Mardi Gras

New Orleans Mardi Gras 2025

Live Stream and TV coverage from New Orleans. Full parade schedule, dates, start times and Order of March.

Get ready to let the good times roll! Mardi Gras is back in New Orleans, bringing a dazzling explosion of colour, music and celebration that reaches its crescendo on Fat Tuesday. The weeks leading up to the grand finale feature an electrifying series of parades, each more extravagant than the last, drawing crowds from across the globe to experience the city's most iconic festival. Following on from the tragic events on New Years Day, there will be a variety of changes to ensure everyone's safety.

For those who can’t make it to Louisiana, live-stream coverage of the parades has expanded year after year, ensuring that the magic of Mardi Gras reaches a worldwide audience. Local TV broadcasts add that signature NOLA charm, while street webcams provide real-time views of the action, offering a front-row seat to all the festivities from anywhere in the world.

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras isn’t just a single day, it’s a whole season. The celebrations stretch on for weeks before culminating in the grand Canal Street parade, where floats and marching bands take center stage. But for many revelers, the real party happens on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter (Vieux Carré). Here, legendary bars like Pat O'Brien’s, The Old Absinthe House, and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop keep the drinks flowing and the atmosphere electric.

And, of course, no trip to Mardi Gras is complete without indulging in traditional Southern cuisine. From gumbo to beignets, the hospitality and flavours of New Orleans are every bit as unforgettable as the parades themselves. Whether you're attending in person or tuning in from afar, Mardi Gras promises a celebration like no other!

Mardi Gras 2025 Schedule

The New Orleans Mardi Gras is actually a whole season of parades in the weeks leading up to the main event, the Mardi Gras parade on Fat Tuesday.

On Lundi Gras, Monday 3rd March 2025, in Uptown New Orleans there is the Krewe of Porteus parade at 5.15pm and then Krewe of Orpheus at 6pm. At Metairie, there is Krewe of Centurians at 6pm followed by Krewe of Kings.

The schedule for the main Mardi Gras parades on Fat Tuesday, 4th March 2025:

Metairie

Krewe of Argus, 11am

Krewe of Elks Jefferson, Follows

Uptown New Orleans

Krewe of Zulu, 8am

Krewe of Rex, 10.30am

Krewe of Elks Orleans Follows

Krewe of Crescent City, Follows

Covington

Covington Lions Club, 10am

Carnival in Covingtons follows

Folsom

Krewe of Folsom, 2pm

You can find the full Mardi Gras schedule for all of the parades leading up to the main days here.

TV & Live Streaming

There are now typically live streams available online not just of the main parade day, but many of the other parades leading up to it. Local New Orleans TV station WWLTV in particular usually have extensive online coverage, including online videos of the main events an an excellent parade tracker app: Mardi Gras on WWLTV

There is also the return of the live streaming parade cam feature provided by Earthcam, with top views from landmarks including Bourbon Street and the famous Cats Meow Balcony for all of the major parades, and these are available internationally: Mardi Gras parade cam

They also stream from a street view on youtube: Mardi Gras New Orleans Street View

Hotels and Accommodation

Mardi Gras season in New Orleans will always mean peak time for the city's hotels and guest houses, especially if you want to stay in the old historic buildings in the iconic French Quarter. We would highly recommend you reserve your rooms as far in advance as possible.

You can check out availability and make reservations online for local hotels here.