Traveling to New Orleans? Not a bad choice for a vacation spot, since a trip to this idyllic city on Louisiana, is certainly one that’ll be of immense enjoyment.

The climate is good and sunny almost all year round, with winters barely warranting an extra layer of clothing in the evening and summers requiring you to wear your lightest clothes out.

Still, as a traveler there are some things about the city you’d be unaware of that could save you quite some trouble if you knew. For this reason, here are three tips to follow when visiting New Orleans.

1 – Avoid traveling during the Mardi Gras

Now hold on, you might be saying. Isn’t the Mardi Gras supposed to be the greatest festival New Orleans has to offer tourists the opportunity to be a part of? Well, yes. When it comes to festivals in New Orleans, nothing beats the celebrations surrounding the Mardi Gras.

The city is alive with light and colors and music fills the air with extravagant parades at the center of it all. Too bad the Mardi Gras is going to be all you’ll see if you go at this time of the year. The roads will be too jam-packed to travel anywhere at all. It’ll hardly be a satisfying trip if you got nothing more to see than just the festival, now will it?

2 – Get a good guide for your French Quarter visit

Unfortunately for those who like to travel on their own, the city’s regulations now require you to have a guide for visiting the French Quarter which contains must see cites like the St. Louis Cemetery. While you could get a guide when you reach New Orleans, chances are you might get stuck with an incompetent local.

The only way to come out on top here is to hire a guide from a private New Orleans tour service. Only experienced professionals can, after all, know how to help you best enjoy your visit.

3 – Ditch the New Orleans traffic; bicycle around the city instead

If you want to experience as much of the city as you can, ditch your car or taxi and just rent a bicycle instead. You’d save so much time by avoiding being stuck in traffic jams frequently and every minute you’re on your bike is a minute you’re sightseeing around New Orleans. Definitely worth the sweat.