When does the holiday season start for a household a few blocks from Metairie Road? At Longue Vue House and Gardens, the first free holiday date this year is Thanksgiving Day, and two more follow before the 25th.
Longue Vue sits at 7 Bamboo Road, a short drive from Old Metairie. This year it has set aside three holiday dates when its gardens are free, or free for anyone with a Louisiana address. Everything else in the season fits around them: ticketed evenings, ticketed workshops, and a school market on Metairie Road. Plan around the free days first and the rest of November and December falls into place.
Three Dates Without a Ticket
Longue Vue groups certain holidays into what it calls its Free Admission Days series. Thanksgiving is the first of the season. On Thursday, November 26, the property is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Free Admission for Thanksgiving listing shows the day as free. On a day when most kitchens are busy until mid-afternoon, an 8 a.m. opening leaves room for a morning walk before the meal.
The second is Sunday, December 6. It is Longue Vue's monthly Free Family Sunday, listed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., when gardens admission is free for Louisiana locals. This year the Merry Market 2026 falls on the same day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Longue Vue describes it as its annual holiday market, and it is free to attend. Because of that overlap, the December edition of a monthly free day is also the gardens' main holiday shopping day.
The third is Christmas Eve. Longue Vue's Free Admission for Christmas Eve page sets the terms in its own words:
"Louisiana locals can enjoy complimentary gardens admission and discounted $12 house tours in recognition of the Christmas Eve holiday. Regular admission pricing applies to out-of-state visitors."
Holiday hours that day run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the last house tour starts at 2:30 p.m. Gardens admission and house tours each have their own registration link on the same page. The calendar shows the property closed to the public on Christmas Day. That makes the 24th the last chance to see the gardens before the holiday, which is useful to know if family is arriving from out of town that week.
| Date | Day | What's open at Longue Vue | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 26 | Thursday | Free Admission for Thanksgiving, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. | Free |
| December 6 | Sunday | Free Family Sunday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., with Merry Market 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Free gardens admission for Louisiana locals; market free |
| December 24 | Thursday | Free Admission for Christmas Eve, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., last tour 2:30 p.m. | Free gardens for Louisiana locals; $12 house tours |
| December 25 | Friday | Closed to the public |
The Weekend When Metairie Road and Bamboo Road Line Up
The December 6 free day matters most because of what happens the day before, a short drive away on Metairie Road.
The 2026 Old Metairie Christmas Market is set for Saturday, December 5, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School, 444 Metairie Road. Booths fill the school yard, the gym and the hallways. New Orleans Mom posted the same date, hours and address in its event listings on October 21. The market has a recent track record. The Archdiocese of New Orleans calendar listed an Old Metairie Christmas Market at St. Francis Xavier on Saturday, December 6, 2025, with the same 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours.
Put the two days together and the first weekend of December gives you a holiday shopping market on each day, one on Metairie Road and one in the Longue Vue gardens, with the Sunday gardens visit free for Louisiana residents. A plan for that weekend could look like this:
- Saturday morning, December 5. The Old Metairie Christmas Market opens at 9 a.m. at 444 Metairie Road. French Truck Coffee, which New Orleans CityBusiness reported in March had opened at 800 Metairie Road in the former PJ's Coffee space, is a short walk down the road. Its menu includes house-made pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
- Saturday late afternoon. Farther from the neighborhood, Lafreniere Park's Christmas in the Park Run/Walk starts at 4 p.m. that same day. Its 2-mile route passes through the park's lights display, which the race page advertises at more than 10 million LEDs.
- Sunday, December 6. Free Family Sunday opens the Longue Vue gardens at 8 a.m. and the Merry Market starts at 10 a.m., which leaves time for a quiet walk through the gardens before the vendors open.
Shoppers who come to both markets support local vendors twice in one weekend. The Merry Market is explicitly framed around local vendors, and Longue Vue's museum store handles vendor inquiries for it.
The Ticketed Evenings Between the Free Days
Longue Vue's paid programming falls in the weeks between the free dates. It is small, scheduled in advance, and mostly held indoors.
The newest part of the calendar is Longue Vue After Hours, which the gardens call a limited series with a different theme each week. All four sessions fall on Wednesdays in December, run from 5 to 7 p.m., and are held indoors in the Playhouse. Each costs $45, and tickets are nonrefundable.
- December 2, Cuffing Season at Longue Vue. An evening of mixing and mingling.
- December 9, Home for the Holidays with Queta & Company. Queta Cavalier performs, blending classical training with what the listing calls a lush, vibrant sound.
- December 16, 1920s Historic Cocktail Event. Longue Vue frames it as a party at the Sterns', with cocktails from the decade when Edith and Edgar first met, a stop in the basement speakeasy, then dancing and games in the Playhouse. The listing encourages 1920s attire.
- December 23, Winter Concert featuring Lyrica Baroque. A classical program the night before the Christmas Eve free day.
The final session falls on December 23, the evening before the Christmas Eve free day. Anyone who books the Lyrica Baroque concert can come back the next morning for the gardens at no charge, as long as they have a Louisiana address.
The daytime option is a pair of hands-on workshops. Garden Workshop: Wreath Making runs twice, on Saturday, November 21 and Saturday, December 12, each from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at $85. The December listing recommends the workshop for ages 12 and up and asks that any child have a ticket and attend with a ticketed adult. The November session lets a wreath go up on the front door before Thanksgiving. The December session falls a week after the market weekend, for anyone who waited.
One Thursday on Codifer Boulevard
The neighborhood calendar has one more dated event before December, and it serves a narrower group. St. Catherine of Siena's Holiday Marketplace is Thursday, November 12, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the school gym. Admission is free, and the school's marketplace page says the event is open to the SCS community. The school is at 400 Codifer Boulevard. For St. Catherine families, it is the first holiday shopping evening of the season, two weeks ahead of the Thanksgiving free day at Longue Vue.
How the Season Lines Up
In order, the dates make one plan for the season. November 12 is the St. Catherine marketplace for its school community. November 21 is the first wreath workshop. November 26 is the free Thanksgiving opening at Longue Vue. December 2 starts the Wednesday After Hours evenings. December 5 and 6 are the market weekend on Metairie Road and at Longue Vue. December 12 is the second wreath workshop. December 23 is Lyrica Baroque in the Playhouse, and December 24 is the last free gardens day before Longue Vue closes for Christmas.
At Longue Vue, the After Hours evenings and the wreath workshops are the dates that need a paid ticket bought in advance. The Lafreniere run also charges for registration. The two markets, the St. Catherine marketplace and Longue Vue's three free admission days cost nothing to attend, and Longue Vue's free holiday terms are written for Louisiana residents. On Christmas Eve, the page says regular admission applies to out-of-state visitors. Anyone hosting out-of-state family on the 24th should plan to pay their admission.
If your plans include hosting family this season and thinking about how your home fits the way you live in Old Metairie, Jolí Burrell Real Estate would be glad to talk it through whenever the timing suits you. Contact Us.
