French Quarter, CBD, Treme and Marigny
Clockwise, we've delimited this neighborhood by Highway 610 (just east of City Park): the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, the Mississippi River, the Pontchartrain Expressway (Route 90), South Broad Street, part of Lafitte Greenway, and part of the Bayou St. John waterway, to which we've added the Lower Ninth Ward and Algiers neighborhoods.
French Quarter. A must-see neighborhood to discover on foot, this is where New Orleans was born. Also known as the Vieux Carré, it is listed on the National Historic Register and therefore protected by a commission. It is bounded by the Mississippi River, Canal Street, North Rampart Street and Esplanade Avenue.
In 1788 and 1794, two fires ravaged the neighborhood's French architecture. The Ursulines convent (at the corner of Ursulines and Chartres streets) was the only building to remain untouched. At the time, New Orleans was under Spanish rule, so the architecture took on a rather Hispanic character, with its wrought-iron balconies, courtyards decorated with a fountain at their center and abundant vegetation. However, the streets have kept their French names. Don't try to pronounce them in the French style - no one will understand you. On some street corners, a plaque also gives the name in Spanish, such as "Calle Real" for Rue Royale and "Calle de Tolosa" for Rue Toulouse.
The French Quarter is clearly the city's most touristy area, where hotels, cafés, bars and daiquiri shops, restaurants, boutiques of all kinds and tutti quanti, more or less authentic and not necessarily cheap, take turns almost non-stop. That said, it's a great place to stroll, with many little gems scattered along its narrow streets. And don't miss the city's major attractions, including Jackson Square and the historic buildings surrounding it (including the superb St. Louis Cathedral), the French Market, the Moonwalk (a promenade along the Mississippi), the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, the New Orleans Jazz Museum and the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum. Since 2020, the city has been seriously considering the pedestrianization of the entire French Quarter. Stay tuned...
Finally, we can't overlook the famous Bourbon Street. It takes its name not from the drink, but from the Bourbon royal family. Established in the 1720s, it was one of the city's first streets, named in honor of the French dynasty. Highly residential, businesses moved in in 1920, then in the 1950s, it attracted well-dressed couples who came to listen to jazz or attend an opera. Since then, Bourbon Street has changed... It's considered theEntertainment District. Bar owners are now virtually all out-of-towners, and investing in a Bourbon Street bar is a successful business. This street, at least the first few blocks from Canal Street, is a veritable amusement park, especially in the evening. As soon as the sun goes down and the street becomes pedestrianized, the party atmosphere sets in. All year round, exhibitionists expose themselves for a few Mardi Gras necklaces, and everyone seems to have had a little too much to drink. Check it out, even if the locals wonder when the tourists will stop doing what they don't do in their own city.
To plan your activities and outings in the area: frenchquarter.com
CBD/Downtown. Bounded by Canal Street, the Mississippi River, the Pontchartrain Expressway (Route 90) and Interstate 10, what was once the American Quarter has been transformed into a business district. Easy to spot, the CBD is alive with office and rush-hour activity. It's all buildings, modern sculptures and people wearing briefcases. Until the early 20th century, the city was divided in two, physically, socially, politically and administratively. You can still see that Canal Street was the neutral ground, the "neutral separation" between the two communities, as Americans didn't mix with Creoles at the time. This difference can still be seen in street names: Bourbon Street becomes Carondelet in the CBD, Chartres Street becomes Camp Street, and so on.
The district is home to numerous hotel chains, trendy restaurants, the Caesars Superdome and the Smoothie King Center, restored historic theaters such as the Orpheum and the Saenger, not to mention the ferry dock to Algiers.
Arts/Warehouse District. Nestled between the CBD, Garden District and Mississippi River, this district bears witness to a glorious past when the port welcomed hundreds of ships every week. The old warehouses are gradually being rehabilitated. Transformed into art galleries (notably on Julia Street, nicknamed "Gallery Row"), artists' lofts and apartments/condos for millennials, hotels, restaurants or bars, and sometimes adorned with pretty murals, these buildings form a beautiful architectural ensemble, with a sometimes disquieting allure. Just imagine the port activity that reigned in this maze less than a century ago! This neighborhood is also home to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (MCCNO), major museums such as The National WWII Museum and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans and the famous Mardi Gras World.
Every first Saturday of the month during the First Saturday Galleries Opening (or formerly Art Walk), galleries open their doors to the public with a great program featuring local artists and new exhibitions. Other arts and culture events held throughout the year include Jammin' on Julia on the first Saturday in May, White Linen Night on the first Saturday in August and Art for Art's Sake on the first Saturday in October. For more info: artsdistrictneworleans.com. Finally, for those with a sweet tooth, a farmer's market is held at the corner of Girod and Magazine Streets every Saturday between 8am and noon. A word of advice: get there early if you want to be spoilt for choice.
Treme. Located north of the French Quarter, in the quadrangle bounded by North Rampart, St. Louis, South Broad and Esplanade streets, Treme is the historic district of the African-American community. The New Orleans African American Museum is dedicated to the cause. We love the atmosphere, the architecture and the somewhat dilapidated houses - not to say in a sorry state in some cases - of this district, which isn't overly touristy. At night, wandering through Treme's dimly-lit alleyways is not really recommended.
Congo Square is the beating heart of Treme. This is the birthplace of jazz, when slaves and freedmen came together for open-air music sessions. In 1980, Mayor Maurice Edwin "Moon" Landrieu created Louis Armstrong Park in memory of the famous jazzman, which includes Congo Square and the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts. In addition to this must-see landmark, Treme is the place to go in town for authentic Creole cuisine and to see the famous Second Lines parades and jazz funerals.
But not everything is rosy in Treme. In the 1960s, the city decided to preserve the French Quarter to make way for the I-10 highway bridge. Hundreds of stores closed and thousands of families fled. Katrina had the same effect. Hard hit, the neighborhood struggled to regain its life and its inhabitants (a few stigmata are still visible - an empty plot, an abandoned shanty with swollen wood...). Wealthy city dwellers, often non-Louisianis, are investing, buying and renovating rather well, bobo-izing the neighborhood. Rents have quadrupled, forcing a new exodus of residents to clean, new, secluded housing projects. What's more, the frescoes painted here and there, depicting everyday scenes or honoring a particular musician, sometimes displease the newcomers, like the funerals traditionally celebrated with fanfare. So the town council bans them, and tries to have it both ways. Frescoes are once again covering the immaculate white or concrete grey of the municipal services, and associations are working hard to revitalize the neighborhood and involve young people in cultural and sports projects. It was here that former President Barack Obama had lunch and shook hands during his visit at the end of August 2015 to commemorate the passage of Hurricane Katrina. He made particular reference to the extraordinary resilience shown by its inhabitants. We recommend the TV series Treme, which delves into the daily lives of the neighborhood's residents in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Esplanade Ridge. Bordering the Treme district to the northwest and northeast, Esplanade Ridge owes its reputation to the magnificent Esplanade Avenue, nicknamed "Millionaires' Row" because of the prosperous Creole population that once lived here. This avenue is home to the Free People of Color Museum and the Degas House (now a bed & breakfast with guided tour), where the famous painter Edgar Degas lived. In addition to these points of interest and the beautiful architecture of the neighborhood's houses, Esplanade Ridge boasts a number of restaurants, cafés, bars and boutiques along Esplanade Avenue, North Broad Street and the surrounding area. It's worth noting that the Bayou St. John area south of City Park is often associated with the Mid-City neighborhood. No one seems to agree...
Marigny/Bywater. These two side-by-side neighborhoods are bounded by Esplanade Avenue, North Rampart Street/St. Claude Avenue, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and the Mississippi River. Be careful at night, however, as some of the streets can be a bit notorious.
In Marigny, also known as Faubourg Marigny, the houses are mainly one-storey or two-storey in Creole or Greek Renaissance style. They are set close together, giving the area a pleasant, small-town feel. In 1806, Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny divided the land on which his plantation was located. The Faubourg Marigny took shape, and was also nicknamed "Little Saxony" in the 19th century due to the large number of Germans who settled in this part of the city. In the Marigny district, don't miss Frenchmen Street, with its clubs and bars. Locals will tell you that this is where they go out, not on Bourbon Street (although it's fast becoming the new Bourbon Street...). In fact, the new, more experimental bands come to Frenchmen's clubs to cut their teeth. Not far to the east is the Marigny Opera House, dedicated to opera and the performing arts.
Just to the east of Marigny, the Bywater is an arty, bohemian district where shotgun houses built in the 1870s and 1890s rub shoulders with squatted warehouses and workshops. The neighborhood is still undergoing renovation following Katrina. The Bywater was founded by Germans, Irish and slaves, whose descendants still live there. Originally, it was home to cotton presses, vegetable gardens and orange groves. Today, it's a pleasant, bustling district where good places to grab a bite to eat and a drink are springing up like mushrooms.
For art lovers, a few must-visits in these neighborhoods: The Art Garage, JAMNOLA, Studio Be and Dr. Bob's Folk Art.
Lower Ninth Ward. If there's one image that comes to mind when thinking of Hurricane Katrina, it's the Lower Ninth Ward. Totally devastated and swallowed by the waters, images of the neighborhood went around the world and made it a symbol. Nearly 20 years later, it still hasn't recovered, unlike other parts of the city. Emptied of a large proportion of its inhabitants, it seems to bring together all the misery of New Orleans, between abandoned houses and countless vacant lots where nature has reclaimed its rights. While the area south of North Claiborne Avenue - particularly between St. Claude Avenue and the Mississippi River - is more densely populated, the entire area north of North Claiborne Avenue to Bayou Bienvenue still bears the scars of Katrina. To think that, before the hurricane, the Lower Ninth Ward was nationally renowned for its high rate of home ownership among the black community...
That said, life is slowly returning to normal, with houses being razed, renovated or rebuilt. One example is Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, which has enabled the construction of eco-friendly homes designed by renowned architects such as Frank Gehry and Shigeru Ban. Unfortunately, construction faults have accumulated and led to the demolition of some of these homes in recent years (a saga that is also accompanied by lawsuits). Just to the south of the neighborhood, in the Holy Cross sub-district, there's another green initiative, the Global Green Community & Climate Action Center.
If the neighborhood has lost a large proportion of its residents, it has also lost many of its businesses, leading to food insecurity for the remaining population. That's why Burnell Cotlon, a local resident, decided to put all his savings to work for his community, opening Burnell's Lower Ninth Ward Market in 2014, a small grocery store that doubles as a hair salon, laundromat and Internet café. And because he cares so much about his community, he's started a2nd project to build affordable housing in the neighborhood, Building with Burnell. He's not the only one fighting food insecurity, as vacant lots in the Lower Ninth Ward find a new vocation in urban agriculture, encouraged by the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone law.
If you'd like to visit this neighborhood, avoid guided tours at all costs, as they rarely benefit the local population. However, we recommend the organization lowernine.org, which offers tours in exchange for donations to be invested in its various community projects. You can also visit the Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum to learn more about the neighborhood, its history and its inhabitants.
Algiers. Opposite the French Quarter, Algiers is bordered by the Mississippi River and the Westbank region. The ferry links the CBD district (boarding at the end of Canal Street) to Algiers Point, the best place for a panoramic view of the city. This is a far cry from the hectic city life of downtown, in an area renowned for its authenticity and old-fashioned charm. Highlights include the Jazz Walk of Fame, just a stone's throw from the ferry, the small Folk Art Zone and Blues Museum, the old Pelican Gulf Station, restored as a historic gas station, and the Algy Theater, built in the Art Deco style in the 1940s (now home to the Rosetree Blown Glass Studio and Gallery).
Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady came to Algiers to visit their friend and writer William Burroughs during their odyssey on the road, which can be found in Kerouac's book On the Road. Part of the territory owned by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, in 1719, Algiers was the site of one of the region's major plantations. In the early 19th century, the development of the paddle-steamer trade increased the number of warehouses built on this side of the river. Thanks to the influx of immigrants, residential areas grew up and represent the city's typical architecture(shotgun houses), particularly in the Algiers Point sector.
Mid-City, North and New Orleans East
We've included here the Mid-City district, the entire area between Highway 610 and Lake Pontchartrain, as well as the area completely to the east of the city that connects to the Northshore via Highway 10 and Routes 11 and 90.
Mid-City. Located in the heart of the city, just below City Park and quickly accessible via the Canal Street streetcar, Mid-City is both fashionable and unpretentious. Mostly residential, it's packed with gourmet addresses and great places to have a drink, making it an ideal place to take the pulse of the city and mingle with the locals. It should be noted, however, that the boundaries of this district differ depending on who you talk to, with some also including several areas south of Highway 610, notably the Navarre district, the southern part of City Park, the Bayou St. John area, the Fairgrounds area and north of Esplanade Ridge along the bayou, which we didn't do in our guide.
City Park. A huge green space of over 525 hectares, it stretches from City Park Avenue in the south to Robert E. Lee Boulevard in the north, not far from Lake Pontchartrain. In addition to sports and leisure facilities, including a superb golf course divided into two sectors (Bayou Oaks), it is home to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), the Louisiana Children's Museum and the New Orleans Botanical Garden, for example. Further information: neworleanscitypark.com
Lakeview. Located east of the 17th Street Canal, which marks the border with the city of Metairie, and west of the Orleans Canal and City Park, between Mid-City and Lake Pontchartrain, Lakeview also includes sub-districts such as Navarre, Lakewood and West End (the first two are home to the famous Greenwood and Metairie cemeteries). It was one of the neighborhoods that suffered the most damage during Hurricane Katrina: when the canal levee gave way, much of Lakeview was under three meters of water.
Lakeview is a predominantly residential neighborhood, with almost all the gourmet addresses and boutiques concentrated on Harrison Avenue, not to mention the restaurants - particularly seafood - in the vicinity of the marinas on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
Gentilly. Bordered by Highway 610 to the south and Lake Pontchartrain to the north, between Bayou St. John and the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, the Gentilly neighborhood is home to three universities, including the best-known, The University of New Orleans (UNO) with its large lakeside campus, as well as Southern University at New Orleans and Dillard University. The neighborhood is also home to the FBI's New Orleans field office.
Gentilly, like several other neighborhoods, suffered enormous damage during Katrina, with the London Avenue canal levee giving way in two places.
New Orleans East. Completely east of the city, a long arm of land links New Orleans to the Northshore region (via I-10, keep an eye out for Fishermans Castle at Irish Bayou just before the Twin Span Bridge). You'll also pass through here if you want to get to the Gulf Coast in Mississippi (via Route 90).
Clearly an area less frequented by tourists, it nonetheless boasts a few points of interest worthy of mention, starting with the New Orleans Lakefront Airport and its Art Deco-style terminal, one of the last of its kind in the country. Also on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain is Lincoln Beach in the Little Woods area. In operation from 1939 to 1965, it was a mecca for relaxation and recreation reserved for the black community, with its beach, pools and amusement park. Left derelict since its closure, New Orleans City Hall intends to restore the site in the near future. New Orleans East is also home to two natural sites, the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center and the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. If history is more your cup of tea, you'll find the ruins of Fort Macomb (along Route 90, just past the junction with Route 11) and the more impressive Fort Pike (Fort Pike State Historic Site, along Route 90 just before The Rigolets Bridge).
Finally, New Orleans East is home to a large Vietnamese community, particularly in the area along Route 90 just east of the junction with I-510. It's the place to go for a delicious banh mi sandwich!
Central City, Garden District and Uptown
We've delineated this area of the city's southwest by the Mississippi River, Monticello Avenue, Highway 61, and Interstate 10 followed by the Pontchartrain Expressway (Highway 90).
Most of it is occupied by Uptown/Carrollton, a historic district recognized by the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission. Although Central City, the Garden District and Irish Channel, for example, are not part of this area, many people tend to refer to the entire city as "Uptown". Lafayette Cemeteries No. 1 and No. 2 are located here.
Two major thoroughfares are a must, starting with St. Charles Avenue, made famous by Tennessee Williams' Tramway Named Desire. It's the world's oldest surviving tramway, and a stroll along it is highly recommended: lined with magnificent mansions, St. Charles Avenue passes under a canopy of century-old oak trees to great effect. The streetcar starts on Canal Street, runs along St. Charles and Carrollton avenues to South Claiborne, where it ends.
Magazine Street runs parallel to St. Charles Avenue but a little further south. If you like small boutiques, thrift shops, antiques and decorative objects, this is your neighborhood. The day can also be punctuated by a stop at a coffee shop or on the terrace of a local bar or restaurant. Many of the shops are housed in painted wooden houses, making this a charming street to explore on foot or by bike.
Central City. Huge neighborhood stretching from St. Charles to South Claiborne avenues, between Toledano Street and the Pontchartrain Expressway (Route 90). It also includes the area known as the Hoffman Triangle (South Claiborne Avenue, Toledano Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard).
A historically African-American neighborhood, it is intimately linked to the traditions of the brass band and Mardi Gras Indians (don't miss the Super Sunday parades). It was also at the heart of New Orleans' civil rights movement (the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded here with Martin Luther King Jr.), before sinking into poverty, crime and drugs in the late 1970s (the crack epidemic took its toll in the mid-1980s). At the dawn of the new millennium, Central City was littered with abandoned houses and vacant lots, before a few revitalization projects gave it a new lease on life, starting with the destruction of the projects, low-income housing ghettos where street gangs rule. Since then, mixed-income residential projects have sprung up in certain areas, houses have been built or renovated and good addresses are multiplying in the first blocks north of St. Charles Avenue (note that not all areas further north are safe).
Garden District. Bordering the Irish Channel neighborhood, the Garden District is bounded by St. Charles Avenue, 1st Street, Magazine Street and Toledano Avenue (note that the National Historic District covers a little more, namely the quadrilateral made up of Carondelet, Josephine, Magazine and Louisiana streets).
This area was built by businessmen from northern states attracted by the city's wealth between 1840 and 1900. Not having the same outlook on life as the Creoles of the French Quarter, the Yankees set themselves apart by building large, multi-storey, wooden buildings with balconies and verandas where it's nice to cool off on a rocking chair at dusk. Most balconies are supported by columns: small and square or huge and round, they mark the appeal of the Greek Renaissance style spread to New Orleans by Irish architect James Gallier.
To appreciate the Garden District, you need to visit it on foot, taking your time to discover the architecture and vegetation of each garden. The district is also renowned for its gourmet addresses. Neo-Orleans with their finger on the pulse of the latest trends, as well as the city's crème de la crème, flock to the Garden District's chic and trendy restaurants. It's also an excellent destination for coffee shops, bars and craft breweries, not to mention charming accommodations in historic homes.
There's also a neighborhood called the Lower Garden District, which adjoins its big brother as far as the Ponchartrain Expressway (Route 90). These are the funkiest blocks, a mix of residences of all sizes, small cafés, bars and restaurants, and businesses of all kinds from tattoo shops to record stores.
Irish Channel. Next door to the Garden District, this is a residential area where many Irish immigrants have settled over the years. This part of town is now a mix of races and origins, with no particular heritage. On the other hand, St. Patrick's Day is always celebrated at Parasol's bar, which holds its famous block party every year. For a bite to eat or a drink, most of the good addresses are on Magazine Street, at the northern edge of the district, and in the Tchoupitoulas Street area.
Uptown/Carrollton. A full member of the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission, the Uptown/Carrollton area covers a large part of the city's southwest.
Uptown includes a number of neighborhoods, such as West Riverside, home to the Patton campus of the Lycée Français de La Nouvelle-Orléans, and Audubon, highly renowned for its eponymous park, one of the city's largest and home to a zoo and golf course. The Audubon district is also home to the campuses of Loyola and Tulane universities, which you should visit to understand why higher education is so expensive: state-of-the-art equipment, very comfortable classrooms, sumptuous surroundings...
To the north-west lies Carrollton, which includes the districts of Black Pearl, East Carrollton and Leonidas (also known as West Carrollton). Good places to eat and go out are legion here, especially on Maple and Oak streets. The two other campuses of the Lycée Français de La Nouvelle-Orléans are also located in Carrollton.
