French Quarter
The French Quarter, or Vieux Carre in French, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. It lies in the crescent of the Mississippi River and consists of fairly narrow streets, reminiscent of European city planning, that reveal hidden courtyards and look up to wrought iron balconies. The architecture in the Quarter typically dates to the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries, and draws on French and Spanish influences. In daytime, the French Quarter, especially the area around Jackson Square, is filled with tourists, street performers, and the occasional conman. At night, the French Quarter transforms into the stereotypical party scene. Barhopping college students, adventurous suburbanites, tourists, and practitioners of the world’s oldest profession all populate the area until the wee hours.
Lower Canal Street
Once the main shopping district of New Orleans, lined with popular department stores and theaters, Canal Street lost much of its grandeur to a sluggish economy in the 70s and 80s. Today, Harrah’s New Orleans and an expanded convention center have helped this part of Canal Street to develop into a ten block strip of hotels, T-shirt shops and electronics stores. The Riverwalk Market Place, which is near the aquarium and convention center, also makes this a popular stop for tourists.
Central Business District
The scattered, mismatched skyscrapers and superbly odd-shaped Superdome of the Central Business District form the recognizable skyline of New Orleans. Several modern hotels, as well as older and established hotels like the Fairmont Hotel, are in heart of the CBD and the New Orleans’ business community. Bustling during the day with local businesspeople, this area lulls at night, with the exception of the restored Orpheum Theatre and its acclaimed New Orleans Symphony. Since the district is relatively empty at night, many of the guests from the hotels in the neighborhood head for the Quarter.
Garden District
This is the premier New Orleans residential neighborhood, boasting the tremendous oak tree lined Saint Charles Avenue as its most-famed street, and home after home epitomizing the antebellum’s Greek Revival architecture. Only a walking tour will do this dazzling district the justice it deserves. If you visit the city, you must see the lush, overgrown gardens and grand mansions that line these streets. The Garden District has many well-known residents, including Trent Reznor, Archie Manning, and Anne Rice, the famous author of many vampire novels.
Mid-City
Mid-City usually goes unnoticed by the average tourist until Jazz Fest, when thousands of eager visitors, bedecked in shorts and tank tops, crowd onto the Esplanade bus to reach the New Orleans Fairgrounds. Quiet and verdant with trees, Mid-City attracts locals to its wide offering of moderately priced restaurants, City Park, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. For tourists, Mid-City is home to impressive aboveground cemeteries, including Metairie Cemetery, Oddfellow’s Rest and St. Louis Cemetery #3.
Uptown
Oak lined streets, Victorian mansions, and college cafes are staples of New Orleans’ thriving Uptown neighborhood. St. Charles Avenue and Pyrtania Street offer examples of Colonial Revival architecture. The neighborhood is also home to Tulane and Loyola Universities. In addition to the mansions and universities, many pleasant coffee shops, antique stores, and restaurants crowd the small spaces between the fantastic homes of New Orleans’ upper class. Plenty of fit and tanned residents jog the two miles through Uptown’s gorgeous, Spanish moss-filled Audubon Park each morning.
Warehouse District
Having outgrown the once-appropriate title, this historic New Orleans’ neighborhood is no longer frequented by blue-collar factory workers. Instead, it is now a vibrant arts district populated by the city’s young professionals. Some of the best art galleries in the city sit beside restaurants that offer excellent cuisine. In addition, locals and tourists crowd into the streets of the district during festivals such as Art for Art’s Sake, when plenty of wine, cheese, gumbo, and art clutter the sidewalks and the shops.
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