Neighborhood 48H guide
Mid-City / Bayou St. John: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
City Park’s oaks, NOMA’s sculpture garden, a po’boy at Parkway and the Canal streetcar back downtown.
Mid-City stretches up Canal Street toward City Park and Bayou St. John: a residential area of shotgun houses and neighborhood restaurants, with City Park, the New Orleans Museum of Art and its sculpture garden at the top.
Photo gallery
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Infrogmation · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
City Park and the bayou are on foot, and the Canal streetcar runs straight downtown.
Who it's for: Families, Jazz Fest-goers and anyone who wants space, parks and local restaurants.
Pros
- City Park and NOMA
- Neighborhood restaurants
- Streetcar to downtown
Cons
- 25–30 minutes to the Quarter by streetcar
- Very few hotels
- Spread out
48H in Mid-City
City Park, NOMA, po’boys and the streetcar.
10:00 – NOMA & the Sculpture Garden
Art museum and a free sculpture garden in City Park.
12:30 – Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Roast beef and shrimp po’boys by Bayou St. John. Closed Mon–Tue.
15:00 – Bayou St. John
Walk or paddle along the bayou.
19:00 – Mandina’s
Old-school Creole-Italian dinner on Canal Street.
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
Parkway Bakery & Tavern
538 Hagan Ave
Po’boy institution since 1911. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Official site / map →Eat
Mandina’s Restaurant
3800 Canal St
Family-run Creole-Italian restaurant on Canal.
Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
New Orleans Museum of Art & Besthoff Sculpture Garden
1 Collins Diboll Cir
The city’s art museum and a free sculpture garden.
Official site / map →See / do
Canal Streetcar
Canal St
Red streetcars run from City Park and the cemeteries to the river.
Photo: Infrogmation · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Outdoors
Outdoors
City Park
1 Palm Dr
1,300 acres of oaks, lagoons and gardens.
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
Inn at the Old Jail
2552 St Philip St
Nine-room guesthouse in a restored 1902 jail near Bayou Road, with free parking.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Mid-City / Bayou St. John.
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 Mid-City / Bayou St. John 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.
- Garden District / Uptown — Mansions under the oaks, Commander’s Palace, Lafayette Cemetery tours and the streetcar to Audubon Park.