Dallas to New Orleans road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops

The best road trip stops on the Dallas to New Orleans drive are Marshall TX, Natchitoches LA and Baton Rouge. The distance from Dallas to New Orleans by car is 497 miles, with a 7h39m driving time.

Planning a Dallas to New Orleans road trip itinerary

A Dallas to New Orleans road trip takes you from north Texas to the most intoxicating city in Louisiana.

Dallas has plenty of high quality cultural attractions. These include the Nasher Scupture Center, Pioneer Square and the Perot Museum of Science and Nature.

But for many visitors, the main reason to visit Dallas is the JFK assassination. Yes, you can go up to the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly took his shot from.

Top Dallas experiences include a JFK Assassination and Museum tour, the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower and a self-guided scavenger hunt.

Top Dallas accommodation choices include the plush Hyatt Regency downtown and the charismatically luxurious Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.

How to do the JFK sites in Dallas

The best way to combine the JFK sites in Dallas is a special themed tour. This takes in the JFK Memorial, Dealey Plaza and the Grassy Knoll before heading to Lee Harvey Oswald’s rooming house. It finishes in the Sixth Floor Museum of the Texas Book Depository. On the way, expert guides take you through the assassination facts and theories. Find out more here.

New Orleans resolutely refuses to feel like any other American city. From the raucous hedonism of Bourbon Street to the European-influenced charm of the French Quarter, New Orleans is mesmerizingly unusual to hang out in.

Top New Orleans experiences include French Quarter food tours, haunted pub crawls, jazz cruises aboard the steamboat Natchez and cemetery walking tours.

For other attractions, try the National WWII Museum. There’s also the Vue Orleans observation deck and the urban enslavement tours at Hermann Grima House.

Dallas to New Orleans distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Dallas to New Orleans is 497 miles. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and 39 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-20, I-49 and I-10.

The best stops to add to a Dallas to New Orleans road trip itinerary are Marshall TX, Natchitoches LA and Baton Rouge.

Dallas to New Orleans drive: Marshall, Texas

The main city in wealthy Harrison County, Marshall, has plenty of heritage on display. The Starr Family Home has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, and the Harrison County Historical Museum covers the region’s backstory.

The most interesting section delves into the bizarre period where Marshall became the Confederate capital of… Missouri. The Missouri Confederate leadership decamped here to lead a government in exile during the Civil War.

Accommodation in Marshall is almost entirely motel-style. Hunt here for deals.

Dallas to New Orleans road trip attractions: Natchitoches LA

Natchitoches is the oldest city within the Louisiana Purchase area, with a wealth of well-preserved Creole architecture. The Oakland and Magnolia plantations within the Cane River Creole National Historical Park offer tours that go into the lives of those who lived and worked there.

Less historic but still fairly engrossing is the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The Northwest Louisiana History Museum is in the same building.

Best stops between Dallas and New Orleans: Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge’s top attractions include Acadian Village, a recreated 19th-century Cajun village, which plays host to artisans and craftspeople among the historic homes.

Vermilionville is similar, but the living history museum here looks at the cultures of Native American and Creole people as well as the Acadians.

Elsewhere, the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist is famed for its stained glass windows.

Top Baton Rouge experiences include Cajun food tours.

For Lafayette accommodation, the SpringHill Suites and Home2 Suites tend to get the best reviews.