EXPLORE New Orleans

New Orleans arrival: the party is still several exits away

Welcome to New Orleans. Now what the fuck do you do? First, remember that Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is in Kenner, not beside Bourbon Street. The current RTA 202 Airport Express provides hourly service between MSY and the Central Business District, including Union Passenger Terminal and stops along Poydras Street. It is useful when the schedule matches yours and profoundly less useful when you have just missed it. Official airport taxis load outside Level 1 baggage claim at Door 7. The published fare to the Central Business District or French Quarter is $36 for one or two passengers, with a per-person rate for larger groups, and taxis must accept credit cards. App-based rides and rental cars are also available. Confirm pickup zones in the terminal because curb rules change faster than a tourist’s confidence after the first frozen drink.

New Orleans transport: streetcars are transit, not time machines

Once downtown, walking works well for the French Quarter, Marigny, Warehouse District, and much of the riverfront. Streetcars are useful for St. Charles Avenue, Canal Street, and selected visitor districts, but they do not cover the entire city and they are not designed around your dinner reservation. Buses handle broader coverage. Check live service alerts because parades, construction, festivals, flooding, and special events routinely reroute streets. A rental car is unnecessary for a compact central visit and creates parking costs, one-way-street confusion, and a vehicle full of belongings you should never leave visible. Use a car for plantations, wetlands, Gulf Coast trips, or destinations outside the urban network. Do not walk along streetcar tracks, and look both ways before crossing. Those historic vehicles are charming, heavy, and spectacularly uninterested in your photograph.

New Orleans safety: know the block and respect the weather

New Orleans can be welcoming and exhilarating, but visitor safety changes sharply by block and time of day. Stay on busy, well-lit routes, use a taxi or app-based ride late at night, avoid displaying cash or expensive equipment, and never leave luggage or purchases visible in a parked vehicle. Be cautious around isolated streets beyond heavily traveled visitor corridors, and do not follow strangers offering private tours, gambling demonstrations, or unsolicited help. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. Monitor NOLA Ready alerts, follow hotel instructions, and leave if the city orders a mandatory evacuation. Heavy rain can flood underpasses and streets quickly even without a hurricane. Never drive through floodwater. Heat and humidity also cause illness, so pace alcohol with water and shade. New Orleans rewards curiosity. It does not reward treating an unfamiliar neighborhood, an approaching storm, or six drinks before lunch as a controlled experiment.

Sources

• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport official taxi guide
• New Orleans Regional Transit Authority service updates
• New Orleans official tourism streetcar guide
• City of New Orleans official hurricane guidance
• City of New Orleans visitor emergency guidance

Last verified: September 8, 2026