Best time to visit Louisiana
March to May. Month by month below, with the weather, what's on and what it costs to fly there from your city.
March to May
Spring, especially mid-March to May, gets the best weather plus the big festivals; fall (late September to mid-November) is the other comfortable window.
- “Mid-March to May sees New Orleans” lonelyplanet.com
- “These two festivals also coincide with some of the best weather of the year coming in early spring” supermoney.com
- “Spring is festival season in New Orleans and one of the prettiest times to visit.” neworleans.com
3 of the 7 travel guides we read name these months.
Louisiana month by month
Average high and low in New Orleans, and days with rain
JanuaryChecking fares…New Orleans Carnival season starts on January 6.Mild even in January, though a cold snap can bring freezing temperatures.Southwest Louisiana hosts the Fur & Wildlife Festival, Black Heritage Festival and Livestock Show & Rodeo in January and February.Mardi Gras
FebruaryChecking fares…Mardi Gras always falls in February or early March.
Best timeMarchChecking fares…Mardi Gras can land here; the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival runs in March.Congo Square Rhythms Festival
Best timeAprilChecking fares…The French Quarter Festival is held in early April.French Quarter Festival · New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Best timeMayChecking fares…Jazz Fest usually runs from late April to early May.
JuneChecking fares…Peak Creole tomato season, marked by a festival at the French Market.Essence Festival of Culture · New Orleans Wine & Food Experience
JulyChecking fares…July and August are the rainiest months in New Orleans and the cheapest.Bastille Day block party in July.
AugustChecking fares…Hottest and cheapest part of summer; most tourists have left.White Linen Night · Southern Decadence
SeptemberChecking fares…Early September stays in the upper 80s, then temperatures drop.
OctoberChecking fares…Oak Street Po-Boy Festival is held in October.Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival · Bayou Bacchanal
NovemberChecking fares…Among the most comfortable stretches: Louisiana towns peak from late September to mid-November.Natchitoches Christmas Festival of Lights
DecemberChecking fares…Carolers gather at Jackson Square a few days before Christmas.Holidays New Orleans Style
Weather: New Orleans averages from NOAA (1991 to 2020 averages), as listed in its climate table on Wikipedia.
Every date to New Orleans from your city
Live fares from your airport. Watch them and we alert you when they drop.
What's on in Louisiana
Festivals and seasons through the year
- Mardi Gras
- Congo Square Rhythms Festival
- French Quarter Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival- Essence Festival of Culture
New Orleans Wine & Food Experience- White Linen Night
Southern Decadence- Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival
Bayou Bacchanal- Natchitoches Christmas Festival of Lights
- Holidays New Orleans Style
Busy, quiet and what to watch for
Busiest
- Late February to MayMardi Gras, Jazz Fest and French Quarter Festival: heavy tourist traffic and the most expensive hotel rates.
- January to mid-MarchCarnival season: frenzied demand for flights and rooms and huge crowds in the French Quarter.
Quietest
- July and AugustHot, muggy and rainy, with flight deals and cheaper rooms as tourists leave.
Watch for
- May to OctoberHot, humid summer in New Orleans; the second half overlaps with hurricane season.
- June to AugustAfternoon thunderstorms are common in Southwest Louisiana, often passing fast.
- WinterA cold snap can occasionally bring temperatures below freezing.
- WinterSouthwest Louisiana winter is unpredictable and icy conditions are common, though snow is rare.
Questions people ask
- What is the rainiest month in Louisiana?
- In New Orleans, July and August are the rainiest months.
- What are winters like in Lake Charles, Louisiana?
- Unpredictable: sometimes shorts weather, sometimes bundled up. Snow is rare but ice is common.
More about Louisiana
Best time to visit other places
Japan
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Costa Rica
Puerto Rico
Alaska
Portugal
CancúnGreece
Thailand
The Grand Canyon
Disneyland
Miami
Myrtle Beach
PragueEcuador
BaliMorocco
Maui
Montreal
VeniceThe Netherlands
Aruba
New OrleansChina
Nashville
Disney WorldPoland
New YorkCroatia
Rome
San DiegoFrance
PhuketFinland
Vietnam
Brazil
Boston
DubaiCanada
SeoulNew Zealand
Guatemala
The Philippines
Florida
LisbonAustria
Los Angeles
Chicago
Paris
Las Vegas
San Francisco
Edinburgh
Napa
Sydney
Hawaii
Scotland
Punta CanaMexico
Savannah
Washington, DCChile
Switzerland
Mexico City
Zion National ParkThe Dominican Republic
Turks and Caicos
Puerto Vallarta
Honolulu
BanffSpain
YosemiteFiji
Colombia
India
Tulum
The BahamasNorway
Sedona
SeattleGermany
Santorini
Buenos AiresThe Maldives
Egypt
London
CharlestonTaiwan
Rio de Janeiro
Palm Springs
YellowstoneSouth Korea
AmsterdamTurkey
Argentina
TorontoIndonesia
Peru
Belize
Key WestSouth Africa
Kenya
OrlandoAustralia
Jamaica
St Lucia
Tahiti
EuropeTanzania
Austin
Machu Picchu
Cabo San Lucas
Niagara Falls
Colorado
OregonSingapore
Arizona
Acadia National Park
Galapagos
Lake Tahoe
Montana
KauaiAzores
OkinawaPanama
US Virgin Islands
Amalfi Coast
Santa Fe
DestinBarbados
Curacao
Utah
Joshua Tree
PatagoniaSicily
St. Thomas
Florida Keys
Smoky MountainsHong Kong
CopenhagenSri Lanka
Death Valley
Mallorca
MadeiraAntigua
Cape TownEl Salvador
Ibiza
Zanzibar
Lake Como
MadridOaxaca
Malaysia
Seychelles
New Mexico
Tennessee
Vermont
Wyoming
Bryce Canyon
Oahu
St. Martin
Hilton HeadTuscany
Dolomites
Cape CodUnited Kingdom
Sweden
San Antonio
Rocky Mountain National ParkMalta
Greenland
DublinCayman Islands
Catalina IslandCartagena
Cambodia
Athens
Asheville
Texas
South AmericaSlovenia
Shenandoah National ParkSardinia
Roatán
Phoenix
North CarolinaNepal
Namibia
Montenegro
MedellínMauritius
Madagascar
Jordan
Israel
Cairo
Budapest
Arches National ParkUzbekistan
St. John
South Carolina
ReykjavikNicaragua
Mykonos
Milan
Houston
HanoiGrenada
Ghana
Faroe Islands
Cook Islands
Canary IslandsBolivia
Big Island of HawaiiBerlin
Beijing
AtlantaAlbania
The Caribbean
St. Barts
South Dakota
Rhode Island
New England
Nassau
Lima
Kyoto
Koh SamuiDenmark
Crete
Colorado Springs
Chiang MaiBelgium
Uruguay
Stockholm
PortoPalawan
Montego Bay
Michigan
MelbourneLaos
Kuala Lumpur
Kruger National Park
JejuHonduras
Florence
DallasCape Verde
Botswana
ZurichTunisia
Tampa
St. Kitts
OsakaOman
Munich
MooreaKyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
Kailua-KonaGoa
Everglades
Door CountyDominica
Cusco
Calgary
Boracay
Bonaire
Swiss Alps
St. Croix
Seville
San Juan IslandsRomania
Palau
New Hampshire
Minnesota
Mazatlán
Manila
Kentucky
Isla Mujeres
Guam
French Riviera
Fort LauderdaleCuba
Cinque Terre
Asia
Algarve
VirginiaTrinidad and Tobago
TenerifeTasmania
SapporoRwanda
Normandy
Nairobi
Mumbai
The Hamptons
Grand Teton National Park
Finger LakesEthiopia
Cyprus
Charlotte
Bogotá
Auckland
MaineBermuda
Bora Bora
Olympic National Park
Redwood National Park
Sequoia National Park
Big Bend National Park
Mackinac IslandBhutan
Sint Maarten
Nantucket
Outer Banks
California
Big Sur
Crater LakeAnguilla
Scottsdale
Nice
Mount RainierMongolia
Cozumel
Badlands National Park
Salt Lake City
Denali
Philadelphia
Tucson
Provence
Guadalajara
Albuquerque
Upper PeninsulaUganda
Sonoma
Memphis
Idaho
Da Nang
Cotswolds
Arkansas
St. Louis
CapriBritish Virgin Islands
Glacier National Park
Barcelona
VancouverQuebec City
Denver
Istanbul
Riviera Maya
Carmel-by-the-SeaVictoria, British Columbia
Mérida, Yucatán
Santiago, Chile
Naples, Italy
Central America
Minneapolis
Sarasota
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Pittsburgh
Helsinki
Pensacola
Johannesburg
Brisbane
Málaga
Phu Quoc
Perth
Dubrovnik
Corpus ChristiAmerican Samoa
Estonia
Senegal
Massachusetts
Oklahoma
Torres del Paine
Czech RepublicHungary
Ho Chi Minh City
Anchorage
BoiseAbu Dhabi
Louisville
Juneau
QuitoBosnia and Herzegovina
Latvia
Qatar
Russia
Samoa
Saudi Arabia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Canyonlands National ParkYucatán
Baja California
Blue Ridge Mountains
Fort Myers
Detroit
Kansas City, Missouri
Kathmandu
Reno
CebuDurango, Colorado
Brussels
Guangzhou
Chattanooga
Antalya
Daytona BeachCorfu
Cairns
HiloArmenia
Bulgaria
Guyana
Alabama
Connecticut
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Capitol Reef National ParkLangkawi