United States
New Orleans in December
🧥 WinterPleasant and some showers.
🎒 Pack: warm jacket for evenings · compact umbrella or rain jacket
Why December scores 9.0What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort8.6
- ✓Comfortable temperatures (18°C highs / 9°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point 10°C)
- !Wet: ~122 mm rain, ~3 heavy-rain days
- Air quality9.7
- ✓Good (within WHO guideline) (PM2.5 ~7 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline7.5
- ·Increased caution
| Dec | Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 9.0 Excellent | 9.2 Excellent |
| Season | 🧥 Winter | 🌷 Spring |
| High / low | 18° / 9° | 22° / 13° |
| Rain | 122 mm | 111 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 10° | dew pt 14° |
| PM2.5 | 7 µg/m³ | 7 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast). Temperatures: New Orleans Airport weather-station normals. Rainfall: New Orleans Airport weather-station normals (national met service).
Holidays & crowdsDecember 2026
Long weekendThere's at least one long weekend. Domestic travel picks up and popular spots get busier over those days.
- Christmas Day 25–27 Dec · 3 days off in a row
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore New OrleansEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyA Louisiana port city on the Mississippi known as the birthplace of jazz, with French and Spanish colonial architecture, Creole and Cajun food, and Mardi Gras.
No major events on our calendar for December.
Coming up later
Mardi GrasDate variesDay before Ash Wednesday — usually February or early March; parades in the two weeks before
Carnival season culminating in parades by krewes with floats and thrown beads.
Why go: Hotels book up months ahead and many streets close for parades.
Where: St. Charles Avenue, French Quarter and citywide
French Quarter FestivalDate variesUsually April
A large, mostly free festival of local music on stages across the Quarter.
Why go: Free entry makes it an easy way to see local bands.
Where: French Quarter
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage FestivalDate variesUsually last weekend of April and first weekend of May
A major festival of jazz, blues, gospel and Louisiana music and food.
Why go: Accommodation prices rise sharply.
Where: Fair Grounds Race Course
French Quarter
The historic core with iron-balconied buildings, Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral.
Frenchmen Street
A strip of clubs with live jazz and brass bands most nights.
Garden District
A neighbourhood of grand antebellum mansions, reached by the St. Charles streetcar.
The National WWII Museum
A large museum on the American experience of the Second World War.
Preservation Hall
A small hall dedicated to traditional New Orleans jazz.
💡 Shows are short and small; book ahead.
Swamp tours
Boat tours of nearby bayous and wetlands to see alligators and cypress swamps.
Beignets
Square fried doughnuts covered in powdered sugar, served with chicory coffee.
💡 Café du Monde, open since 1862
Gumbo
A thick stew of seafood or chicken and sausage over rice, built on a dark roux.
Po'boy
A sandwich on French bread filled with fried shrimp, oysters or roast beef.
Muffuletta
A round sandwich of Italian meats, cheese and olive salad.
💡 Central Grocery in the French Quarter, where it originated
Crawfish boil
Crawfish boiled with spices, corn and potatoes.
💡 In season, roughly January to June
Pralines
Creamy pecan and brown sugar candies.
💡 Candy shops in the French Quarter
Cajun and Creole seasonings
Spice blends and Louisiana hot sauces.
Chicory coffee
Coffee blended with roasted chicory root.
Mardi Gras masks
Decorated masks traditional for Carnival.
Airport transfer Kiwitaxi
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