Neighborhood · New Orleans, Louisiana
French Quarter
The place
French founding, Spanish architecture, Southern charm, American soul.
The grid was laid out in the 1720s, but fires in 1788 and 1794 took nearly all of it, and what rose afterward rose under Spanish building rules — which is why the Quarter is courtyards, stucco and wrought iron rather than anything you'd find in France. Louisiana created the Vieux Carré Commission in the 1930s, among the earliest historic-district protections in the country, and every exterior change has gone through review since. Owners complain about it endlessly and would riot if it were repealed. What you buy here is a courtyard nobody can see from the street, a balcony over a city that never fully goes quiet, and membership in one of the few American neighborhoods that has been continuously inhabited for three centuries. The latest census estimates count more housing units here than residents — roughly 4,500 to 3,100.
- Area
- 360± acres1
- Homes
- ≈4,5002
- Population
- ≈3,1003
historic-district boundary
housing units
npgallery.nps.gov (1975) · datacenterresearch.org (2020–2024 ACS) · datacenterresearch.org (2020–2024 ACS)
What makes it different
The original city — its street grid was plotted in 1721 under French military engineers Le Blond de la Tour and Adrien de Pauger, and the plan still holds.
A National Historic Landmark district bounded by Canal Street, Rampart Street, Esplanade Avenue, and the Mississippi River.
Unlike much of the New Orleans area, the Quarter sits above sea level.
What brings people here
Jackson Square — the 1721 Place d'Armes of Pauger's plan — with St. Louis Cathedral at its head.
The French Market on the Decatur Street riverfront, where parts of the original market buildings remain.
Some eighty-five blocks of Creole architecture held intact under the Vieux Carré Commission's design review.
Around the French Quarter
- Brennan's417 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
- Napoleon House500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
- Acme Oyster House724 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
- Oceana Grill739 Conti St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
- Pat O'Brien's718 St Peter, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA
- Ruby Slipper204 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
- Cafe Beignet, Royal Street334 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
- Deanie's Seafood Restaurant in the French Quarter841 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
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Neighborhoods
A causeway separates these markets. Almost nothing else about them matches.
Mandeville
The Northshore's historic gateway.
Madisonville
For two hundred years, the answer to "what do people do here" was: build boats.
Abita Springs
A town founded on the belief that the water would fix you.
Beau Chêne
Thirty-six holes, a marina on the Tchefuncte, and seventeen miles of road that lead nowhere but home.
Terra Bella
A planned development where the plan came first — and it's still being built out to it.
Contact
Questions about a street, a subdivision, or what actually sold last month — ask.