Walking New Orleans. Barri Bronston
R’evolution revolutionnola.com, 777 Bienville St., 504-553-2277
Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse irvinmayfield.com, 300 Bourbon St., 504-553-2299
Famous Door 339 Bourbon St., 504-598-4334
Chris Owens Club chrisowensclub.net, 500 Bourbon St., 504-523-6400
Tropical Isle tropicalisle.com, 600 Bourbon St., 504-529-1702
Saints and Sinners saintsandsinnersnola.com, 627 Bourbon St., 504-528-9307
Preservation Hall preservationhall.com, 726 St. Peter St., 504-522-2841
Pat O’Brien’s patobriens.com, 718 St. Peter St., 504-525-4823
Historic New Orleans Collection hnoc.org, 522 Royal St., 504-523-4662
Louisiana Supreme Court lasc.org, 400 Royal St., 504-310-2300
Brennan’s brennansneworleans.com, 417 Royal St., 504-525-9711
New Orleans Police Department, Eighth District nola.gov/nopd, 334 Royal St., 504-658-6080
Vintage 329 vintage329.com, 329 Royal St., 504-525-2262
Carousel Bar & Lounge, Hotel Monteleone hotelmonteleone.com, 214 Royal St., 504-523-3341
SoBou sobounola.com, 310 Chartres St., 504-552-4095
Kingfish cocktailbarneworleans.com, 337 Chartres St., 504-598-5005
K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen chefpaul.com/kpaul, 416 Chartres St., 504-596-2530
Napoleon House napoleonhouse.com, 500 Chartres St., 504-524-9752
Pharmacy Museum pharmacymuseum.org, 514 Chartres St., 504-565-8027
Doris Metropolitan dorismetropolitan.com, 620 Chartres St., 504-267-3500
Sylvain sylvainnola.com, 625 Chartres St., 504-265-8123
Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré lepetittheatre.com, 616 St. Peter St., 504-522-2081
Tableau tableaufrenchquarter.com, 616 St. Peter St., 504-934-3463
The Cabildo crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-museum, 701 Chartres St., 504-568-6968
St. Louis Cathedral stlouiscathedral.org, Jackson Square, 504-525-9585
The Presbytère crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-museum, 751 Chartres St., 504-568-6968
Jackson Square nola.gov/parks-and-parkways/parks-squares/jackson-square, bounded by St. Ann, St. Peter, Decatur, and Chartres Streets; 504-658-3200
Stanley stanleyrestaurant.com, 547 St. Ann St., 504-587-0093
Muriel’s Jackson Square muriels.com, 801 Chartres St., 504-568-1885
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Begin walk at Iberville and North Peters Street.
2 Walk four blocks to Bourbon Street and turn right.
3 Walk five blocks to St. Peter Street and turn right.
4 Walk one block to Royal Street and turn right.
5 Walk five blocks to Iberville and turn left.
6 Walk one block to Chartres Street and turn left.
7 Walk five blocks to St. Peter at Jackson Square.
8 Walk around the square back to Chartres Street.
The Louisiana Supreme Court Building is a Beaux Arts structure that dates back to the early 1900s.
5 BACK OF THE QUARTER: SPOOKY STROLL
BOUNDARIES: Esplanade Ave., Chartres St., Dumaine St., Dauphine St.
DISTANCE: 1.73 miles
PARKING: Limited street parking
PUBLIC TRANSIT: RTA Bus #5 (Marigny-Bywater), Riverfront Streetcar
The French Quarter isn’t all about Bourbon Street. In fact, the lower part of the Quarter, between Esplanade Avenue and St. Ann Street, is a mostly residential neighborhood where homes range from restored Creole cottages to French Colonial town houses sporting exquisite wrought-iron balconies. It’s relatively quiet, but no less fascinating or historic than its more popular counterpart upriver.
Many of the homes in the Lower French Quarter have been converted to museums, giving visitors an up-close view of 18th- and 19th-century lifestyles; among the more notable examples are the Beauregard-Keyes House and the Gallier House. Some of the city’s allegedly haunted houses—like the legendary LaLaurie House—can be found here as well. Even the hotels and inns, such as the Soniat House and the Cornstalk Hotel, have historic significance.
Of course, no New Orleans neighborhood is complete without a culinary component, and two of the best are Irene’s Cuisine and Café Amelie, not to mention Verti Marte for po’boys. For libations, Harry’s Corner and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop are among the classics.
Begin at the Old US Mint (Esplanade Avenue at North Peters Street), one of several museums that make up the Louisiana State Museum system. Built in 1835, the Greek Revival building served as a mint for both the Union and the Confederacy. Today, it’s home to exhibits on New Orleans jazz, Newcomb pottery, and the Mississippi River, as well as a jazz-performance series called Music at the Mint.
Walk two blocks to Chartres Street and turn left. At 1133 Chartres is the Soniat House, built in the 1820s by Joseph Soniat Dufossat, a French sugar-plantation owner. Now a boutique hotel, the property consists of three town houses with 31 guest rooms furnished and decorated with French and English antiques. It has won many accolades, among them being named one of the top 20 hotels in the world by Fodor’s.
Continue down Chartres. At the end of the block is the Beauregard-Keyes House, a raised center-hall house built in 1826 by architect François Correjolles for auctioneer Joseph LeCarpentier. The house had a number of notable residents over the years, including 19th-century chess master Paul Morphy and Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard, who rented it from 1866 to 1868 after the Civil War. Novelist Frances Parkinson