Everything to Know About Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans

The monoculture is dead, consensus is shattered, no one is even watching the same thing anymore—except for this Sunday, when more than 100 million people will be locked in to the biggest event on the 2025 sports calendar: Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. If you’re lucky enough to be one of the 80,000-ish people inside the stadium itself, you’ll be right at the focus point of the world’s attention for a few hours.

Maybe you played two years varsity, maybe you’re trying to assume the recently-vacated throne of Chiefs superfandom, or maybe you’ve got your Rob Lowe-style NFL hat on; regardless, if you’re headed to New Orleans this weekend, you’re going to need some tips to navigate the craziness of the Super Bowl.

The Crescent City has a ton to offer visitors, both sports-specific activities and across the breadth of its inimitable culture. Sometime before or after the game make sure you take a minute to catch a brass band, eat some beignets, have a sazerac, and gaze into the mighty Mississippi. To help you make the most of your weekend in NOLA, we’ve put together this guide to everything you need to know to visit New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.

The game will be played on Sunday, February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in the Central Business District of New Orleans. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. local time, which is 6:30 p.m. Eastern and 3:30 p.m. Pacific. If you’re going to the game, make sure you bring a clear bag. And if you can’t get into the stadium yourself, it’s being broadcast on Fox.

You’re not going to believe this—the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl. Yes, that does make it their third Super Bowl appearance in a row, and their fourth in the last six editions of the big game. Andy Reid, Pat Mahomes, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, and Taylor Swift are trying to win their third consecutive title, which hasn’t happened in the Super Bowl era. And thanks to a licensing deal with legendary NBA coach, executive, and trademark-holder Pat Riley, they would hypothetically be allowed to call it a “three-peat.”

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, the team on the other side of the field has something to say about it: Go Birds! That’s right, the Philadelphia Eagles are back in the Super Bowl too, which makes this a rematch of the 2023 game. Head Coach Nick Sirianni leads Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Carter, and a talented 17-3 team coming off of a very comfortable win over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.

As of this writing, most sports books have the Chiefs as the favorites, getting -1.5 points in the spread. The money line is Chiefs -120, and Eagles +100, and the Over/Under total is sitting at 48.5.

With the growing popularity and legitimacy of sports gambling over the last several years, prop bets have really entered the spotlight—though not always for good reasons. There are individual player bets of all kinds, from which player will score the first touchdown to total rushing yardage over/unders and beyond. But there are also some wackier ones out there, including classics like which team will win the coin toss (even odds, as you might imagine), or whether the performance of the national anthem will be over or under two minutes long. Some sports books will even take a bet on the color of the Gatorade that will be dumped on the winning coach.

If you want to bet on the biggest questions around the game, you can do that too: some places are taking action on the true star of the Super Bowl: Taylor Swift. How many times will she appear per quarter? Will she make a cameo during the halftime show? If the Chiefs win, will her longtime boyfriend Travis Kelce propose to her after the game?

In terms of pure audience numbers and cultural cache, the Super Bowl halftime show may be the biggest concert of the year. That’s great news for LA and the West Coast rap scene—Kendrick Lamar is capping an incredible run over the last few months as the headliner at the Super Bowl halftime show.

And that’s also very, VERY bad news for a certain Canadian musician and actor: as if it wasn’t tough enough getting embarrassed in a war of words with Kendrick, Drake has had to watch him take victory lap after victory lap, including a chart-topping album and a win at the Grammys that featured the entire audience singing along to a particularly pointed shot at Drake’s personal life. And now Kendrick will undoubtedly be performing “Not Like Us” in front of literally a hundred million people. Ouch.

If you find yourself in need of something a little less gruesome, there’s always the Puppy Bowl.

If you don’t have tickets yet, your options are limited but your odds are better than previous years. You’ll probably need to turn to secondary markets, sites like SeatGeek, StubHub, or TickPick, among others. As of this writing ticket prices start around $3,000 to get in the door, but there’s been some reporting suggesting that prices are dropping—if you wait a little longer you might get lucky. Otherwise, you’re probably best off crossing your fingers and hoping to book a last-minute appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show.

The Superdome is conveniently located in the middle of NOLA’s CBD, so if you’re staying in one of the major hotels in or around the French Quarter it should be a reasonable 15-20 minute walk.

Public transit is a good bet if you’re staying further away. There will be some service changes through the weekend in order to avoid crazy congestion and tailgating, so cross reference with the official New Orleans RTA site to make sure your route is available.

If you’re staying somewhere Uptown, it shouldn’t be too tricky: you can take the St. Charles Streetcar, also known as route 12, to Harmony Circle, from which point it’s about a 20 minute walk. The 11 and 57 bus lines also run directly from Uptown to the Union Passenger Terminal, a walkable distance from the stadium. If you’re down in the Bywater or points East, the number 8 bus is one of several great options that will drop you off at the Main Library Hub, an easy walk to the Superdome.

You could attempt to drive and park somewhere, or hail a rideshare or a taxi, but those are likely to be extremely expensive and traffic will be a major issue.

Because New Orleans is a tourist destination that hosts events, conferences, and holidays like the upcoming Mardi Gras, there are tons and tons of hotels in town, ranging from major chains to funky modern inns. Many of them are concentrated right around the Superdome in the CBD and the French Quarter. Even so, if you haven’t found accommodations by this point, well, it’s going to get expensive. That is to say, everything that’s still available in town will be left over for a reason, be it price or location or something else. You may have some luck looking a little further away from the center of the action, or hoping for a last minute cancellation, but you might want to see if you can find a roommate

This is a big question—New Orleans is one of the very best food cities in the country, if not the world, with a truly unique culinary culture that you really have to explore. There are tons of great restaurants all over town, so make sure you try some local specialties at a spot near your lodging: get a po’boy, some gumbo, jambalaya, oysters, a sno-ball, beignets, and a daiquiri or three, at the very least. For some more specifics, check out our guide to some of the best restaurants in New Orleans, and if you’re an awards-motivated eater, 13 New Orleans restaurants just picked up James Beard nominations for this year.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: New Orleans is one of the most fun places to visit. There are a ton of things to do year round, and for that we’ve got a handy itinerary for you. But if you’re looking for some Super Bowl-specific events, there are plenty of special things just for the big game. The NFL is bringing its annual Super Bowl Experience back for the entire week, taking over the NOLA convention center with games and activities—you can run a 40-yard dash, check out past Super Bowl trophies and rings, meet and greet NFL legends, and more. And in perfect New Orleans fashion, there will also be a Mardi Gras-style parade in the French Quarter on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, with NFL-themed floats and several local bands.

There are also some fun Super Bowl-adjacent events going on this weekend, from wacky festivals like Shaq’s Fun House to a pregame party with Diplo. Sports Illustrated is hosting their annual party, Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate is back for another year, and Pepsi is hosting a local-focused food festival with appearances from Action Bronson, Mannie Fresh, and more.

If you’re an Eagles fan, odds are you’re going to go crazy in either outcome. Have fun, go nuts, but please don’t climb the light poles in the French Quarter.

If you’re a Chiefs fan and you win, we get it, this is old hat for you. Try to show some grace and not rub it in too much.

Whether you’re drowning your sorrows, celebrating a win, or just toasting to the good vibes of a well-played football game, New Orleans is a cocktail town, so we suggest you head to one of the best bars in New Orleans for a beverage. If you do want to stroll the French Quarter, truly, sincerely, we mean this with all our hearts: be careful with hurricanes, hand grenades, daiquiris, and anything else that comes in neon colors in a novelty-sized plastic cup.

And just so you're prepared, yes, that guy on the street does know where you got your shoes.

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