To the curious outsider, Mardi Gras in New Orleans might seem all about drinking and bead throwing. But as a New Orleans local, I can tell you that the festivities are just one part of the equation. Mardi Gras, the culmination of the Carnival season, is a time to celebrate the city’s rich art, history and creative spirit, as well as being a chance to renew values and family connections.
Mardi Gras means many things to many people. Those born in Louisiana will tell you about their first memories, reaching eager hands to catch a set of beads with their families, or enjoying nights out as young adults, watching bands in music clubs. During the season, friendships are made, marriages happen on street corners, and rituals play out along the banks of the Mississippi River. It’s wild, fun, and spontaneous.
But that doesn’t mean visitors aren’t embraced. “Locals, families, visitors, and everyone in between are welcome to join in the spirit, music, and energy that can only be truly appreciated by being a part of it,” says Don Starr, the concierge at the Roosevelt New Orleans. “Mardi Gras is not a spectator sport; it’s about donning your costume and hitting the streets.”
And while Carnival is celebrated worldwide, from Rio de Janeiro to Venice, New Orleans has its own special set of traditions—and a reverence for ribald fun that ensures it’s a party like no other. Here’s everything you need to know about the Big Easy’s biggest party of the year, plus tips on enjoying it like a local.
Arrive early to beat the crowds
As a New Orleans local, I’m familiar with (and occasionally guilty of ignoring) the number one rule of Mardi Gras: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Carnival season in 2026 begins on 6 January and runs up to Mardi Gras on February 17 (“Fat Tuesday”), with street parades throughout the period.
If you arrive in the city before Mardi Gras day, you’ll be able to catch earlier parades amid local crowds. It’s also easier to get restaurant reservations and hotel rooms are cheaper. Consider Mardi Gras a season, rather than a day, and you can get into the spirit anytime between January 6 and Fat Tuesday.
Brush up on the history of Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras has roots in Roman and pagan traditions. The name means “Fat Tuesday“ in French, and when the celebration was eventually adopted by the Christians, it included slaughtering a fatted calf.
French settlers brought Mardi Gras to the New World, and by the 1730s, Mardi Gras parades and masquerade balls became an annual tradition in the city.
The official first day of the Mardi Gras season is Twelfth Night, January 6, commemorating the Epiphany. In New Orleans, that’s marked by the Joan of Arc Parade rolling through the French Quarter, a beautiful and emotional parade of horse-drawn floats and participants (called krewe members) dressed in medieval attire, holding torches.
From this night forward, the city’s beloved King Cake is sliced and served, the parties grow in size, and the parades begin to roll regularly over the weeks toward Fat Tuesday.
If you’re interested in seeing the floats from the largest parades up-close and personal, head to Mardi Gras World, where they are stored when not in use.
Left: The Garden District is close to the big parades. Right: The Hotel St. Vincent is a strikingly designed hotel, where even the bathrooms are photogenic, with their persimmon tile and psychedelic wallpaper.
Photo by Leo Bayard/Unsplash (L); Courtesy of Hotel Saint Vincent (R)
Be strategic when picking where to stay
Hotels sell out fast during this popular time to visit New Orleans, so it’s never too early to start thinking about (or booking) your rooms. Savvy travelers should opt for refundable bookings and keep an eye out for evolving deals or last-minute cancellations, which may open up balcony suites overlooking the parade routes.
Location is everything: parking is difficult during celebrations, and you’ll want to walk if you’re planning to consume alcohol. To remain close to the massive parades Uptown, stay in the charming Garden District, bordered by Magazine Street and St. Charles Avenue. This tree-lined neighborhood is filled with boutique shops, top-notch restaurants, and grand dame mansions, and the French Quarter’s festivities are only an affordable streetcar away.
Popular hotels on or nearby the main parade routes include the Four Seasons New Orleans and the Royal Sonesta, but properties a little away from the action—like Hotel Saint Vincent or the Blackbird—keep the carnival chaos as bay. The new Garden District Hotel and the Windsor Court even have heated pools for winter swims. Almost all hotels will provide Mardi Gras packages, including special dinners, welcome gifts, and large parties on site.
Don’t discount the riverside neighborhoods like the Marigny and Bywater. Here, you can experience a more local Mardi Gras. Parades in these neighborhoods include the season’s smallest, ‘tit Rex, where ankle-level, handmade parade floats are pulled along on strings.
Be selective when picking parades to attend
In 2026, there will be more than 70 parades in the city so be strategic about which ones you attend. I recommend starting with the Société Des Champs Elysée and Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) parades on January 6. On January 30, don’t miss the Krewe of Bohéme, which celebrates absinthe, and rolls through the Marigny and the French Quarter. It’s made up of sub-krewes like the Merry Antoinettes––18th-century costuming and towering powdered wigs––and the Krewe of Dystopian Paradise, featuring swamp creatures, zombies and aliens.
The biggest parades roll through Uptown. For these, make sure to get to the route early and join the gatherings on the street medians (we call them “neutral ground” in New Orleans). Parade watching is a time-honored family tradition in the city, and parents set up blankets and chairs to watch––and even ladders with seats at the top for smaller children. If you’re a visitor, be respectful that families have been gathering on these grounds for generations.
For help picking parades to attend, ask your hotel concierge, who can also provide advice on navigating the labyrinth of parade routes and street closures.
“My favorite parade is the Secret Society of Saint Anne,” says Starr. This costumed, walking parade originates in the Bywater neighborhood on Mardi Gras morning and makes its way through the streets, ending up in the French Quarter.
Melissa Comardelle, chief concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans and a born-and-bred New Orleans resident, recommends the all-female Krewe of Muses parade. “The prized catch is a decorated shoe,” Comardelle says. “I haven’t caught one yet, but I’m working on it.”
You can find this year’s full parade lineup on the New Orleans’s tourism board website.
Seek out quirkier parades
The vibrant, bohemian walking parade of St. Anne on Mardi Gras day is a hyper-local, thousands-strong event filled with elaborate homemade costumes and drumming krewes. It is loose and spontaneous, starting around 9 a.m. in the Bywater, parading into the Marigny, and on to the French Quarter.
For this writer (and science-fiction nerd), though, the best parade is the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus. Celebrating a 15th season in 2026, it will roll from the Marigny to the French Quarter, with krewe members celebrating everything from cosplay and conspiracy theories to cult-classic movies and video-game characters.
Score a ticket to Mardi Gras balls (and know what to expect)
Balls are an integral part of the Mardi Gras experience. The majority are private, invite-only affairs, but if you make friends with a krewe member, it’s worth asking them if extra tickets are available.
There are a handful of open-ticketed events, like the Endymion Extravaganza, which is held annually at Caesars Superdome. This year marks the 60th anniversary, with the parade and ball both happening on Valentine’s Day.
Almost all balls have a dress code, be it black-tie, mask required, or a special theme. For dressing the part, head to Fifi’s Custom Wigs for wigs, costume jewelry, and outlandish headpieces, Century Girl Vintage for sparkly fashions from 1890s to 1990s, Nola Couture for silk bowties and pocket squares, and Tuxedos To Geaux for sales and rentals, and same-day tailoring.
It’s considered bad luck to eat King Cake before January 6 or after Fat Tuesday.
Photo by Joanna Stołowicz/Unsplash
Don’t miss Mardi Gras King Cake
There’s a hard-and-fast rule in New Orleans. You do not eat King Cake before January 6 or after Fat Tuesday. The sweet treat is only for the Mardi Gras season. Eating it outside of this window is believed to bring bad luck.
The iconic dessert of Mardi Gras is a big oval pastry (with a long history) topped with icing and decorated in the traditional purple, green, and yellow. You’ll find it everywhere, from hotel lobbies to grocery stores, but the best bakeries craft the softest, most delectable versions, from traditional cinnamon to wild iterations like Chantilly cream (head to Bywater Bakery for that).
Levee Baking Co. and Gracious Bakery are two other outstanding places to sample a slice; however, the most famous King Cakes come from the Dong Phuong Bakery in New Orleans East. The Vietnamese family behind this beloved institution sell tens of thousands of King Cakes per season.
Pro tip: You don’t have to drive 30 minutes from the French Quarter or stand in long lines at the source. Each year, the local television station, WGNO, produces a list of places selling Dong Phuong King Cakes around the city.
Left: Some parades feature horse-drawn floats. Right: Big Chief Alfred Doucette, a Mardi Gras Indian, marches in the Prince second line parade.
Photo by Sunira Moses/Unsplash (L); photo by Suzanne C. Grim/Shutterstock (R)
Keep an eye out for the Mardi Gras Indians
These costumed tribes, also known as Black Masking Indians, spend months crafting their dazzling, sequined outfits as part of a tradition that goes back centuries. They parade several times during the season. “We go onto the streets of New Orleans and we play war games,” Chief Shaka Zulu of the Golden Feather Hunters tribe told Afar. It’s something to behold. If you want to connect with Mardi Gras Indian culture further, visit the Backstreet Cultural Museum in the Treme neighborhood.
Be safe and take care
Remember to hydrate, to eat nourishing meals, and to keep track of your friends and loved ones. New Orleans can experience opportunistic crime, even in popular blocks of the French Quarter. Being visibly intoxicated, flashing jewelry and cash, or wandering dark blocks alone is inadvisable.
