To many people, the French Quarter epitomises New Orleans, aka NOLA. Street parties, dazzling parades, cigar-chomping jazz virtuosos playing in dimly lit clubs and time-patinaed buildings, their characterful wrought iron balconies dripping in ferns and flags, are the kernel of the city’s soul. Simply wandering the streets is an experience in and of itself. There’s always something going on, something to see or an event to attend.
The French Quarter is deceptively small. Sprinkled along a bend of the Mississippi River as it snakes towards the Gulf of Mexico. Bound by Canal Street to the south, North Rampart Street to the west, Esplanade Avenue to the north and the Mississippi River to the east makes it just 14 blocks by six, laid out in their original grid pattern, unchanged since the early-18th century.
