Getting to the French Market

Location

The French Market is in the heart of the French Quarter. It runs along Decatur Street, from St. Ann (by Jackson Square) to Ursulines Street, where it then follows N. Peters, from Ursulines Street to Barracks Street (the end of the Flea Market).

Walking to the French Market

If you're in Jackson Square, you can see Cafe du Monde through the iron fence along Decatur Street. You're ready to walk the Market! If you'd like to follow the Walking Tour as we've laid it out here, walk down Decatur Street to Barracks, then turn right (towards the river) at Barracks, and begin at the Flea Market. The walk down Decatur is a fascinating one in its own right, with the Tujague's, the Italian Groceries (Progress and Central), Santa's Quarters (a Christmas store), and many other interesting buildings and shops.

Driving and Parking

Driving into the Quarter is always a challenge. We strongly urge you not to mess with our meter maids, particularly in the Quarter. These are ruthless people who will stop at nothing to write a ticket for the most inconsequential violation. In the Quarter, there's a very practical side to this, in that cars that really are violating parking laws threaten the ability of the fire department to get in where they might be needed in case of a fire. We're very sensitive about fires in the Quarter, since the Vieux Carre' has been destroyed twice already in its history by fire. In other words, find a lot and park in it. There's a lot that runs the length of the French Market on the other side of the floodwall, in-between the market buildings and the train tracks. The entrance to this lot is at St. Peter and Decatur, right next to Jax Brewery and across from Jackson Square. There's also a big lot at Elysian Fields and N. Peters, which is two blocks from the Flea Market. In addition, Jax Brewery has two big lots over at Conti and Decatur. Don't risk being towed by parking on the street!

Bus and Streetcar

The RTA's Vieux Carre Shuttle will put you out right at St. Ann and Decatur, or will run you all the way down to Barracks. A much more exciting method of getting down to Barracks, however, would be to take the Riverfront Streetcar all the way to Stop #1 at Esplanade and the river. This puts you out at the Old US Mint, and you can walk to the Flea Market from there. When we visit the Quarter, we'll park way over by the Convention Center (Julia Street and the River), in the Riverwalk parking lot. We'll board the Riverfront line at Julia Street and ride down to Esplanade. The kids love it. The fare for the Riverfront line is $1.25 one-way.

A Note on Safety

The French Market is a wonderful place to explore, but we recommend that you limit your walks at nighttime to the area by the Butcher's Market and Bazaar. This is the area from St. Ann to St. Phillip Streets. The lighting is much darker past this section, and our crime problem in the metro area has worsened enough over the last couple of years that we'd feel better if you'd stay where it's lit better and the police expect to find tourists.