OK, Mardi Gras is the biggest and best free show on the planet. Anyone can walk up to the parade route and get more or less the same show as anyone else. But there’s a better way to see the parades in New Orleans, especially on Mardi Gras Day. For as little as $5, you can purchase a ticket to the Reviewing Stands along St. Charles Avenue.
See Rex toast New Orleans at Gallier Hall from your seat in the stands. (Photo Credit: rexorginization.com)
Let that sink in for a few minutes. For less than the price of a medium Icee at the movie theater, you can secure a chunk of prime territory for the best parades Mardi Gras has to offer. Just bring a bag for the tremendous amount of beads you are sure to catch, sit back and enjoy the show in a completely safe and secure environment.
That $5 gets you into the stands for the Krewe of Oshun on Feb. 10 as it rolls down the traditional St. Charles Avenue route. For the rest of the Carnival Season, tickets vary fro $15 for Hermes, d’Etat, and Morpheus on Friday, Feb. 17 to $25 for Babylon, Chaos, and Muses on Thursday the night before, $35 for Bacchus, and $50 for the full Mardi Gras Day treatment.
But you’re not just getting a place to sit and casually watch the parade, you’re buying a ticket to the absolute center of the Mardi Gras universe. Mayor Mitch Landrieu will hand the keys to the city of New Orleans over to Rex right in front of your eyes. The best marching bands in the world will perform their hearts out just for you. And you will have access to private portable restrooms which on Mardi Gras day is truly priceless.
For a complete list of parades, prices, and how to buy a ticket, check out MardiGrasParadeTickets.com.
Like this post? Check out this video of a Rex float rolling by, this post on what you should wear, and this full parade schedule.
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