City of New Orleans With Kids: A Trip Plan for Every Stop
This is the train in the song, and it is still the gentlest overnight for a family: one night, not two, leaving Chicago after dinner and arriving in New Orleans in time for beignets. You fall asleep in Illinois, wake up in Memphis, eat lunch rolling through Mississippi, and the whole day is Delta and pine woods out the window. My mom sang the song to me. I sing it to my kids somewhere around Kankakee, badly. Below is every stop, the ones you sleep through and the two or three worth a day.
By Kelsey Lizee Cecil. Times are approximate from the August 2026 timetable; checked against Amtrak and each attraction in October 2026. Hours change; read the "know before you go" notes.If you only have one day
- With a toddler: the one-night ride, straight through.Dinner in Chicago, pajamas by Kankakee, breakfast in the dining car past Memphis, beignets by 4pm. The ride is the trip. Start in Chicago.
- Ages 4 to 8: Memphis in the middle.Get off at 6:30am, the Peabody ducks at 11, Tom Lee Park's playground on the river, barbecue, the Children's Museum, and tomorrow's train on. Jump to Memphis.
- The big one: New Orleans for three nights.The streetcar to the zoo, the aquarium and insectarium, the Children's Museum in City Park, and beignets every morning. Jump to New Orleans.
Read this before you go
Three things to know. First, this is one train a day, so getting off means staying the night; Memphis and Jackson are the stops worth it, and the Illini and Saluki cover the Illinois stops by day. Second, book a Family Bedroom for a family of four: it sleeps everyone, has windows on both sides, and meals are included. Third, the train runs late more than the short ones; build slack into the New Orleans plans. Alerts are on the City of New Orleans page on Amtrak (opens in a new tab).
Tickets, rooms, what to pack for one night, and how the dining car works with a four-year-old are all in our City of New Orleans parent guide. This page is the fun part: where to get off and what to do when you do.
Homewood through Newbern (southbound) and Newbern through Homewood (northbound) are passed between 8:30pm and 6am. Unless one is your destination, sleep. Memphis at dawn southbound is where the day begins.
Stop 1 of 20CHITrain 59 leaves about 8:05pm; Train 58 arrives about 9:00am
Chicago Union Station
The City of New Orleans leaves Chicago after dinner, which means the kids are in pajamas by Kankakee and asleep by Champaign, and the Great Hall at Union Station is the last thing they see before the sleeper. Northbound it arrives at 9am with the whole day ahead.
Dinner near the station, then into the Great Hall with the bags, then the gate. Let them walk the platform to find the sleeper's door number.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the Great Hall, restrooms, a food court, a staffed counter, checked baggage and the Metropolitan Lounge for sleeper passengers.
- 5 minThe Chicago Riverwalk and the architecture boats.
- 15 minMaggie Daley Park's giant slides, free.
- 15 minMillennium Park and the Bean.
A few hours here
- Arrive at 9am northbound: Riverwalk boat and Maggie Daley Park before lunch.
Stay the night
Chicago is a weekend. The City of New Orleans is how you leave it in the dark and wake up in Memphis.
Snack stop: The station food court, and dinner in the Loop before an 8pm train.
Out the window: Leaving Chicago southbound in the dark you see the lakefront neighborhoods lit up, then nothing until morning.
Sleeper passengers can check big bags and use the Metropolitan Lounge. The Family Bedroom sleeps two adults and two kids.
Stop 2 of 20HMWDailyour honest take: ride on
Homewood
A suburban stop a few minutes out of Chicago. Pajamas on.
None. Bedtime.
Right off the platform
- at stopA restored depot with a train-watching platform.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 3 of 20KKIDaily, plus the Illini and Salukiour honest take: ride on
Kankakee
An 1898 depot with a railroad museum inside, but at 9pm southbound and 7am northbound you will not see it. Ride the Illini for Kankakee; it is in that trip plan.
None at these hours.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1898 depot and its railroad museum, daytime only.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
See the Illini and Saluki plan for a Kankakee day.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 4 of 20CHMDaily, plus the Illini and Saluki
Champaign-Urbana
The college town stop, with a children's science museum five minutes from the terminal. Southbound at about 10:15pm it is a sleep stop; northbound at about 7am it is the breakfast stop and a place to get off for a day, with the Illini to continue later.
Northbound at breakfast: the Orpheum Children's Science Museum opens mid-morning, and the campus Quad is a bus away.
Right off the platform
- at stopIllinois Terminal: a big waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and the bus hub.
- 5 minOrpheum Children's Science Museum, ages 2 to 10 (limited days).
- 5 minDowntown Champaign's toy store and candy shop.
- at stopThe University of Illinois campus by bus: the Spurlock Museum (free) and the Quad.
A few hours here
- Northbound: get off at 7am, breakfast downtown, the Orpheum, and the Illini to Chicago in the afternoon.
Stay the night
A Champaign day as in the Illini and Saluki plan, then the night train south.
Snack stop: Downtown cafes.
Out the window: Dark southbound; dawn over the prairie northbound.
Stop 5 of 20MATDailyour honest take: ride on
Mattoon
A railroad town with a 1917 depot, in the dark on this train.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe depot.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 6 of 20EFGDailyour honest take: ride on
Effingham
A crossroads town, in the dark on this train.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA restored depot.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 7 of 20CENDailyour honest take: ride on
Centralia, Illinois
A junction town, in the dark.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA depot.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 8 of 20CDLDaily, plus the Illini and Salukiour honest take: ride on
Carbondale
The college town at the edge of the Shawnee, passed at about 1am southbound and 4am northbound. Use the Illini for Carbondale.
None at these hours.
Right off the platform
- at stopA modern station, staffed for the night train.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
See the Illini and Saluki plan.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 9 of 20FTNDailyour honest take: ride on
Fulton
A Kentucky border town stop in the small hours. The banana capital of the world, once, because of this railroad. Tell them in the morning.
None at 2am.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 10 of 20NBNDailyour honest take: ride on
Newbern-Dyersburg
A small Tennessee depot in the middle of the night.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small depot.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 11 of 20MEMSouthbound about 6:30am; northbound about 10:40pm
Memphis Central Station
You wake up in Memphis. The train pulls into a restored 1914 station in the South Main district, with a trolley line outside, the Mississippi a few blocks away, and a children's museum with a real fire truck and a carousel across town. Southbound families with a day to spare get off here and take tomorrow's train on; the ducks at the Peabody march at 11.
The Peabody Hotel ducks marching through the lobby to the fountain at 11am and back at 5pm, which costs nothing and is the best free show in the South. Then barbecue.
Right off the platform
- at stopCentral Station: a restored waiting room inside a hotel, restrooms and a staffed counter, with the MATA trolley stop outside.
- at stopThe Main Street Trolley, a vintage streetcar, from the station to downtown and the Peabody.
- 10 minThe Peabody Hotel's ducks, 11am and 5pm, free.
- 10 minTom Lee Park on the Mississippi, redone in 2023 with a huge playground and splash area.
- at stopChildren's Museum of Memphis, by cab, with a fire truck, a 1909 carousel and a mini city (admission).
- at stopMemphis Zoo in Overton Park, by cab, with pandas gone but the Cat Country and the Northwest Passage polar bears.
- 5 minThe National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, for ages 8 and up, a few blocks from the station.
A few hours here
- Trolley downtown, the Peabody ducks at 11 (90 minutes).
- Tom Lee Park's playground on the river (1 hour).
- Barbecue lunch on South Main.
Stay the night
Get off at 6:30am, breakfast on South Main, the ducks, Tom Lee Park, barbecue, the Children's Museum, Graceland for the Elvis-curious, and sleep downtown. Tomorrow's train leaves at 6:30am.
Snack stop: Central BBQ on South Main is a short walk; the Arcade Restaurant across from the station has been there since 1919.
Out the window: Arriving southbound at dawn you cross into Tennessee along the river bluffs; leaving, the Mississippi is briefly on the right.
Southbound arrives early; hotels will hold bags. Northbound leaves at about 10:40pm, so a Memphis day ends in pajamas on the platform.
Stop 12 of 20MKSDailyour honest take: ride on
Marks
A Delta town where the Mule Train of the Poor People's Campaign started in 1968, with a small platform. A history stop; nothing walkable for a family.
Tell them about the mule train that left from here for Washington.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- 10 minDowntown Marks and the Mule Train marker.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: The Delta: flat, cotton, catfish ponds.
Stop 13 of 20GWDDailyour honest take: ride on
Greenwood
A Delta town with a restored 1917 depot and a downtown of antique stores and a famous cookware company. The Help was filmed here. A stretch stop.
The depot itself, and the Yazoo River bridge.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe restored 1917 depot.
- 10 minDowntown Greenwood's Howard Street and the Viking Cooking School.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: A bakery downtown.
Out the window: Cotton fields and the Yazoo River.
Stop 14 of 20YAZDailyour honest take: ride on
Yazoo City
A hill-and-delta town with a colorful main street and a legend about a witch. A platform stop.
The witch's grave story, which older kids love and younger ones should not hear until lunch.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- 10 minYazoo City's painted Main Street.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: The hills meet the Delta here.
Stop 15 of 20JANSouthbound about 11:20am; northbound about 5:30pm
Jackson
Mississippi's capital, with a 1927 station downtown and three of the best museums in the state for kids: the Mississippi Children's Museum, the Natural Science museum with a river aquarium, and the Two Mississippi Museums, free on Sundays. The southbound arrives before lunch, which makes a Jackson day easy.
The Mississippi Children's Museum's giant Scrabble board and the literacy garden, then the alligators at the Museum of Natural Science.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: a restored 1927 waiting room with restrooms and a staffed counter.
- at stopMississippi Children's Museum at LeFleur's Bluff, 10 minutes by cab: Tuesday to Saturday 9 to 5, Sunday 1 to 6, $13, under 1 free.
- at stopMississippi Museum of Natural Science next door, with aquariums and a swamp walk: adults $9, youth 3 to 18 $7.
- 10 minThe Two Mississippi Museums (Civil Rights and History) at 222 North St: adults $15, youth $8, free on Sundays.
- 10 minThe Mississippi State Capitol, free tours, with a gold eagle on top.
- at stopJackson Zoo, by cab (check status; it has had closures).
A few hours here
- Southbound: arrive 11:20am, cab to the Children's Museum and the Natural Science museum (3 hours).
- Dinner downtown and a night here, then tomorrow's train.
Stay the night
Children's Museum, Natural Science, the Two Mississippi Museums (free Sunday), the Capitol, and the northbound at 5:30pm the next day or the southbound at 11:20am.
Snack stop: Downtown Jackson's cafes; the museums share a cafe at LeFleur's Bluff.
Out the window: South of Jackson the piney woods begin.
The Children's Museum and the Natural Science museum are next to each other at LeFleur's Bluff; one cab serves both.
Stop 16 of 20HAZDailyour honest take: ride on
Hazlehurst
A small town stop. Ride on.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Pine woods.
Stop 17 of 20BRHDailyour honest take: ride on
Brookhaven
A pretty town with a restored 1907 depot and a downtown called a homeseeker's paradise on the sign. A stretch stop.
The depot and the railroad park next door.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe restored depot with a railroad park.
- 5 minDowntown Brookhaven's Whitworth Avenue.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: A cafe downtown.
Out the window: Pine woods.
Stop 18 of 20MCBDailyour honest take: ride on
McComb
A railroad town with a 1901 depot and a railroad museum inside with a locomotive and cars outside. For a train kid, a nice 10 minutes from the platform; the museum's hours are limited.
The locomotive and cars in the railroad museum's yard beside the depot.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1901 depot with the McComb Railroad Museum inside (limited hours) and equipment outside.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard, or the museum if open (45 minutes).
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: A cafe downtown.
Out the window: Pine woods, then Louisiana.
Stop 19 of 20HMDDaily
Hammond
A Louisiana college town with a restored depot on a downtown square, a children's museum a few blocks away, and the strawberry festival in April. The last stop before New Orleans, and a good one for families with Northshore grandparents.
The Louisiana Children's Discovery Center's hands-on floor, or strawberries from a stand in April.
Right off the platform
- at stopA restored 1912 depot with a waiting room.
- 5 minDowntown Hammond's square and cafes.
- 5 minLouisiana Children's Discovery Center, ages 0 to 10 (admission; check days).
- at stopGlobal Wildlife Center in Folsom, by car, with giraffes you feed from a wagon.
A few hours here
- Children's Discovery Center and the square (90 minutes).
Stay the night
Global Wildlife Center by car, the Discovery Center, the Strawberry Festival in April.
Snack stop: Cafes on the square.
Out the window: Lake Pontchartrain's marshes begin south of here, and the long causeway trestle.
Stop 20 of 20NOLTrain 59 arrives about 3:30pm; Train 58 leaves about 1:45pm
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal
The train arrives mid-afternoon at a terminal a 15-minute walk from the French Quarter, with the streetcar lines nearby and the aquarium and the insectarium on the river. Beignets at Cafe du Monde, the St. Charles streetcar as a ride, and Audubon Zoo at the end of it. New Orleans is the best city on the whole Amtrak map to arrive in by train with kids.
The St. Charles streetcar, the oldest in the world, all the way to Audubon Park and the zoo, sitting by the open window. Then beignets with powdered sugar everywhere.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Passenger Terminal: a big 1954 waiting room with murals, restrooms, a staffed counter, checked baggage and a Metropolitan Lounge.
- 15 minThe French Quarter and Jackson Square, with street musicians and Cafe du Monde's beignets.
- at stopThe St. Charles streetcar from Canal Street to Audubon Park and the zoo, about 40 minutes.
- at stopAudubon Aquarium and the Insectarium on the riverfront, together in one building since 2023.
- at stopLouisiana Children's Museum in City Park, by streetcar or cab, one of the best anywhere, with a floating classroom and a lagoon.
- at stopCity Park's Storyland and the Carousel Gardens, with a 1906 carousel and a mini train.
- 5 minThe Superdome and Champions Square, next to the terminal.
A few hours here
- Walk to the Quarter for beignets and Jackson Square (2 hours).
Stay the night
Three nights. Day one: the Quarter and the aquarium. Day two: the St. Charles streetcar, Audubon Zoo, and the park. Day three: the Children's Museum and City Park's carousel and Storyland. Then the 1:45pm train north with everyone sticky.
Snack stop: Beignets at Cafe du Monde, sno-balls at Hansen's or Plum Street in summer, and po-boys everywhere.
Out the window: Arriving from the north the train crosses the Bonnet Carre spillway and the swamps on a long trestle, then the city appears.
Union Passenger Terminal also serves the Crescent and the Sunset Limited; it has checked baggage and a Metropolitan Lounge for sleeper passengers.
Good morning, America
My mom sang the song. Every kid who rides this train gets it sung to them by somebody, usually badly, usually around the time the dining car opens for breakfast and the Delta is going by flat and gold. I sing it to mine. They roll their eyes. They will sing it to theirs. That is what this train is for.
Next in this series: the Illini and Saluki, the daytime version of the Illinois stops, and the Crescent, the other way into New Orleans. Every route is on the Train Trips With Your Kids page.
City of New Orleans trips with kids: questions parents ask
How long is the City of New Orleans train?
About 19.5 hours, one night aboard. Train 59 leaves Chicago at about 8pm and arrives in New Orleans mid-afternoon; Train 58 leaves New Orleans early afternoon and arrives in Chicago about 9am.
Is the City of New Orleans a good first overnight train with kids?
Yes, the best. One night instead of two, a dinner-time departure that lines up with bedtime, and a mid-afternoon arrival. A Family Bedroom sleeps two adults and two children with meals included.
What is the best City of New Orleans stop for a day with kids?
Memphis. The southbound arrives at dawn, the Peabody ducks march at 11am, Tom Lee Park's playground is on the river, and the Children's Museum has a carousel. Take tomorrow's train on.
Which side of the train has the view?
There is no long water stretch; the Mississippi appears briefly at Memphis on the right side southbound. The Delta south of Memphis is flat and wide from either side; the Bonnet Carre spillway trestle near New Orleans is on both.
Do kids pay on the City of New Orleans?
Kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult rail fare and one child under 2 rides free on each adult's lap. Sleeper rooms are priced per room plus the rail fare for each person.
Is there a dining car on the City of New Orleans?
Yes, with flexible dining for sleeper passengers (included) and a cafe in the lounge car for everyone. Breakfast southbound comes around Memphis.
Which City of New Orleans stops should we skip with kids?
All the night stops between Homewood and Newbern, plus the small Mississippi towns (Marks, Greenwood, Yazoo City, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb). The trip is Chicago, Memphis, Jackson and New Orleans.
Sources and how I checked
- Amtrak City of New Orleans timetable, August 2026 (Trains 58 and 59), and Amtrak station pages
- Mississippi Children's Museum, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Two Mississippi Museums, Children's Museum of Memphis, Louisiana Children's Museum, Audubon Aquarium: hours and admission as posted October 2026
- Memphis River Parks Partnership (Tom Lee Park), The Peabody Memphis (duck march times)
- Great American Stations and Wikipedia station articles for addresses and station history, cross-checked with Amtrak
Hours, prices and bus routes change. I update this page when they do; if you spot something out of date, tell me.