Easing Back into the Big Easy And Reasons to Visit New Orleans this Summer

New Orleans French Quarter. Plenty of opportunities to enjoy New Orleans’ famed music outdoors (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

There are many great reasons to plan a trip to New Orleans this summer or later. Here are some:

New hotels, including Four Seasons (opening mid-2021), Hotel Saint Vincent (opening ~June 1), Virgin Hotels New Orleans (opening late summer) as well as The Chloe (opened Oct. 2020) and Columns (opened Feb. 2021).

More ways to enjoy food and libations – safely – with friends, with breweries such as Miel and Zony Mash Beer Project offering ample outside seating with epic food trucks, pop-ups and live music. Many restaurants in the French Quarter offer courtyard dining for those looking to enjoy an elegant meal outdoors. Bonus: famed Galatoire’s Restaurant now takes reservations, meaning it’s easier than ever to snag a table and avoid long wait times.

New cultural attractions, including the Museum of Southern Jewish Experience opening May 27. Many favorites have reopened safely for visitors to enjoy with enhanced safety measures as a priority, such as Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Sazerac House, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans Jazz Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art and Ogden Museum of Southern Art. And the new Children’s Museum will reopen on May 29.

The return of beloved festivals including Hogs for the Cause (June 4-5), the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (June 9-13), Satchmo SummerFest (July 30-Aug. 1), Beignet Festival (Sept. 25), French Quarter Festival (Sept. 30-Oct. 3) and a once-in-a-lifetime fall Jazz Fest (Oct. 8-17).

Great, safe outdoor experiences, including picnicking in Audubon Park or City Park, biking, golfing, and plenty of opportunities to listen to live music, including Bacchanal (now taking reservations), Lounge Vue House and Gardens’ Twilight at Lounge Vue outdoor music series, The Soul Rebels at the Broadside Theater, Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruises, and much, much more.

More details and insights on what’s new, what’s open and what’s coming can be found on the New Orleans Insider’s Blog. 

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Wyndham Hotel Group Partners with GetYourGuide to Connect Travelers with Tours, Activities

Washington DC Must See Sights Half Day Tour is just one of tens of thousands of tours that can be booked through Get Your Guide, which now has a partnership with Wyndham Hotel Group © 2014 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Travelers looking to add top-rated tours and activities to their upcoming travel itineraries can now easily do just that thanks to a new partnership between Wyndham Hotel Group—the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,540 hotels—and travel tour booking company GetYourGuide.

Upon completing a reservation on any of Wyndham Hotel Group’s branded websites, travelers can now connect directly via link to GetYourGuide’s catalog of more than 25,000 activities around the globe, which includes everything from sightseeing bus rides and cooking demonstrations to guided walking tours, helicopter rides and more. While searching, members have the ability to sort activities and tours by country and city as well as by tour type and price. Tours can then be booked directly online and confirmed through GetYourGuide.

“One of the most rewarding parts of being able to travel is taking time to truly experience the city you are visiting,” said Mike Mueller, vice president of loyalty, marketing and partnerships at Wyndham Hotel Group. “In partnering with GetYourGuide, we’re giving customers a simple and seamless way to find and book tours and activities that are sure to help them make the most of any trip, whether it’s a weekend getaway to their favorite city or a business trip to someplace they’ve never been.”

GetYourGuide, the Internet’s largest booking platform for travel activities, offers more than 25,000 attractions, tours and activities in upwards of 2,400 worldwide destinations. From sightseeing and historical tours to sport activities, museums, and event tickets, GetYourGuide provides an extensive assortment. The GetYourGuide website was launched in 2010 and holds offices in Zürich, Berlin and Las Vegas. www.getyourguide.com.

GetYourGuide is the latest in a series of new partnerships to be announced by Wyndham Hotel Group this year. Such partnerships underscore the company’s ongoing commitment to finding new and creative ways to offer additional value to customers throughout the booking and travel process.

Wyndham Hotel Group, part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, is one of the world’s largest and most diverse hotel companies with approximately 7,540 hotels and 650,200 rooms in 71 countries under the hotel brands: Wyndham Hotels and Resorts^®, Ramada^®, Days Inn^®, Super 8^®, Wingate by Wyndham^®, Baymont Inn & Suites^®, Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham^®, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham^®, TRYP by Wyndham^®, Howard Johnson^®, Travelodge^® and Knights Inn^®.  In addition, the company has a license agreement to franchise the Planet Hollywood Hotels brand and provide management services globally.

All hotels are independently owned and operated excluding certain hotels which are owned or managed by an affiliate of Wyndham Hotel Group.

Wyndham Rewards, the guest loyalty program of Wyndham Hotel Group, is one of the world’s largest lodging loyalty programs, as measured by number of participating hotels. It offers over 37 million members the chance to earn and redeem points for stays at over 7,000 hotels throughout more than 50 countries worldwide.

In addition to free stays, members may redeem their points for hundreds of reward options. For more information, visit www.wyndhamrewards.com.
Wyndham Hotel Group is based in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S. Additional information is available at www.wyndhamworldwide.com.

 

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Leisure Pass Group Introduces Inclusive Berlin Sightseeing Pass

City Sightseeing Pass operator the Leisure Pass Group has expanded into Germany with the launch of a Berlin Sightseeing Pass.

The all inclusive card gives users access to 53 of the city’s leading tourist attractions, including notable favourites such as the Pergamon, The Jewish Museum and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, as well as free access to the Berlin public transport network, a hop on hop off bus tour and a river cruise.

Now in its 13^th year of operation, Leisure Pass Group already runs successful sightseeing pass schemes in London, Paris and New York – as well as powering a host of similar programs in tourist hot-spots around the globe.

 “The Leisure Pass Group is well on its way to powering four million attraction visits every year, and the addition of the Berlin Sightseeing Pass really underlines our commitment to European expansion,” said Amanda Truman, director of product marketing, Leisure Pass Group.

“Berlin is a spectacular city that has seen tremendous investment since reunification. Its history and culture means there is so much to explore, and make it a perfect candidate for an ‘all-in-one’ attraction pass. Germans are renowned for their great technology, and they have embraced the simplicity of the Berlin Sightseeing Pass.”

The Berlin City Card becomes the 11^th sightseeing pass to operate on the Leisure Pass Group’s technology, the Leisure Pass Operating System. The system allows cash-less transactions at each attraction, and for individual venues to monitor card usage and numerous visitor information statistics.

Other gems featured in the Berlin Sightseeing Pass include The Berliner Dom, Bode Museum and the Alte National Gallery, along with a Berlin Bus Tour and river cruise. The Berlin Sightseeing Pass is available in two- and three-day durations, and costs $98 for adults and $48 for children (two days) or $117 for adults and $55 for children (three days). Users also receive a 96-page city sightseeing guide.

Passes must be ordered in advance of travel. For more information and to buy, see www.berlinpass.com.

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