Where to Stay in New Orleans: A Local&#39;s Neighborhood Guide

You came to New Orleans, you stay in the Quarter at least once. Royal Street is the calmer twin of Bourbon, lined with antique shops and balconies dripping ferns. Stay near Jackson Square or Decatur and you can walk to Cafe du Monde for beignets, Central Grocery for a muffuletta, and the French Market in under ten minutes. Skip the blocks between Bourbon and Iberville after dark if noise bothers you. The lower Quarter, below St. Ann, is quieter and still lets you walk everywhere. Cobblestones are rough on roller bags, so pack light.

Best for

First-time visitors who want everything within walking distance

Walk times

Jackson Square 3 min
Cafe du Monde 8 min
Frenchmen Street 12 min

Skip if: You are a light sleeper and need real silence by 10pm

Local tip: Book a room facing a courtyard, not the street. Bourbon Street noise carries until 4am, even on a Tuesday.

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$202per night

Faubourg Marigny

Where locals actually go for live music

Mid-range $140-$260/night

Frenchmen Street is the answer when locals roll their eyes at Bourbon. Three blocks of jazz clubs, brass bands spilling onto sidewalks, and bars where the music starts at 7pm and runs past 2am. The Spotted Cat, dba, and Snug Harbor are the anchors. Stay on Esplanade or Royal east of the Quarter and you walk to Frenchmen in five minutes, the French Quarter in ten. The neighborhood is shotgun houses painted in colors that should not work but do. Elysian Fields is the dividing line. Stay west of it for safety after dark.

Best for

Music lovers and second-time visitors who skipped Bourbon last time

Walk times

Frenchmen Street 5 min
Jackson Square 10 min
Washington Square Park 4 min

Skip if: You want chain hotels with pools and gyms

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$157per night

Garden District

Mansions, oak trees, and the streetcar

Luxury $200-$380/night

Twenty minutes on the St. Charles streetcar from Canal Street drops you in another century. Magazine Street runs the length of the neighborhood with boutiques, coffee shops, and Commander's Palace at the corner of Washington Avenue. Stay near Prytania or St. Charles and you walk to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, the antebellum mansions on Fourth Street, and dozens of restaurants. The streetcar runs every 15 minutes and costs $1.25, so you are not stuck out here. It is residential and quiet by 10pm. Use Lyft back from the Quarter after midnight, the streetcar gets sparse.

Best for

Couplesslower travelersand anyone who needs sleep

Walk times

St. Charles streetcar 2 min
Magazine Street shops 6 min
Commander's Palace 8 min

Skip if: You want to stumble home from Bourbon at 2am

Local tip: The streetcar stops running around midnight on weekdays. Budget $15 for a Lyft back from the Quarter after that.

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$224per night

Central Business District

Cheaper hotels, ten-minute walk to everything

Mid-range $120-$240/night

The CBD is where you stay when the Quarter is booked or priced into the stratosphere during Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras. Big chain hotels along Poydras and Canal, plus boutiques in converted warehouses on Magazine and Tchoupitoulas. Cochon and Pêche are walking distance for serious food. The Quarter starts the second you cross Canal Street, so you are 10 to 15 minutes on foot from Jackson Square. Warehouse District galleries and the WWII Museum are at the southern edge. Streets feel empty after 7pm on weekdays, which some people love and others find creepy.

Best for

Budget travelers and conference attendees

Walk times

Jackson Square 12 min
WWII Museum 5 min
Magazine Street 8 min

Skip if: You want neighborhood character and people on the street at night

Local tip: Hotels here drop prices 30 to 40 percent on Sunday and Monday nights. Time your stay if you can.

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$134per night