French Quarter attractions

Sprinkled with lazing loungers, surrounded by sketch artists, fortune tellers and traveling performers, and watched over by cathedrals, offices and shops plucked from a Parisian fantasy, Jackson Sq is one of America…

The former seat of government in colonial Louisiana now serves as the gateway to exploring the history of the state in general, and New Orleans in particular. It’s also a magnificent building in its own right; the e…

One of the best examples of French architecture in the country, this triple-spired 18th-century cathedral is dedicated to Louis IX, the French king sainted in 1297. It's an attractive bit of Gallic heritage in the h…

Royal St, with its rows of high-end antiques shops, galleries and potted ferns hanging from cast-iron balconies, is the elegant yin to well-known Bourbon St’s debauched yang. Stroll or bicycle past Royal's patina be…

A combination of preserved buildings, museums and research centers all rolled into one, the Historic New Orleans Collection is a good introduction to the history of the city. The complex is anchored by its Royal St …

This beautifully preserved shop, groaning with ancient display cases filled with intriguing little bottles, was established in 1823 by Louis J Dufilho, at a time when the pharmaceutical arts were – shall we say – in…

Like Vegas and Cancun, the main stretch of Bourbon St is where the great id of the repressed American psyche is let loose into a seething mass of karaoke, strip clubs and bachelorette parties. It's one of the tackie…

Artist David Harouni, a native of Iran, has lived and worked in New Orleans for several decades. He creates works of absorbing depth by painting and scraping multiple layers of medium; the finished product has a sur…

The lovely Presbytère building, designed in 1791 as a rectory for the St Louis Cathedral, serves as New Orleans’ Mardi Gras museum. You’ll find there’s more to the city’s most famous celebration than wanton debauche…

This long shopping arcade was once the great bazaar and pulsing commercial heart for much of New Orleans. Today the French Market is a bustling tourist jungle of curios, flea markets, food stalls and artist kiosks, …