It's pretty great to arrive in a new city and not have to rent a car. We've taken a few nearly carless vacations. None were completely car-free, because there is almost always transportation to/from your main base of operations -- although if you live near convenient public transit, you could even eliminate the airport taxi. Sometimes we've combined sightseeing with visiting family, so local relatives picked us up and drove us around the entire time. I don't think that counts as going carless, because the family was essentially our rental car service.
Day passes for the streetcars were cheap. We rode them to get places (and at least once we rode to the wrong place, but another streetcar came along soon to take us back in the right direction). And we rode one to the end of the line and back just to see some sights.
There, we got caught in a downpour and took shelter by tucking ourselves up under the eaves of an old Girl Scout cabin.
Our hotel was in the French Quarter, so it was a convenient base from which we could easily walk to just about anywhere else we wanted to visit. Some highlights and recommendations:
The World War II Museum - worth the full price of admission - give yourself plenty of time. We fueled up with a big breakfast at The Ruby Slipper, so we toured the museum for several hours and skipped lunch.
We liked the Bourbon House's char-grilled oysters and frozen bourbon milk punch so much, we had dinner there twice in one week. Down the street, we tried a local cocktail, the herbsaint frappe, at the Old Absinthe House.
Beckham's Bookshop was one of the cool little bookstores we visited, each one crammed into what seemed like a very old house. Beckham's had a triple-hung window:
We also strolled the Mississippi River riverfront path one morning.
And, yes, we walked to Cafe DuMonde for beignets and cafe au lait, too.
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One nearly carless vacation was our honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. We did take a couple of excursions by bus, but otherwise the resort had everything we needed, including bicycles for venturing into town.
Another was our Katy Trail biking and camping trip: Flashback to One of Our Favorite Vacations. My parents dropped us off and picked us up at the endpoints, but otherwise we traveled only by Amtrak train and bicycle.
Another was akin to the all-inclusive resort -- a river cruise in Germany and Austria. This was with a tour group, so we had a charter bus for longer excursions, but many day trips were walking tours right off the ship.
Our most recent example was a purer form of going car-free: New Orleans. We went last year (August 2021), and besides a total of four taxis (between home and airport and airport and hotel), we traveled entirely by foot or by public transportation. It was a blast!
Day passes for the streetcars were cheap. We rode them to get places (and at least once we rode to the wrong place, but another streetcar came along soon to take us back in the right direction). And we rode one to the end of the line and back just to see some sights.
We rode a streetcar to the City Park, which has some of those great big old live oaks, and did a lot of walking around there.
The City Park also has a very interesting sculpture garden.
There, we got caught in a downpour and took shelter by tucking ourselves up under the eaves of an old Girl Scout cabin.
We also took a streetcar to St. Louis Cemetery Number 3.
Our hotel was in the French Quarter, so it was a convenient base from which we could easily walk to just about anywhere else we wanted to visit. Some highlights and recommendations:
The "Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond" exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum. The exhibit is powerful, and the museum faces Jackson Park, another nice little walk-around and a spot to catch some local music.
The World War II Museum - worth the full price of admission - give yourself plenty of time. We fueled up with a big breakfast at The Ruby Slipper, so we toured the museum for several hours and skipped lunch.
The mostly self-guided tour with cocktail tastings at the Sazerac House. A fun, low-key activity with plenty of drinkable souvenirs in the gift shop.
Bourbon Street, of course. It truly comes to life at night, but if you're not into the partying, you can still enjoy some excellent food and drink at a reasonable hour.
We liked the Bourbon House's char-grilled oysters and frozen bourbon milk punch so much, we had dinner there twice in one week. Down the street, we tried a local cocktail, the herbsaint frappe, at the Old Absinthe House.
Beckham's Bookshop was one of the cool little bookstores we visited, each one crammed into what seemed like a very old house. Beckham's had a triple-hung window:
And, yes, we walked to Cafe DuMonde for beignets and cafe au lait, too.
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