On this page
- Which is the best area to stay in New Orleans for your kind of trip?
- How far is each area from Jackson Square on foot?
- Which hotel areas does the airport's $36 New Orleans taxi fare cover?
- How many minutes is the St. Charles streetcar from Jackson, Napoleon and Broadway to Canal Street?
- Which streetcars reach the Marigny, Mid-City and the riverfront from Canal Street?
- What does a $200 New Orleans room pay in tax at a large hotel, an inn or a B&B?
- Must a New Orleans hotel put its resort fee in the first price you see?
- How many more 90°F days does Uptown's Audubon station count than the airport?
- Where does the 2026 hurricane season stand for a late-November stay in New Orleans?
- FAQ
Where to stay in New Orleans depends on how far you will walk to the French Quarter and which streetcar line passes your door. From Jackson Square, the Faubourg Marigny is about 0.7 miles on foot by our own routing, and the St. Charles streetcar reaches its St. Charles at Napoleon stop in 21 to 28 minutes from Canal Street.
Nine areas are compared here, and no hotel is named or recommended. Our overview of New Orleans covers the airport bus, the passes and the sights. We read the figures below on 13 November 2026 on the pages of the RTA, the airport, the Louisiana Department of Revenue and the City's tax-return instructions. We also read the federal eCFR, the FTC, NOAA, the National Hurricane Center and the National Park Service.
Which is the best area to stay in New Orleans for your kind of trip?
The best area to stay in New Orleans for a first trip without a car is the French Quarter or the CBD, in our judgement. The airport's page names only those two for its $36 flat taxi fare, and both are under a mile's walk from Jackson Square on our own routing.
The other areas trade that walk for a streetcar ride. No official page we read ranks the city's neighbourhoods, so the last column is ours.
| Area | Streetcar line nearby | Flat airport taxi fare | Suits, in our judgement |
|---|---|---|---|
| French Quarter | 49 Riverfront at French Market | $36, west of Elysian Fields | A first trip on foot, without a car |
| Faubourg Marigny | 46 Rampart/Loyola, St. Claude at Elysian Fields | None printed | A walking trip close to the Quarter |
| Bywater | None; the nearest is the 46's last stop | None printed | A stay that accepts a longer walk or a ride |
| CBD | 12 St. Charles starts here; 47 and 48 at the ferry terminal | $36 | A trip that uses several streetcar lines |
| Warehouse District | 49 Riverfront ends at Julia Station | Not named by the airport | A trip built around the museums or the Convention Center |
| Lower Garden District | 12 St. Charles at Jackson | None printed | A streetcar trip, about 25 to 30 minutes door to door |
| Garden District | 12 St. Charles, Jackson or Napoleon stops | None printed | A stay among the Garden District's houses |
| Uptown | 12 St. Charles at Napoleon and Broadway | None printed | A longer stay that uses the streetcar every day |
| Mid-City | 47 and 48 Canal | None printed | A trip built around City Park or Canal Street |
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park's safety page asks visitors to travel in groups, stay in well-lit areas and carry no large amounts of cash. That page was last updated on 13 September 2019. We did not compare the areas on safety or noise, and for an emergency the number is 911.
Before booking a whole apartment, check the City of New Orleans's current short-term rental rules, which we could not read.
How far is each area from Jackson Square on foot?
Jackson Square is about 0.6 miles on foot from the streetcar terminus at Canal and Carondelet, by our own routing. The Marigny's Washington Square is about 0.7 miles away. Beyond the Quarter, the CBD and the Marigny, we print distances only, because those walks are not a plan.
| From Jackson Square to | On foot, our routing |
|---|---|
| French Quarter Visitor Center, 419 Decatur Street | About 0.3 mi, 7 min |
| French Market streetcar stop, French Quarter | About 0.5 mi, 11 min |
| Canal at Carondelet, CBD | About 0.6 mi, 13 min |
| Washington Square, Faubourg Marigny | About 0.7 mi, 14 min |
| 2800 Chartres Street, Bywater | About 1.0 mi |
| Convention Center, Warehouse District | About 1.2 mi |
| Coliseum Square, Lower Garden District | About 1.7 mi |
| Canal at S. Broad, Mid-City | About 2.0 mi |
| Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Garden District | About 2.8 mi |
| New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park | About 3.0 mi |
| St. Charles at Napoleon, Uptown | About 3.5 mi |
Our routing is approximate and walks at about 2.8 mph, slower than a brisk walk. We found no official walking figure to check it against.
By streetcar, our own sum of the printed ride and the walk from Canal at Carondelet comes to about 25 to 30 minutes from St. Charles at Jackson. From Napoleon the sum is about 35 to 40 minutes, and from Broadway about 45 to 50. Those figures leave out the wait for a car.
Which hotel areas does the airport's $36 New Orleans taxi fare cover?
The airport's $36 taxi flat fare covers only the Central Business District and the French Quarter west of Elysian Fields, for up to two passengers. Three or more passengers pay $15 each, and taxis must accept credit cards.
The airport prints no fare for the Marigny, the Bywater, the Garden District, Uptown or Mid-City. Its page does not say on which side of its line a Marigny or Bywater address falls. Nor does it say whether the Warehouse District counts with the CBD.
For French Quarter hotels and the CBD, the flat fare is a figure to plan with. Elsewhere the airport gives none, so settle the fare before the ride starts.
How many minutes is the St. Charles streetcar from Jackson, Napoleon and Broadway to Canal Street?
The St. Charles streetcar, RTA line 12, takes 12 to 15 minutes inbound from St. Charles at Jackson to Canal at Carondelet, 21 to 26 from Napoleon and 31 to 37 from Broadway. Those are our readings of the printed columns of RTA's Fall 2026 timetable, in force from 20 September 2026. They count minutes in the car and leave out the wait.
| Line 12 stop | Outbound from Canal at Carondelet | Inbound to Canal at Carondelet |
|---|---|---|
| St. Charles at Jackson | 12 to 17 min | 12 to 15 min |
| St. Charles at Napoleon | 21 to 28 min | 21 to 26 min |
| St. Charles at Broadway | 30 to 39 min | 31 to 37 min |
The Garden District is reached from the Jackson or Napoleon stops in our routing. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 there is about 2.8 miles from Jackson Square on foot, which is why the streetcar suits a Garden District base.
A single ride costs $1.25. RTA's timetable says to use exact change if you pay cash on board, because drivers do not carry cash. RTA's fares page suggests paying in its Le Pass app instead.
Which streetcars reach the Marigny, Mid-City and the riverfront from Canal Street?
Four more streetcar lines serve the areas away from St. Charles Avenue: the 46 Rampart/Loyola towards the Marigny, the 47 and 48 along Canal Street to Mid-City, and the 49 Riverfront by the river. The figures below are our reading of the same Fall 2026 timetable, which covers all five lines in one file.
| Line | Runs between | Printed ride, our reading | Printed frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46 Rampart/Loyola | St. Claude at Elysian Fields, Canal at S. Rampart, Union Passenger Terminal | 12 min to Canal at S. Rampart, 20 min to the terminal | About every 30 min |
| 47 Canal/Cemeteries | Canal St Ferry Terminal to Cemeteries Transit Terminal | About 33 min end to end | Alternates with the 48 on Canal Street |
| 48 Canal/City Park | Canal St Ferry Terminal to the Museum of Art | About 33 min end to end | Alternates with the 47 on Canal Street |
| 49 Riverfront | French Market, Canal Street Station, Julia Station | 8 min to Canal Street, 11 min to Julia | 44 min apart early, 15 min in the afternoon |
The 46's last stop, St. Claude at Elysian Fields, is about 0.3 miles in a straight line from the Marigny's Washington Square. RTA's streetcar map shows bus lines 8, 55 and 80 at Elysian Fields and line 91 at Esplanade.
Canal at S. Rampart is the stop the 46, 47 and 48 share, and the nearest streetcar stop to Tremé in RTA's stop file. A Mid-City base on Canal at S. Broad is about 2.0 miles from Jackson Square on foot, so the Canal line is the way in.
RTA's own pages disagree about the 49 Riverfront. A service-change notice says the line no longer serves Canal Street, while the Fall 2026 timetable and RTA's stop file both list a Canal Street stop. Check the line before you choose a riverfront base for it.
The Warehouse District in July 2021. The Convention Center there is about 1.2 miles from Jackson Square on foot, by our own routing.
What does a $200 New Orleans room pay in tax at a large hotel, an inn or a B&B?
A $200 room in New Orleans pays $31 to $33 in tax a night at a hotel of 10 or more rooms, by our own arithmetic. A smaller inn pays less. The 15% plus per-night charges applies to hotels of 10 or more rooms. That 15% is the state's 3%, 4% for the Stadium and Exposition District, 3% for the Exhibition Hall Authority and the City's 5%.
Smaller properties pay a lower total. The state charges 5% on rooms at places of nine or fewer, and the stadium and hall-authority taxes start at ten rooms. The City's 5% starts at six rooms, and its per-night charge is $0.50 from 3 to 299 rooms and none at two or fewer.
| Property | Percentage taxes | Per-night charges | Tax on a $200 room, one night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100-room hotel | 15% | $1.00 | $31.00 |
| 300-room hotel | 15% | $2.00 | $32.00 |
| 1,000-room hotel | 15% | $3.00 | $33.00 |
| 8-room inn, our reading of the rules | 10% | $0.50 | $20.50 |
| 4-room B&B, our reading of the rules | 5% | $0.50 | $10.50 |
The $200 is our invented example, not a published rate, and no official page prints any of these totals. The state's rate table lists the hall authority's 3% with no room count, while its hall-authority page says only places of ten or more rooms file. If the table governs, the eight-room inn would pay $6 more, or $26.50.
The City's nightly charge does not apply to a room let to one guest for 30 or more consecutive days. Our guide to sales tax in the USA covers the tax on everything beyond the room.
Must a New Orleans hotel put its resort fee in the first price you see?
A New Orleans hotel must put a mandatory resort fee inside the total price under the FTC's rule, 16 CFR Part 464. The rule has covered hotels and short-term rentals since 12 May 2025. The total is the most a guest must pay, and it must be shown more prominently than any other price.
Taxes and other government charges may be left out of that total, so the layers above can still come on top. A fee left out of the total must still be disclosed, with its amount and purpose, before you agree to pay. A state law that protects guests more still applies, the rule says.
We found no Louisiana or New Orleans rule on resort or amenity fees, and we did not search the state's statutes. Whether a resort fee carries the hotel taxes above was not confirmed.
How many more 90°F days does Uptown's Audubon station count than the airport?
Uptown's Audubon weather station counts 105.6 days a year at 90°F or more, against 85.2 at the airport in Kenner, on NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals. Audubon's July average high is 93.9°F against 91.4°F at the airport, while the average lows sit within 1°F of each other in every month below.
| Month | Airport high | Airport low | Audubon high | Audubon low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62.5°F | 46.1°F | 64.3°F | 46.5°F |
| April | 78.5°F | 61.7°F | 80.9°F | 62.0°F |
| July | 91.4°F | 76.5°F | 93.9°F | 76.6°F |
| October | 80.6°F | 64.3°F | 82.6°F | 64.7°F |
Audubon also gets 64.60 inches of rain a year, against 63.35 at the airport. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park's safety page calls heat and humidity major safety hazards in south Louisiana. For a summer stay Uptown, that makes the streetcar a better plan than the walk, in our judgement.
Where does the 2026 hurricane season stand for a late-November stay in New Orleans?
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season runs until 30 November, and on 13 November 2026 the National Hurricane Center said there were no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic. The next season opens on 1 June, and the centre puts most activity between mid-August and mid-October.
We did not research hotel cancellation terms in a storm. Read a booking's own terms before you pay for a stay between June and November. The rest of the state is on our page about Louisiana.