Jackson Square is defined by the massive bronze equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson at its center, a twenty-thousand-pound monument that famously balances on the horse's two hind legs without any external support. For much of its…
French Quarter Historic Heart
This walk traces the colonial and cultural beginnings of New Orleans across the historic heart of the Vieux Carré. You will see its oldest plazas, government seats, and sacred landmarks to understand how early global power struggles shaped the modern soul of the city.
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1. Jackson Square
2. The Cabildo Museum
The Cabildo is a heavy, cream-colored masonry building along Jackson Square, easily identified by the series of ground-floor Spanish arches and the third-floor French-style mansard roof. Built between seventeen ninety-five and seventeen…
3. St. Louis Cathedral
St. Louis Cathedral features three soaring white steeples that rise above the French Quarter. As the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States, it functions as the mother church of the Archdiocese of New…
4. Pirates Alley
Pirates Alley is defined by its narrow, stone-paved passage running directly between the St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo in the heart of the French Quarter. Originally known as Orleans Alley, this path served as a functional shortcut…
5. The Presbytère
The Presbytère is easily spotted by its two-story, brick-arched exterior and its louvered cupola, which rises prominently on the northeast side of Jackson Square. Designed by architect Gilberto Guillemard in seventeen ninety-one to mirror…
6. 1850 House Museum & Gift Shop
The eighteen-fifty House is a row house at five twenty-three Saint Ann Street, distinguished by the intricate cast-iron railings on its balconies. These railings feature the letters A and P woven into the pattern, representing the…
7. Cafe Du Monde
The green and white striped awnings of Cafe Du Monde are the visual mark of this open-air coffee stand on Decatur Street. Established in eighteen sixty-two during the American Civil War, it occupies a building that once served as the…
8. Old Ursuline Convent Museum
The Old Ursuline Convent is the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley, identifiable by its white stucco facade and a symmetrical exterior that features twelve bays and a steeply pitched roof. Completed in seventeen fifty-two, the…
9. French Market
The French Market is recognizable by its long, covered arcades and colonnades that stretch six blocks along the Mississippi River edge of the French Quarter. It traces its origins back to a Native American trading post used by the Choctaw…