Café du Monde

Café du Monde has been serving coffee at the upriver end of the French Market since 1862, and it describes itself as the original French Market coffee stand. It is owned by the Fernandez family and is the place most visitors associate with beignets, the square fried pastries buried under powdered sugar. The menu has changed very little since the 19th century, which is a large part of its charm.

Beignets come in orders of three. The coffee is a dark roast blended with chicory, served black or as café au lait, and chicory gives it a slightly chocolate-like flavour. Iced coffee, hot chocolate, milk, fresh orange juice and soft drinks complete a short menu. Wear something that will not show powdered sugar, as it tends to end up everywhere.

The French Market stand opens at 7.15am every day and closes at 11pm from Sunday to Thursday and at midnight on Friday and Saturday. It is a casual place with roughly 400 seats and does not take reservations, so at popular times you may have to wait. Early morning and late evening are usually the calmest times, while weekend mornings and festival periods tend to be the busiest.

The café suits everyone, from families with children to late-night groups after an evening in the French Quarter. It is an inexpensive stop and a good first taste of the city. Allow around 30 minutes to sit, eat and watch the French Quarter go by.

The coffee stand has a long record of reopening after storms: after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 it closed for nearly two months and reopened on 19 October that year. Because the menu is so short, ordering is quick, and there is no dress code, so it works as well after a late night out as it does at breakfast. A table here is also a good spot to rest your feet between the cathedral and the market.

The stand is on Decatur Street at the upriver end of the French Market, so it fits easily into a walk around Jackson Square and the market. If the queues are too long, the company runs other branches in the New Orleans area, including one in City Park at 56 Dreyfous Drive, which is a handy stop during a visit to the park or the New Orleans Museum of Art, with shorter opening hours. The brand's chicory coffee is also widely sold in shops, so you can take the taste home.