Commander's Palace
The Garden District in New Orleans is one of the main areas of tourism after the French Quarter. It's not a place that has sat well with me over time, and I've tried to pinpoint the reason. It comes down to this: there's nothing interactive about it; very little to get passionate about. But, first, a little history...
The Garden District was originally part of the Livaulais Plantation in the early 1800s. It eventually became subdivided and filled with beautiful Italianate, Victorian, and Greek Revival mansions on oak-lined streets. The houses were almost exclusively owned by Americans (as opposed to the French or Creoles who were in the French Quarter and Esplanade, and the working class German and Irish of Marigny, not to mention people of color. So...this was basically the upper class "white" neighborhood.
In 1832, this was actually the independent city of Lafayette (hence Lafayette Cemetery #1 & #2), which was eventually incorporated into the city of New Orleans as the 10th Ward. Fast forward to today, and here's what you find...
Historic, beautiful homes -- as mentioned above -- but, they're all privately owned, so you can't go into them (nor should you be able to, since...they're privately owned). But, all Garden District tours will walk you through this neighborhood and point out all of these houses that remind you that you can't touch them, and that these people are richer than you.
Many celebrities live, or have lived in this neighborhood. Anne Rice lived in two houses here. Nicolas Cage had a house here. John Goodman lives here now, full-time. Sandra Bullock owns a house here, though is rarely in town. The football Mannings (Peyton, Eli) grew up in the Garden District and their parents (Archie, also a football legend in his own right) still live here.
Within the Garden District -- which is only about 50-60 blocks -- almost everything is residential. The exceptions are: Commander's Palace, which started as a saloon and is now an upscale Creole restaurant (where Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse got their culinary starts), Lafayette Cemetery #1 (very photogenic, used in many television shows and movies, historic -- and closed indefinitely to preserve it), and the Rink Shopping Center (where the Garden District Book Shop is). Lafayette Cemetery #2, by the way, is actually 6 blocks away, across St. Charles, outside the neighborhood.
The majority of the Garden District that may appeal to you are on its periphery. The borders of the neighborhood are Toledano Avenue, Magazine Street, Jackson Avenue, and St. Charles Avenue.
It's very easy to reach the neighborhood from the French Quarter via the St. Charles streetcar (the oldest continuously operated streetcar in the world, running daily since 1835) which makes about 4-5 stops next to the Garden District. The opposite side of St. Charles, 4 blocks down, is Magazine Street, where you can find a lot of boutiques and a variety of restaurants to fit any budget. Magazine Street...is definitely worth checking out. And while you're there to grab a bite to eat, you can wander around the Garden District for a few minutes afterwards to walk off whatever you ate.
Commander's Palace
The Garden District in New Orleans is one of the main areas of tourism after the French Quarter. It's not a place that has sat well with me over time, and I've tried to pinpoint the reason. It comes down to this: there's nothing interactive about it; very little to get passionate about. But, first, a little history...
The Garden District was originally part of the Livaulais Plantation in the early 1800s. It eventually became subdivided and filled with beautiful Italianate, Victorian, and Greek Revival mansions on oak-lined streets. The houses were almost exclusively owned by Americans (as opposed to the French or Creoles who were in the French Quarter and Esplanade, and the working class German and Irish of Marigny, not to mention people of color. So...this was basically the upper class "white" neighborhood.
In 1832, this was actually the independent city of Lafayette (hence Lafayette Cemetery #1 & #2), which was eventually incorporated into the city of New Orleans as the 10th Ward. Fast forward to today, and here's what you find...
Historic, beautiful homes -- as mentioned above -- but, they're all privately owned, so you can't go into them (nor should you be able to, since...they're privately owned). But, all Garden District tours will walk you through this neighborhood and point out all of these houses that remind you that you can't touch them, and that these people are richer than you.
Many celebrities live, or have lived in this neighborhood. Anne Rice lived in two houses here. Nicolas Cage had a house here. John Goodman lives here now, full-time. Sandra Bullock owns a house here, though is rarely in town. The football Mannings (Peyton, Eli) grew up in the Garden District and their parents (Archie, also a football legend in his own right) still live here.
Within the Garden District -- which is only about 50-60 blocks -- almost everything is residential. The exceptions are: Commander's Palace, which started as a saloon and is now an upscale Creole restaurant (where Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse got their culinary starts), Lafayette Cemetery #1 (very photogenic, used in many television shows and movies, historic -- and closed indefinitely to preserve it), and the Rink Shopping Center (where the Garden District Book Shop is). Lafayette Cemetery #2, by the way, is actually 6 blocks away, across St. Charles, outside the neighborhood.
The majority of the Garden District that may appeal to you are on its periphery. The borders of the neighborhood are Toledano Avenue, Magazine Street, Jackson Avenue, and St. Charles Avenue.
It's very easy to reach the neighborhood from the French Quarter via the St. Charles streetcar (the oldest continuously operated streetcar in the world, running daily since 1835) which makes about 4-5 stops next to the Garden District. The opposite side of St. Charles, 4 blocks down, is Magazine Street, where you can find a lot of boutiques and a variety of restaurants to fit any budget. Magazine Street...is definitely worth checking out. And while you're there to grab a bite to eat, you can wander around the Garden District for a few minutes afterwards to walk off whatever you ate.