New Orleans Spring Break

Catch a bus this afternoon to Canal Street, then take the St. Charles Streetcar out to the Garden District. Streetcars are icons of New Orleans. The St. Charles Streetcar is the most famous as it is said to be the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world. The Garden District provides excellent insight into how wealthy New Orleanians live – in grand mansions on large blocks of land, with beautiful, lush gardens and well-kept lawns. These are the homes built by wealthy city merchants, bankers and planters. On a self-guided walking tour of the Garden District, your first stop is Lafayette Cemetery. There are two Lafayette Cemeteries. Turn right into Washington Avenue after getting off the St. Charles Streetcar instead of left, you will end up at Lafayette Cemetery No. 2. We had intended to visit the famous, walled Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 with its lavish, ornately decorated tombs, where tombs tell the story of a yellow fever epidemic. Lafayette Cemetery No. 2 was our first int...

  Day 1: Exploring the French Quarter Note: Arrive in New Orleans the night before. Take a self-guided walking tour of the French Quarter – thoroughly exploring the Lower French Quarter. Being set in a grid pattern, the French Quarter, the historic heart of New Orleans, is easy to walk around and find your way. Head from Jazz Quarters to the Mississippi River, we walk down Esplanade Avenue – a broad, tree-lined, 2-kilometre-long residential street bordered by beautiful old Creole homes. Your first stop is the flea market within the French Market. Walking the length of the French Market, which also incorporates a farmer’s market and runs parallel to North Peters Street, turn right into Ursulines Street. Your destination is the Old Ursuline Convent on the corner of Ursulines and Chartres Streets. Built in 1752, the Old Ursuline Convent is the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley. Explore through the Convent. Of most interest are the rooms telling the history of the Battle of New...