavored snowball specifically for man’s best friend!
Popular shopping streets like Magazine and Royal are very pet-friendly. Water bowls greet animals outside of stores where most often they have doggie treats stashed behind the counter. George Rodrigue, famous for his Blue Dog paintings, has a gallery on Royal Street where leashed pets are welcomed inside. Additionally, New Orleans has many pet-friendly festivals like the Freret Street Festival on April 4th, 2020 and Wednesday at the Square Concert Series, occurring every Wednesday in Lafayette Square Park at 5:00 p.m. from March 11 – May 13, 2020. Owners and their companions can listen to music, eat delicious food and shop for artisan goods on the streets blocked off to traffic.
Why is coming to New Orleans in February a great idea for dog-lovers?
Krewe of Barkus (February 16, 2020)
Here in New Orleans, everyone is included in Mardi Gras festivities-- even your furry friend. Man’s best friend is the center of this parade on Sunday, February 16th, 2020, where crowds gather to watch dogs and their owners parade through the streets of the French Quarter. Barkus is a real, licensed Mardi Gras Krewe. Your dog can be a part of the celebration by registering beforehand on the krewe’s website, or onsite at the day of the event.
Wine and Wags (February 11, 2020)
Download the dating app “Dig,” the dog persons’ dating app, to attend this FREE event at Grand Krewe Fine Wine and Spirits from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on February 11th, 2020. They are offering free wine tastings, doggie treats and prizes for pet owners. The event will also feature doggie bingo, with prizes for both the animals and their owners, a photographer to take professional headshots of everyone’s furry friends and much more! The event is 21 and older, registration can be found here.
Mark Romig
Chief Marketing Officer at New Orleans & Company