New Orleans marks the turn of the year with music at Woldenberg Park, a rooftop countdown near Jackson Square and fireworks over the Mississippi River. Choose the public riverfront evening for the city’s shared celebration, or make dinner and a ticketed show the centre of your night. Louisiana Children’s Museum offers a daytime countdown for children who will not be staying up late.
Dates and the official programme
- Date and duration
- 31 December each year, one night
- Free
- New Orleans Eve open-air concert and public fireworks viewing from both riverbanks
- Paid
- Riverboat cruises, indoor events and ticketed performances
- Accommodation reservations
- Book early, hotels fill well in advance
New Orleans is a good choice if you want public celebrations as well as dinner and live music. Families can choose the daytime museum countdown, while a reserved indoor evening gives you a seated meal rather than a night spent in the public gathering.
New Orleans & Company publishes the annual programme on its New Year’s Eve event page at NewOrleans.com. For a central mid-range double room, allow roughly $180–$350 per night before taxes, with popular locations and holiday demand pushing costs higher.
Daytime countdowns and the midnight celebrations
| Moment | Recurring day | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noon Year’s Eve | 31 December | Noon countdown | Louisiana Children’s Museum |
| New Orleans Eve concert | 31 December | — | Woldenberg Park |
| Fleur-de-lis drop | Night of 31 December | Midnight | Jax Brewery rooftop |
| Fireworks | Night of 31 December | Midnight | Mississippi River |
Louisiana Children’s Museum’s Noon Year’s Eve lets children enjoy a countdown without a late bedtime. The museum in City Park celebrates with colourful confetti and bubbles, alongside crafts, music, face painting, dancing and games. Make this your family’s main celebration rather than treating it as a rehearsal for the riverfront night.
New Orleans Eve brings the public holiday concert to the French Quarter riverfront. At Woldenberg Park, music is part of the evening’s celebration rather than a separate indoor show.
The fleur-de-lis, a stylised lily that is a familiar city symbol, drops from the brewery rooftop as the year turns. Fireworks over the Mississippi complete the public countdown.
The riverfront and Jax Brewery
Choose Woldenberg Park for a view over the Mississippi and Jackson Square for the rooftop countdown. Woldenberg Park runs along the French Quarter riverfront, so the river, rather than a building façade, is the focus of your fireworks evening. Choose somewhere with an open sightline over the water and agree a meeting place before joining the gathering.
- Name
- Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park
- Location
- 1 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130 Maps
- Site
- audubonnatureinstitute.org
- Hours
- Mon–Thu 6am–10pm
- Fri–Sat 6am–12am
- Sun 6am–10pm
Gary J · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Edited
Jax Brewery is the landmark carrying the fleur-de-lis drop. Its rooftop faces the river, while Jackson Square is the public gathering place associated with watching the countdown. Find a position where you can see the brewery rooftop before settling in, rather than assuming every spot around the square offers the same view. The square itself, with St Louis Cathedral at its inland end, gives your group a recognisable place to orient yourselves.
- Name
- Shops At Jax Brewery
- Location
- 600 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130 Maps
- Site
- shopsatjaxbrewery.com
- Hours
- Mon–Thu 10am–7pm
- Fri–Sat 10am–8pm
- Sun 10am–7pm
Dinner, tickets and advance reservations
The best dinner choice depends on whether you want to finish at the riverfront or stay indoors. Reserve a restaurant meal early if the public countdown is your priority. A set-menu celebration suits an evening centred on the table. New Orleans & Company advises making holiday restaurant reservations promptly.
- For a casual meal, allow roughly $25–$45 per person before drinks, tax and tip.
- For a more elaborate dinner, allow around $70–$130 per person before drinks, tax and tip, with holiday menus pushing spending higher.
- Allow about $8–$16 for a drink, depending on whether you choose beer, wine or a cocktail.
Gumbo, a stew often served with rice, and jambalaya, rice cooked with meat or seafood, are local meal choices.
The National WWII Museum’s Dine & Dance: New Year’s Eve Bash at BB’s Stage Door Canteen pairs a seated meal with dancing to 1940s big-band music. The evening runs from 9pm–1am on New Year’s Eve, with dinner seating at the start. Tickets cost roughly $230–$240 per person, with a member discount and sales tax added at checkout, and are sold online through the museum.
- An arrival cocktail and four-course seated dinner
- An open beer and wine bar
- Music by the Victory Swing Orchestra
- A Champagne toast at midnight
- Name
- BB’s Stage Door Canteen
- Location
- 945 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 Maps
- Site
- nationalww2museum.org
Holiday transport and New Year’s Day openings
Settle your return arrangement before choosing a riverbank for the evening. RTA buses and streetcars follow a Saturday schedule on New Year’s Eve. The Canal Street–Algiers Point ferry follows its normal daily operating pattern, with RTA’s Holiday Service page indicating Saturday service. Do not make a cross-river stay depend on an assumed post-countdown ferry.
The Mayor’s Office publishes the city’s New Year’s Eve access notices, which affect how you approach and leave the public celebration.
The art museum and sculpture garden open 10am–3pm on New Year’s Eve. NOLA ChristmasFest offers a different holiday activity, with hours of 11am–3:30pm on New Year’s Eve and 1pm–5pm on New Year’s Day.
Restaurants offer both earlier dinners and evenings continuing through the toast. Many also open on New Year’s Day, although individual hours vary. A holiday closure at a museum does not mean the city closes for dining.
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: fares and charges, services, closures, and opening hours.
- City of New Orleans — service
- New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) — service
- New Orleans Museum of Art; New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; National Park Service — closures
- New Orleans & Company — closures
- New Orleans Eve
- New Year’s Eve in New Orleans
- Events – FQFest
- New Orleans & Company Brings Back City’s Fleur de Lis Drop to Ring in 2024
- Dine & Dance: New Year’s Eve Bash
- Dine & Dance: New Year’s Eve Bash!
- The National WWII Museum — fares and charges
- The National WWII Museum — service
- 7 Reasons to Spend New Year’s Eve in New Orleans
- Louisiana Children’s Museum — opening hours
- Holidays | FQFests, Inc.
- The Traditional NOLA New Year’s Eve Fireworks Show to Light Up the Midnight Sky!
- Crescent City Countdown Club — opening hours
