Neighborhood 48H guide
Garden District / Uptown: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Mansions under the oaks, Commander’s Palace, Lafayette Cemetery tours and the streetcar to Audubon Park.
The Garden District is the 19th-century American suburb of grand houses and gardens between St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street. Uptown continues upriver along the streetcar to Tulane, Loyola and Audubon Park.
Photo gallery
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: MusikAnimal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Beautiful walking streets, Magazine Street’s shops and the streetcar out the door, about 20 minutes from the Quarter.
Who it's for: Couples, architecture lovers and families who want a leafy, quieter base.
Pros
- Some of the most beautiful streets in the US
- Commander’s Palace and Magazine Street
- Streetcar to Audubon Park
Cons
- 20 minutes by streetcar to the Quarter
- Quiet at night
- Few hotels
48H in the Garden District
A cemetery tour, Commander’s lunch, the streetcar to Audubon Park.
10:00 – Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 tour
Reopened for guided tours in October 2026 after seven years.
12:00 – Commander’s Palace
Weekday lunch with famously cheap martinis. Dress code applies.
14:00 – Walk the Garden District
Prytania, Coliseum and First Streets for the grand houses.
10:00 – Day 2: Audubon Park
Take the streetcar Uptown and walk the oak-lined loop.
19:30 – Pêche Seafood Grill
Gulf seafood in the Warehouse District, a short streetcar ride back downtown.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
Commander’s Palace
1403 Washington Ave
The turquoise Creole landmark since 1893.
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Shop
Shop
Magazine Street
Magazine St
Six miles of shops, galleries and cafés along the Garden District and Uptown.
Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
1400 Washington Ave
1833 cemetery of above-ground tombs, open again for guided tours.
Photo: MusikAnimal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Outdoors
Outdoors
Audubon Park
6500 Magazine St
Live oaks, a lagoon and a 1.8-mile path, across from Tulane.
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
The Pontchartrain Hotel
2031 St Charles Ave
1927 hotel on St. Charles with the Hot Tin rooftop bar, at the edge of the Garden District.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Garden District / Uptown.
New Orleans limits short-term rentals: whole-home rentals are banned in most of the French Quarter and capped in residential blocks. Book listings that show a city permit number.
Browse vacation rentals in Garden District / Uptown on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in New Orleans
- French Quarter — Jackson Square, beignets at Café du Monde, a muffuletta at Central Grocery and jazz at Preservation Hall.
- Marigny — Live music on Frenchmen Street, the night art market and Creole cottages under the oaks.
- Bywater — Crescent Park on the river, wine in Bacchanal’s backyard and a long brunch at Elizabeth’s.
- Tremé — Congo Square, St. Augustine Church, Mardi Gras Indian suits at the Backstreet museum and gumbo at Dooky Chase’s.
- CBD / Canal Street — The Roosevelt’s Sazerac Bar, fried chicken at Willie Mae’s and the river at the foot of Canal.
- Warehouse / Arts District — The WWII Museum, Southern art at the Ogden, galleries on Julia Street and dinner at Cochon.
- Lower Garden District — Coliseum Square’s oaks, Magazine Street shops and the best sandwich at Turkey and the Wolf.
- Mid-City / Bayou St. John — City Park’s oaks, NOMA’s sculpture garden, a po’boy at Parkway and the Canal streetcar back downtown.