Garden District

The Garden District was developed in the middle 19th century, and is where the mercantile elite built their in-town estates. Unlike the narrow parcels of the French Quarter or surrounding neighborhoods, house lots here were divided up with just four houses per city block, allowing plenty of room for landscaping and greenery. (Hence the name.) While many of the original lots have been further subdivided and built upon, the Garden District—basically bounded by St. Charles Avenue, Magazine Street, Louisiana Avenue, and Jackson Avenue—is still possessed of an eerie, shady charm, ripe with examples of 19th-century architectural styles like Gothic and Greek Revival. It’s an easy excursion from downtown by hopping the St. Charles Streetcar, then disembarking around Washington Street and walking toward the river.