New Orleans French Quarter Guide

Today I bring you the New Orleans French Quarter Guide- a primer in food, drink, shopping, and language lessons. If you are planning a trip to the Crescent City, you may have booked your flights and hotel but are perhaps now wondering  where to shop and where to eat and drink. Fear not, no worries of falling in to the jaws of a tourist trap if you are a first timer to this glorious city. Note: today’s post is just on the French Quarter. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on other areas of New Orleans- there is PLENTY to do so plan to pace yourself.

The map is key and many places are already on it (some not mentioned in text) for your convenience so don’t overlook it. I have linked all restaurants and bars mentioned for those of you who are anxious to explore menus or make reservations.

French Quarter Shopping Highlights:

Animal Art Antiques– Find this charming shop!!! Only a block away from Cafe du Monde, a block away from Jackson square. A must for animal lovers, majolica collectors. This famous store always has one of a kind treasures from European shopping adventures. Antiques, art and new.
Lucullus– Culinary Antiques.  Tour this beautiful shop here.
MSRau– Famous New Orleans Antique store, with a presence in NYC. Jewels, art, antiques…
Lots of great stores along Royal Street and Chartres … See map above

Some of the hotel bars are nice, like above pictured Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone (thank you Betsy Minetree Khashoggi for that photo) or the Windsor Court Hotel Bar, pictured below:

photo courtesy of Windsor Court Hotel

Again, photos courtesy of Betsy Minetree Khashoggi, a recent stylish visitor to NOLA who knows how to enjoy the city (thank you Betsy!).

French Quarter Food a Local would recommend:

Bayona | NOLA | Sylvain |  Cafe du Monde | Galatoires | Camelia Grill | Acme Oyster House | Mothers | Amelie | The Gumbo Shop

French Quarter Cocktails:

Old Absinthe House | Napoleon House | Pat OBriens

Say Whaaat?

So you won’t feel like you are in a foreign country, allow me to decode a few things in advance…

NOLA: Short for- New Orleans, Louisiana
The Big Easy– same, see above
Directions: There is no West, East, North, or South in New Orleans. We head uptown, downtown, lakeside and riverside. And anywhere the music is. (to anybody who knows me personally, this IS my excuse for not having a sense of direction.)
Laissez les bons temps roules! (less-say lay bon tonh roo-lay): Let the good times roll~
New Orleans: Pronounced noo aw-lins or new or-lins or new or-lee-yuns, but not new orleens. Unless referring to the street or the parish of or-leens. Or when you’re singing. Confused yet? Just stick with new or-lins.
Street Names: We’ve got some strange pronunciation. A sample:

• Burgundy (bur-gun-dee)
• Melpomene (mel-puh-meen)
• Tchoupitoulas (chop-ih-too-liss)

Vieux Carré (vyeuh kah-ray): Literally, “Old Square” or “Old Quarter,” it refers to the French Quarter. Before it was “Old,” “French,” or a “Quarter” of any kind, the area was just the “Ville,” the entire city of New Orleans. Today, its 90 city blocks hold about 2,700 European and Creole-style buildings, most with a long and fascinating history.
Yat: A local denizen. Or local slang for saying hello. Named for the Ninth Ward greeting, “Where y’at?”
Neutral Ground–  not a therapy term. It’s the median where you wait for the street car. Which currently costs $1.25 FYI.
Open Container Laws– Yes, it is legal to walk around with a cocktail in hand. Only in New Orleans…

That’s all for today, stay tuned for more to come on New Orleans (say it right…) … Any questions yet?

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For those of you who can’t get enough of New Orleans and want to stay in the now, as far as where to go, I link you to this recent list by the stylish local Alexa Pulitzer.

https://www.instagram.com/thecourtneyprice/