New Orleans · Month comparison

December vs April

April ranks #1 overall vs December at #6. Jazz Fest weekend (late April): the city's other peak event — 500,000 people, 12 stages, the best live music in America.

New Orleans December — holiday lights on St Charles Avenue with the streetcar

December

#6 of 12 months

Strong option

Réveillon dinners, holiday lights on St Charles, and a city that takes Christmas seriously — at premium December prices.

  • ↑Réveillon dinners: the Creole Christmas tradition of elaborate multi-course prix-fixe menus at Antoine's, Galatoire's, and other historic restaurants — a genuine culinary event with no equivalent in other American cities
  • ↑St Charles Avenue lined with Christmas lights; the streetcar ride through Uptown's decorated mansions is one of the great free winter experiences in the US
New Orleans April — Louis Armstrong statue near Jazz Fest at the Fairgrounds

April

#1 of 12 months

Best match

Jazz Fest weekend (late April): the city's other peak event — 500,000 people, 12 stages, the best live music in America.

  • ↑New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (last weekend of April, first of May): 12 stages at the Fairgrounds with everyone from local brass bands to international headliners — the world's greatest concentrated live music event
  • ↑26°C and low humidity: the single most comfortable weather window of the year for outdoor eating, walking, and the festival grounds
FactorDecemberApril
Weather score
6
8
Value score
4
5
Crowd score
6
4
Events score
7
9
Atmosphere
8
9
Avg high temp16.1°C26.4°C
Monthly rain114mm105mm
Daily sunshine5.5hrs7.8hrs

December trade-offs

  • ↓Christmas and New Year week: hotel prices approach Mardi Gras levels in the French Quarter and Warehouse District
  • ↓7.1°C overnight lows and 16°C daytime highs — visitors expecting warm winter temperatures will be surprised; this is wool-coat weather
  • ↓114mm of December rain falls on short days with only 5.5 hours of sun; the city is atmospheric but moody

April trade-offs

  • ↓Jazz Fest weekend: hotels within 20 blocks of the Fairgrounds sell out months in advance; prices spike 60–80%
  • ↓The city is genuinely packed during both festival weekends — book Commander's Palace, Dooky Chase, or Cochon weeks out
  • ↓105mm of rain: April showers are real — the Fairgrounds becomes muddy in wet years; bring boots
See all 12 months for New Orleans →December in detail →April in detail →
Scores compare months within New Orleans. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →