Heading to Louisiana on the banks of the Mississippi? Here’s our guide to the best places to stay in New Orleans!
The largest city in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, New Orleans has a population of 343,829 and 1,167,764 in the entire urban area (2010), covering a surface area of 907 km². Situated on the southern shores of Lake Pontchartrain near the Mississippi Delta, the city nicknamed the Big Easy boasts an infinitely rich historical and cultural heritage. Founded in 1718 by French settlers, the city was French from 1718 to 1803, and was a hotbed of artistic and musical activity in the 20th century, as seen in the New Orleans Carnival.
If you’re looking for a place to stay in New Orleans, you’ll find that accommodation prices are high, and many districts have French-sounding names: Fontainebleau, Faubourg Lafayette, Audubon, Vieux-Carré, Leonidas, Freret, Tulane-Gravier, Faubourg Marigny, Saint-Jean, Metairie and Saint-Claude. Here’s our selection of neighborhoods to stay in New Orleans.
Le Vieux-Carré (French Quarter)
Photo credit: Flickr – .distracted
This is the French Quarter, a must-see in New Orleans. Your tour of the neighborhood begins in Jackson Square, a park where the statue of General Andrew Jackson on horseback overlooks the Mississippi River, with St. Louis Cathedral in the background. This is a place of music and art every day of the week. And yes, the city is the birthplace of jazz! So there are street concerts all the time, countless concert halls and bars and a particularly festive atmosphere, except in the evenings when some of the streets outside the district can get a bit naughty.
If shopping is your thing, the French Market Place area is the place to be: six streets of boutiques selling clothes, books and a wide variety of goodies, where you can pick up the best bargains. You’ll come across impromptu musicians, impromptu street parades – the Second Lines – and passers-by dancing to swing music. The district also boasts distinctive colonial architecture. A good place to stay in New Orleans, especially if you like parties and jazz music.
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Faubourg Marigny
Photo credit: Flickr – Wayne Hsieh
After France sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803, a wealthy French landowner from Lower Normandy – Bernard de Marigny – sold his plots: 212 years later, Faubourg Marigny is a cosmopolitan hot spot for jazz music and partying. Numerous bars have sprung up along Frenchmen Street, and the nightlife is intense. The brightly-colored buildings also add to the district’s charm. An ideal place to stay in New Orleans to experience the archetypal New Orleans vibe in a single evening: music, a friendly, popular atmosphere, a social mix and authentic living.
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Central Business District (CBD)
Photo credit: Flickr – Christina B Castro
Adjoining the French Quarter on its western flank, the CBD is the modern heart of the city. Here, you’ll find contemporary architecture, tall buildings and a much quieter climate for sleeping in New Orleans than in the French Quarter. Some of the older buildings – notably the warehouses – have been converted into housing and art galleries. Numerous cafés, bars and restaurants dot the long, perpendicular streets, as if « cut with a knife ». Three main museums await you for cultural outings: the Children’s Museum(Julia Street), the War Museum(Magazine Street) and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (Camp Street).
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Garden District
Photo credit: Flickr – Little Koshka
This is literally the place to stay in New Orleans if you’re looking for tranquility, parkland, gardens and green spaces in the middle of the city. It’s famous for its distinctive cemeteries, neo-renaissance mansions and Queen Victoria-era architecture. With its lush, abundant vegetation, this is the city’s most chic area, attracting world-famous actors such as Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage and Sandra Bullock. You’ll need a comfortable budget to stay in the Garden District.
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