urbanMSP

I didn’t see a thread for the city, and though there is a lot of topics worth posting on New Orleans, I’ll leave this for a placeholder for those also.

But I’m posting for urban-lover siteseeing ideas. I’m visiting New Orleans for a two day vacation and I’ve never been there. What are some things to do or neighborhoods to see while visiting over a weekend?

What should I know about getting around the city?

A really nice loop to make is Magazine Street out to Audubon Park, then up to Tulane, and take St. Charles back.

The Marigny and Bywater are also definitely worth a walkabout.

Their sculpture garden (technically at a terminus of a streetcar route) is the best I've seen anywhere. Not to be missed.

Highly recommend riding the St. Charles streetcar line from end to end. It's the oldest continually operating streetcar line on earth, and a day pass is only a few bucks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charl ... etcar_Line

The city overall is unbelievably walkable and bikeable (the roads can be rough in spots, but it's dead flat.)

And if for some reason you needed to be told to do so, visit the French Quarter.

My review of the French Quarter: This feels like it reasonably could be a first neighborhood of a US major city to function well and eliminate all cars.

My review of New Orleans sidewalks: big old trees heave sidewalks like crazy. Compared to Minnesota cities, New Orleans does awnings and balconies over the sidewalks correctly. Can’t think of a reasonable excuse Minnesota zoning is biased against strong, useful awnings over sidewalks.

My review of the French Quarter: This feels like it reasonably could be a first neighborhood of a US major city to function well and eliminate all cars.

It helps that it was built long before cars.

But yeah, I love the French Quarter; I went to New Orleans for the first time in April and really liked it.

My review of New Orleans sidewalks: big old trees heave sidewalks like crazy. Compared to Minnesota cities, New Orleans does awnings and balconies over the sidewalks correctly. Can’t think of a reasonable excuse Minnesota zoning is biased against strong, useful awnings over sidewalks.

I love balconies over sidewalks. I've always thought we don't have them here because of snow and ice falling off them onto pedestrians below.

I love the balconies too. Was in Louisiana for a few months and noticed a lot of them. Makes sense that we wouldn’t have them because of snow when ice. Darn Minnesota weather!


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Passed by a few old place that felt like they might fit the current Minneapolis debate about four plexes and density next to precious single family houses.

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The house on the right is a triplex. On the left is a single family house the dwarfs the triplex. I passed by this as I walked from the sculpture garden on my way to an eclectic book store.

Two buildings next to each other as we road the St. Charles street car...

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This gorgeous mansion sat directly adjacent to this ...

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And it was perfectly fine. These two truly felt like they could have been transplanted to Lake of the Isles. I mean, if that apartment was on Isles and no one would blink.