Travel Safely in New Orleans

October 10, 2007 11:22 AM

How concerned do I need to be about my own safety when I visit New Orleans in early November? I'm a young woman, mostly touring the city alone.

I probably won't have a car. I'll be staying near the intersection of Canal and Basin Streets. I'd like to walk to Bourbon St to get beignets, and see some live music in the French Quarter. I might also take a Bayou tour or go to the Audubon Zoo.

To be clear, I'm not the kind of person that believes that every stranger on the street is out to harm me. I certainly don't have any preconceived notions about New Orleans' citizens having more potential to harm me than any other city I've ever been to. I just want to know what's reasonable to expect. I try to be a rational person when it comes to personal safety. I am aware of my surroundings, I look like I know where I'm going, and apparently those have kept me safe in my (admittedly few) travels thus far.

I don't want to skip something and in this great city and miss out because I'm irrationally fearful, so is there anything special I need to be aware of? Any places I should absolutely stay away from? I've read the other threads on what to do in New Orleans, but I'd be happy to hear any suggestions for stuff to see.

posted by sarahnade to travel & transportation (18 comments total)

You'll be fine. Take the streetcar outbound, there's some great food midtown. Be sure to check Magazine St. and the Loyola/Tulane area. The Garden District, I believe it's called.
posted by rhizome at 11:59 AM on October 10, 2007

i was there this summer and felt very safe. the only creepy parts are so obviously creepy there's no way you'd accidentally go there. downtown is a just drunk tourists, just like you'd expect.
posted by twistofrhyme at 12:01 PM on October 10, 2007

I was there in November 2006 and I would say that there were so many people around from 9am to 3am in the French Quarter that you shouldn't fear being a solitary person on a street coming up against a surly mob. There are just too many people out enjoying themselves.

We did take an after dark "Voodoo tour" that had us walking through the residential neighborhoods that are next to the Quarter. It was pretty desolate so I could see where you might not be super comfortable about doing that (but if you wanted to see it, do it doing the day or take a tour like we did).

Even in its post-Katrina state there were a tremendous number of antique shops and art galleries that were open. I'd say there is a lot for you to see. The St. Louis Cemetery #1 was pretty interesting. Enjoy.
posted by mmascolino at 12:07 PM on October 10, 2007

Be this person:

"I am aware of my surroundings"

and you'll be fine.

And there are places that you should probably not go, though I can't imagine why you would go to those places anyway. If you do get lost and feel uncomfortable somewhere, head back to the crowd, which is probably still in earshot, or at least be with a friend.

And if you plan on getting drunk, again, be with a friend. A friend that is fairly sober.

Follow canal street south from basin. Once you cross Rampart, all the streets to your left will be the French Quarter. Don't get beignets on Bourbon. In fact, Bourbon is one of the least "New Orleans" places in town, and a haven for pickpocketers preying on out of towners, so I'd recommend checking it out briefly and moving on. There are several more fascinating areas in the vieux carre.

You can take the canal streetcar to St. Charles, and pick up the bus, which will take you all the way uptown to Audubon. The bus is safe, and so is the zoo.

My email is in my profile. Feel free to write if you have any specific questions.

Please don't wear beads.
posted by gordie at 12:13 PM on October 10, 2007

You'll be fine. New Orleans is no more dangerous for the average person than any other large city.

We get a bad rap for the high murder rate, but it's only a certain subset of citizens that are shooting each other, not the general populace.

Lucky for you, it looks like the St. Charles streetcars will be running in time for your trip (the paper is saying November 1). You'll be able to hop on the St. Charles line all the way down to Audobon Park and take a nice walk through the park to get to Audobon Zoo.

You'll be right across the street from the French Quarter and you'll be able to walk or take the Canal St. streetcar to the river front.

Enjoy your trip. The weather should be great. Eat a lot of food. There's nothing to worry about.
posted by andrewdunn at 12:22 PM on October 10, 2007

People have been robbed in St Louis Cemetery. It would be instructive if a NO resident replied to this question. It seems that the OP has the right attitude. An impression one gets in NO is that one can't always tell just by looks which areas are safe and which are not. This was pre Katrina, perhaps things have changed since and everything is clear as day. I would qualify the above statement by saying that just cause a neighborhood looked a bit rundown it can be fine, the next street over might not be all that safe though.
posted by flummox at 12:22 PM on October 10, 2007

I was there in August. (Young woman.) There were times and places near the French Quarter I wouldn't have felt comfortable alone. But that goes for all medium/big cities. I would just be alert as anywhere else.

Frenchmen's Street has the best live music I heard in NO. I would take a cab there and back at night, though.
posted by Amizu at 12:36 PM on October 10, 2007

I found I needed to stay aware of my surroundings when I visited in 2001. It's not necessarily dangerous, but areas can morph from touristy and crowded, to eerie and deserted if you're not paying attention. You may also be harassed by rowdy drunks if you wander Bourbon Street at night alone.

That said, you'll be fine by yourself in the French Quarter, on the streetcar, and in the Garden District alone during the day. For other areas or at night, I'd join a walking tour to get around, and take taxis.

New Orleans is a beautifully creepy and unpredictable city. I loved it but you do gotta keep your wits about you! (For the record, I've visited many cities all over the world, and I don't think I'm overly paranoid.)
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 12:38 PM on October 10, 2007

I grew up in Metairie, which is a suburb north and west of the city. Maybe my experiences will help.

First, even though I was instilled with the fear of the Big Bad City from my parents who got it from their parents, it's quite a safe place. There are certain neighborhoods you should not enter alone, but none of those are on the paths you mentioned.

Second, understand the media is there to report whatever gets ratings. People like to cling onto the media's notion of the city being something slightly better than a war-zone, but it's honestly not that bad.

Third, most violent crimes are either in areas you won't be and aren't committed against random strangers. This is not to say that there's no possible way you'd get mugged or held up or worse, but it's about as likely there as anywhere else.

Fourth, understand that MANY people who don't live in Orleans Parish and/or New Orleans are VERY frightened of the city. It's hard to go into this without a long story. Suffice it to say this is multi-generational and has its roots in slavery and civil rights struggles. Most kids in Jefferson and elsewhere are taught the city is filled with Big Bad People who will hurt you.

Having offered all that, here are my general tips:

1. Be aware of your surroundings, like in any big city.

2. Put on an air of confidence and purpose. Try not to look lost. Again, this is good advice in any big city.

3. Tend to shy away from streets less populated. The Quarter, especially at night, is well-populated. There are streets, however, that tend to be dark and less-travelled. Again, it's unlikely anything would happen there, but you can stay away from those streets if you feel less safe.

4. Like in any city, don't allow strangers to engage you in random conversations if it's not part of your current environment. I'm talking about people who are asking for money or tempting you with "bets" about "where you got your shoes at". This is the same advice you'd hear if you went to Boston.

A couple of other fun tips:

1. Cafe Du Monde is on Decatur, not Burbon. You'd figure this out soon enough! ;-)

2. If you want a slightly different take on beignets, hike a cab to The Morning Call in Metairie. It was a old beignet/coffee stand that was literally shipped from New Orleans into Metairie. Some folks like the coffee and donuts better there.

3. Don't narrow your focus to the Quarter. There are a lot of good restaurants and things to do outside of the Quarter. If you like coffee in general, a really nice place with a flavor is CC's Coffee on Esplanade near The New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park.

4. If you like architecture, a nice place outside the Quarter is Tulane and Loyola Universities down St. Charles. Sadly, a lot of Tulane's historical archives were lost in Katrina, but there is still a lot of neat stuff to see there and you can go at your own pace.

5. Try to go to Audubon Zoo. It's one of the world's best rated Zoos and there are many reasons why.

6. While a little touristy and hokey, the night-time steamboat rides are nice. If you just want to go across the river just to do it, take the Algiers ferry from New Orleans to Algiers and back. It's quick and will put you on the river.

I have to offer a last caveat. I don't live there anymore. My parents and brother do and I visit very often. It's possible some of the fun places I've mentoned above aren't so fun because they've not been restored since Katrina. For instance, I think you'll need to take a cab or bus to anything way down St. Charles as the street car lines have not all been restored. The zoo is pretty much back to operation.

Hope this helps!!

Cheers.
posted by tcv at 12:38 PM on October 10, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Having grown up just outside New Orleans, as a counterpoint to all the cheerfulness above, I've had friends pistol-whipped, brutally mugged, or shot. Many of these crimes happened in tourist areas (like right off Bourbon), rather than in "the obviously bad areas that you'd be smart enough to avoid."

Don't get too drunk if you're going to be walking around away from crowds outside, and be sure to carry pepper spray or a stun gun.

But it's a fun city, and odds are you'll be just fine.
posted by J-Train at 12:46 PM on October 10, 2007

FAQs and their answers for tourists in New Orleans:

Q: Betcha I know where you got your shoes?
A: On my feet.

Q: Betcha I know how many kids your daddy had?
A: None, my mama had them all.

Q: If you tell me your first name, betcha I know how many letters you got in your last name?
A: 12, Y-O-U-R-L-A-S-T-N-A-M-E.

posted by turbodog at 1:26 PM on October 10, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Well, this was a long time ago (1990) so things might have changed dramatically since I was last in NO. I went down for Mardi Gras with 3 girlfriends and a male friend. I do consider myself to be rather streetwise and hardly ever feel in danger and have lived in big cities for the last 18 years. We were all about 21 or 22 and were on our way home to my sister's place after an evening parade. She lived on Magazine Street, which at the time was pretty sketchy and I've heard it's gotten much better. We were all sober. In the middle of a deserted intersection, the four of us crossed on foot diagonally (like I said it was totally deserted) and seemingly out of nowhere we were surrounded on all sides by a bunch of kids. My guess is that they were all teenagers but ranged from about 13 or so through 18 or 19. It was hard to tell in the dark but I think there was about 5-6 of them. They surrounded us instantly and started hitting us. The sad truth is that they attacked us with plastic baseball bats that I think had been thrown off a float earlier in the day. Mostly they just shocked us, they didn't hurt us much at all but did manage to get my friend's purse off of her.

After they ran off, we high-tailed it home and called the police. From our description of the location and timing, they guessed that these kids were the same gang of hoodlums that had been reported doing similar things in the neighborhood all night. And the cop later called and said they'd been caught and at least one of them had a gun.

I don't mean to scare you but that is the only time I've ever been assaulted. It was pretty benign and could have happened anywhere but I've never felt the same about the city since then. I had been twice before that trip and I would go back in an instant.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:39 PM on October 10, 2007

I just got back from NO, and I had a great time. I got hit up with the "I becha I know where you got you shoes" thing, though. Took me off-guard (it's been a while since I've lived in a city).

NOLA is a beautiful place, but some people there are desperate. Take taxis around, don't flash your money, don't 'wear' your camera; all the regular city advice.

You'll be fine. It will be impossible to avoid hearing some kick-ass music at some point in your trip. Have fun.
posted by Pecinpah at 2:08 PM on October 10, 2007

I live in New Orleans and get the impression that a few others who responded do too. Gordie and tcv seem to have it right. The one thing I would add is that you are staying in a part of town that might seem a bit sketchy. The few blocks of Canal around Rampart Street (and Basin) can feel a little bleak and deserted, even during the day.

The parts of town that you are likely to visit are, I think, relatively safe, but I would exercise particular caution if you plan to walk to your hotel, particularly if it's after night of drinking (which, despite the tendency of many to look down their noses, is one of many valid ways to enjoy the city). If you do decide to spend a late night in the Quarter, I would spring for a cab back to your hotel.

This site will let you pull up various crime maps to get a better sense of what you're looking at. I would pay particular attention to the times at which the crimes are committed.
posted by lionelhutz5 at 2:15 PM on October 10, 2007

i second packing the proper supplies
posted by Salvatorparadise at 2:22 PM on October 10, 2007

Actually, lionelhutz5 makes a good point about the cab, especially later in the evening. United Cab is pretty ubiquitous around town...504-522-9771. Or just ask the bartender to call you one.

The St. Charles Streetcar will, god-willing, be open from Canal to Napoleon by then, though I don't think it'll go all the way to Audubon until early next year. A bus transfer at the end of the line costs a quarter. Don't miss the chance to ride it if it is open.

We all know people with some New Orleans horror stories, and I won't claim that it's the safest city in the country, but you sound like you have a head on your shoulders. Be safe, be aware, but don't stay locked up in your hotel room the whole time. If I'm sounding a little too encouraging, it's because I think you'll love your visit, I like it when people visit, and quite frankly, we need visitors.
posted by gordie at 5:44 PM on October 10, 2007

Just be careful. I don't go outside alone at night, even in my residential neighborhood (not far from the FQ.)

Being aware of your surroundings at all time is always a good idea. So is taking a cab to/from your hotel at night.
posted by pyjammy at 1:23 PM on October 11, 2007

Did you have fun?
posted by anthill at 2:39 PM on November 10, 2007