New Orleans: The French Quarter and the Garden District

Segments

1. Jackson Square & St. Louis Cathedral 0.4 km Map

   Decatur Street → St. Louis Cathedral

   City streets and paved square

   Start in the square the French laid out as the Place d'Armes and the Spanish called the Plaza de Armas — now a National Historic Landmark with Andrew Jackson on horseback at its center. Behind it stands St. Louis Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and one of the oldest cathedrals in continuous use in the United States. A church has stood here since 1718; the present building was raised under Spanish rule in 1789, made a cathedral in 1793, and largely rebuilt in the 1850s. Allow about 45 minutes.

2. The French Market 0.5 km Map

   Jackson Square → French Market

   City streets

   Walk downriver along Decatur to the market, a run of commercial buildings spanning about six blocks and claiming descent from a Native American trading post that predates the city itself. Today it mixes a farmers' market, a flea market and food stalls. It is touristy and makes no secret of it — come for the produce, the pralines and a café au lait rather than for the souvenir tables. About 45 minutes.

3. Royal Street's galleries 0.7 km Map

   French Market → Royal Street at St. Peter

   City streets, uneven sidewalks

   Cut inland one block to Royal, one of the city's original streets, dating from the early 18th century. This is the Quarter at its best: antique dealers, art galleries, iron balconies dripping with ferns, and — on the pedestrianized blocks in the afternoon — street musicians who are genuinely worth stopping for. Slow down here; it is the most rewarding hour of the walk. About 60 minutes.

4. Bourbon Street 0.4 km Map

   Royal Street → Bourbon Street

   City streets

   One block over is the street everyone has heard of, running about twelve blocks from Canal to Esplanade. Be clear-eyed about what it is: a corridor of bars, daiquiri shops, strip clubs and neon, loud from mid-afternoon onward and frankly grubby by daylight. It is worth ten minutes to see it, and worth knowing that the New Orleans people love is on the streets either side of it. If you want live music rather than volume, keep walking to Frenchmen Street after dark instead. About 20 minutes.

5. The Garden District & Lafayette Cemetery 2 km Map

   Washington Avenue → Prytania Street

   Residential streets, cracked pavement, live-oak roots

   Ride the streetcar out to Washington Avenue and step into a different city. After the Louisiana Purchase, American newcomers who were unwelcome among the Creoles built here instead, each mansion set in its own garden — hence the name. Wander First, Second and Third Streets past Greek Revival and Italianate houses under enormous live oaks. At the center is Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, founded in 1833 and the city's first planned cemetery, laid out on a cruciform plan with above-ground family tombs — the high water table is the usual explanation for burying upward. Restoration work has closed it at times, so check before you go. About 90 minutes.

6. The St. Charles streetcar 0.5 km Map

   St. Charles Avenue → Canal Street

   Streetcar and city streets

   Finish the day the right way: board an olive-green streetcar on St. Charles Avenue and ride it back downtown. The line has run since 1835 and is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world — the cars have wooden seats, windows that you open yourself, and no air conditioning. Sit on the left going in, watch the mansions and the oak tunnel slide past, and get off at Canal Street. About 40 minutes.