The bronze statue of Andrew Jackson on his rearing horse marks the center of the square. Originally named the Place d'Armes, this ground served as the city's military parade field during the Spanish and French colonial periods. In eighteen…
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 three-story Spanish colonial building topped with a distinct flat roof and a series of arched openings along its front facade. It served as the seat of government for New Orleans during the Spanish colonial period. In…
3. St. Louis Cathedral
Three tiered steeples rise above the surrounding flat rooftops of the French Quarter, topped by iron crosses. This is the Saint Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States. In seventeen…
4. Pirates Alley
Pirates Alley is a narrow stone passage running along the side of the Saint Louis Cathedral. Local legend insists that Jean Lafitte and his crew plotted their smuggling routes in the dim light of these buildings, though historians suggest…
5. The Presbytère
The Presbytère features a Mansard roof and a series of arched windows that mirror the design of the neighboring Cabildo. Built on the site of a former Capuchin monastery, it served as a courthouse during the nineteenth century. In eighteen…
6. 1850 House Museum & Gift Shop
The eighteen fifty house features a four-story brick facade punctuated by iconic, intricate cast-iron balconies that stretch across its entire width. Built by Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba, this structure served as a residence…
7. Cafe Du Monde
The green and white striped awning covers a wide, open-air pavilion that stays busy twenty-four hours a day. This is the original Cafe Du Monde, which has served coffee and beignets on the site of the old French Market since eighteen…
8. Old Ursuline Convent Museum
The Old Ursuline Convent features a heavy, dark cypress door set into a plain, sun-bleached stucco facade on Chartres Street. Built in seventeen fifty-two, it remains the oldest surviving building in the Mississippi River Valley. When the…
9. French Market
The French Market sits under a long, low roof of copper and iron that stretches six blocks along the Mississippi River. This row of open-air stalls began as a Native American trading post where tribes exchanged furs and food long before…