About The French Quarter
Home to the second most registered historic houses per capita in America
Founded as a military-style grid of seventy squares in 1718 by French Canadian naval officer Jean Baptiste Bienville, the French Quarter of New Orleans has charted a course of urbanism for parts of four centuries.
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans which is often called "the most unique city in America". It is widely known for Bourbon Street and its Mardi Gras celebrations
As one of the country’s most-haunted cities, it comes to life in October as well, with haunted houses, cemetery tours, macabre museums, and, of course, a huge parade. In the mid-twentieth century, historic preservationists successfully began the authentic restoration of this eighteenth-century “time capsule," a project that continues to this day.
When you’re visiting New Orleans, especially if you take the time to walk around the French Quarter at night, it is easy to see why many people make this claim.
The spooky streets and alleyways come alive as your imagination plays tricks on you. It seems as if every alleyway, every door, and every window into an historic home, can be harboring one of New Orleans’ ghosts.
Every home you come to is easy to imagine it being haunted, with the ghosts inside tormenting the living. The French Quarter occupies the same 6×13 block area laid out in 1722 as the original City of New Orleans.
The French Quarter port town of New Orleans has the second most registered historic houses per capita in America with over 10,500 (second only to St. Augustine, FL). Time.com listed New Orleans as one of the world's 100 greatest places in 2021.
The French Quarter is among the most recognizable half-square miles in the world and is synonymous with the city as a whole. It is bounded by Rampart Street, Esplanade Avenue, Canal Street, and the Mississippi River. Although certain areas are well known to tourists, there are actually several distinct neighborhoods.
The French Quarter is what many call the heart of New Orleans. This famous city on the Mississippi River turned 300 years old in 2018. This rich history is felt as soon as you enter the French Quarter and become entranced by the architecture, Cajun cuisine and lively music coming from restaurants and street corners.
Vieux Carré Historic District (French Quarter) was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 21, 1965. Many of the buildings have been documented by the National Park Service’s Historic American Buildings Survey. The Vieux Carré is also the subject of an online lesson plan, The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans.
The lesson plan has been produced by the National Park Service’s "Teaching With Historic Places" program which offers a series of more than 160 classroom-ready lesson plans that use historic sites as a means for exploring American history.
Originally, buildings in the French Quarter were constructed of wood, which quickly decayed in damp surroundings. Today only one French colonial building remains – the ca. 1750 Ursuline Convent, now the Archive of the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.