New Orleans/Mid-City and Esplanade Ridge

Mid-City is a portion of New Orleans in the center of the metropolitan area, about midway between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. It is less visited by tourists than more famous areas like the French Quarter, but has impressive attractions of its own.

The area of Mid-City around the Fairgrounds and the nearby portion of Esplanade Avenue is often called the Bayou St. John neighborhood or Esplanade Ridge. The old Bayou itself can be seen when you cross the bridge over it at the tail of Esplanade in front of City Park; it is a calm long finger of water constrained by grassy levees as it winds through the old urban neighborhood.

Mid-City is filled with visitors each year for the week and a half of the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and again around Halloween for Voodoo Experience. The rest of the year the neighborhood is often comparatively neglected by travelers.

Get in


Mid-City is a portion of the city that is easy to get around in either with or without a car.

The restored Canal Streetcar line starts at the riverfront of the French Quarter (at Esplanade Avenue and the levee), turns on to Canal Street to go through the Central Business District, and continues into the heart of Mid-City. Once at the intersection of Canal Street and Carrollton Avenue in the center of Mid-City, the Canal streetcar branches into two lines. Cars marked "City Park" turn on to Carrollton Avenue, with the line ending at City Park in front of the NOMA Museum, a short walk from the Fairgrounds. Cars marked "Cemeteries" continue to the end of Canal Street at the far edge of Mid-City where a number of the city's old cemeteries are located.

See






Cemeteries
Go to the cemetery? Yes, many visitors do, leaving alive and well with an interesting experience. Due to the high water table, most New Orleans tombs are in above ground crypts. Traditionally, many of the well to do adorned their tombs with marble or bronze decoration and statuary, and many of the city's less affluent joined fraternal organizations which built elaborate group crypts.
 * The Cemeteries is the informal name for a group of separate but adjoining or nearby cemeteries concentrated around the inland end of Canal Street. These include Odd Fellows Rest and Greenwood Cemetery. Some interesting monuments, but cemetery connoisseurs agree your time is best spent a little further on:
 * The Cemeteries is the informal name for a group of separate but adjoining or nearby cemeteries concentrated around the inland end of Canal Street. These include Odd Fellows Rest and Greenwood Cemetery. Some interesting monuments, but cemetery connoisseurs agree your time is best spent a little further on:

Eat
Mid-City restaurants are loved by locals, and the visitor can easily find out why. If the French Quarter and Central Business District seem too overwhelmed by tourists, one can get away to Mid-City and enjoy some of New Orleans best and most distinctive food surrounded by locals.

As mentioned above, visitors flock here during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and to a lesser extent during Voodoo Experience. At these busy times it's best to either make reservations well in advance, or expect to wait in lines, or plan to eat in another part of town.

Budget

 * Liuzza's By The Track, 1518 N. Lopez (at Ponce de Leon, a block off Esplanade towards the Track). "The other Liuzza's" is also a neighborhood favorite, known for Creole gumbo, seafood, and garlic roast beef po'boys. Reasonably priced lunches, also open for dinner weekdays.
 * Mona's Cafe, 3901 Banks. Middle Eastern. Mona's also has restaurants in Marigny and Uptown, but this one has a fair sized Middle Eastern grocery attached as well, in case you need to buy a bag of loose tea leaves, a bucket of hummus, or a hookah.
 * Neyow's Creole Cafe 3340 Bienville (at Davis Parkway). New Orleans Creole, lunch & dinner. Closed W; dinner only Su. +1 504 827-5474
 * Nonna Mia 3125 Esplanade. Pizza, pastas, and panini. +1 504 949-1717. Lunch & dinner 7 days.
 * Santa Fe 3201 Esplanade. Southwestern. Some people may remember its former location in the Marigny neighborhood.
 * Liuzza's By The Track, 1518 N. Lopez (at Ponce de Leon, a block off Esplanade towards the Track). "The other Liuzza's" is also a neighborhood favorite, known for Creole gumbo, seafood, and garlic roast beef po'boys. Reasonably priced lunches, also open for dinner weekdays.
 * Mona's Cafe, 3901 Banks. Middle Eastern. Mona's also has restaurants in Marigny and Uptown, but this one has a fair sized Middle Eastern grocery attached as well, in case you need to buy a bag of loose tea leaves, a bucket of hummus, or a hookah.
 * Neyow's Creole Cafe 3340 Bienville (at Davis Parkway). New Orleans Creole, lunch & dinner. Closed W; dinner only Su. +1 504 827-5474
 * Nonna Mia 3125 Esplanade. Pizza, pastas, and panini. +1 504 949-1717. Lunch & dinner 7 days.
 * Santa Fe 3201 Esplanade. Southwestern. Some people may remember its former location in the Marigny neighborhood.
 * Santa Fe 3201 Esplanade. Southwestern. Some people may remember its former location in the Marigny neighborhood.



Snacks

 * Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, 3133 Ponce De Leon (just off Esplanade Avenue), coffee and light eats; neighborhood atmosphere; free Wi-Fi.
 * Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, 3133 Ponce De Leon (just off Esplanade Avenue), coffee and light eats; neighborhood atmosphere; free Wi-Fi.
 * Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, 3133 Ponce De Leon (just off Esplanade Avenue), coffee and light eats; neighborhood atmosphere; free Wi-Fi.
 * Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, 3133 Ponce De Leon (just off Esplanade Avenue), coffee and light eats; neighborhood atmosphere; free Wi-Fi.

Mid-range

 * Katie's Restaurant & Bar, 3701 Iberville. Neighborhood mainstay. Creole Italian, fresh seafood and sandwiches. Tu-Su 11AM-10PM, M lunch only
 * Lola's, 3312 Esplanade. Mediterranean and Spanish. Menu highlights include romescu lamb. The palleas fresh made to order take half an hour but regulars find them worth the wait.
 * Katie's Restaurant & Bar, 3701 Iberville. Neighborhood mainstay. Creole Italian, fresh seafood and sandwiches. Tu-Su 11AM-10PM, M lunch only
 * Lola's, 3312 Esplanade. Mediterranean and Spanish. Menu highlights include romescu lamb. The palleas fresh made to order take half an hour but regulars find them worth the wait.
 * Lola's, 3312 Esplanade. Mediterranean and Spanish. Menu highlights include romescu lamb. The palleas fresh made to order take half an hour but regulars find them worth the wait.
 * Lola's, 3312 Esplanade. Mediterranean and Spanish. Menu highlights include romescu lamb. The palleas fresh made to order take half an hour but regulars find them worth the wait.

Connect
The Mid-City branch of New Orleans Public Library is in the American Can Factory Building at 3700 Orleans Avenue. Many of the cafes listed above have free wi-fi.

Stay safe
Mid-City is an excellent microcosm of New Orleans as a whole in that some upper-income neighborhoods are bordered by lower-income neighborhoods and the level of safety can change from block to block. The neighborhood is generally safe in the daytime, but avoid areas on the Eastern side of Broad and around much of Tulane Avenue. The area closer to City Park around and to the West of N Carrollton is generally very safe, but always have your wits about you in this urban area.

Go next
Mid-City's central location allows easy access to other parts of town. Take the Canal Streetcar to the French Quarter and the Central Business District. Drive or take the bus to the other end of beautiful Esplanade Avenue to arrive at the lower edge of the Quarter and the hip Faubourg Marigny neighborhood (alternatively reached by taking the Canal Streetcar to the far end at Esplanade and the river levee). Lakeview and Lakeshore neighborhoods are a short drive away to the north west; to the north east is the Gentilly neighborhood. The Carrollton neighborhood at the upper end of Uptown can be driven to by taking Carrollton Avenue to the other end. The #32 bus "Leonidas" runs from Carrollton Avenue at Esplanade Mid-City to the Old Carrollton Riverbend neighborhood then ends by the Zoo in Audubon Park. However it winds through a rather rough section of Hollygrove en route, and it runs less than once an hour. Those relying on public transit may wish to consider getting to Uptown and Carrollton by a more indirect route: take the Canal Streetcar to the Central Business District, then the green St. Charles Streetcar up. While this route is longer, it may be less aggravating and is certainly much more picturesque.