New Orleans Shopping and Travel Information

From cheap and quirky souvenir shops to serious antique shops and fine art galleries…From branded retail stores and specialty boutiques to fleamarket bargains…New Orleans is a shopper's paradise unlike any other. Make sure you travel light and bring your favorite walking shoes!

Start your New Orleans shopping spree with A Gallery for Fine Photography (Royal St.)-showcasing works that represent different times and talents of local as well as international caliber.

Get ready for more exciting finds on Royal Street, including Barrister's Gallery which dwells on primitive and tribal jewelry and Bergen Galleries with its exciting mix of posters and collectibles.

Hello Dolly on Royal presents a fascinating collection of dolls with some Gambina dolls.

Take home the distinctive New Orleans touch with MS Rau's remarkable collection of ornamental iron and European and Asian furnishings. More furnishings can be found at Alder & Waldhorn, which also showcases Victorian jewelry, English silver and porcelain.

Sniff a whiff of New Orleans with Bourbon French Parfumes (Royal St.), a perfumery with a 150 year-old tradition of excellence in exquisite custom-blended fragrances and personal care products. Get your own signature fragrance blended here and order it in a full range of perfume, after-shave, powder and bath salts. Down the street, Vintage 429 offers close ‘encounters' with your favorite celebrities through a wide range of autographed memorabilia and collectibles including posters, albums, books and sporting gear.

Less than a block from Royal Street, St. Louis Hotel (Bienville St.) takes you deep into the heart of the historic French Quarter. Enjoy a romantic stroll in their world-famous courtyard, as shafts of sunshine filter through the wrought-iron galleries above.

After the laid-back stroll, Maskerade on Saint Ann Street promises to shock with an expansive collection of Italian masks, stunning Mardi Gras masks, African and Asian masks and more! Explore a remarkable array of handcrafted masks in different styles and materials.

Great French Quarter bargains await your arrival at the French Market. Delight in five entire blocks of shopping, shopping and some more shopping!

A favorite shopping haunt for tourists as well as locals, the French Market is a veritable melting pot with flea markets, branded retail, art galleries, antiques and specialty stores. Ardent foodies will enjoy Aunt Sally's Praline Shop, Cookery N'Orleans Style and Karats and Evans Creole Candy Factory. Check out the shellacked alligator heads at Farmer's Market!

Just one block from the French Market, Le Richlieu offers beautifully accessorized guestrooms with brass fans and distinctive furniture on laid-back Chartres Street.

Don't pass up Bayou Threads with its amazing Mardi Gras souvenirs, located in the Ramada Plaza Inn on Bourbon Street. Check out the onsite Tobacco & Gift shop at Royal Sonesta on Bourbon. The Hotel is convenient to nearby attractions such as the Audubon Zoo, Harrah'' Casino, Aquarium of Americas, Jazzland Theme Park and the Living Science Museum.

If you like to wear what the celebs don, head straight for Harold Clarke on Iberville Street. Check out their custom bridal and special occasion gowns. Their designs have been spotted on Linda Evans, Delta Burke, Vivica Fox, Kim Fields, Pattie LaBelle and others of similar stature. If all that shopping makes you hungry, Victor's at The Maison Orleans is all set to pamper your taste buds with its delightful French –American menu.

Next, check out what's brewing at the famous Jackson Brewery Corporation on Decatur Street, near the Square. The former Jax beer brewery now runs three indoor malls, with the Millhouse situated next door.

On Dumaine Street, dabble with the occult at Esoterica, the one stop shop for all your occult needs, including candles, oils, talismans, books and powders. Get a personal tarot reading or take the Witchcraft Tour at 6pm. Just the sort of place where you might run into Harry Potter – or Professor Trelawney, for that matter.

While Royal Street still remains the favorite for shopping and antiquing, a lot of action can now be found outside the French Quarter.

Start your shopping tour of the Garden District with the Acadian Orleans Inn (Prytania Park), just a ½ block short of the famous St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line. Board one of the boxy old cars and get off at St. Andrew Street for some of New Orleans' finest shopping attractions!

Just a few blocks away, Magazine Street teems with a medley of fine arts and antique traders. Check out Jim Smiley Fine Vintage Clothing where St. Andrew's Street meets Magazine Street. Smiley's is famous for its gorgeous antique wedding gowns and bodices from decades ago, fine suits from the 40's and a wide range of elaborate shoes and hats.

A few steps away, the unforgettable Bush Antiques offers old bishop's chairs and statues, silver crosses, iron crucifixes and regalia. At every step, you'll encounter more antique and specialty stores selling genuine and affordable pseudo stuff and traditional arts.

Across the street, Hands offers pre-Columbian artifacts from thousands of years ago. If you have a yen for pottery, South Magazine Street will not disappoint. You'll find it all, from the rustic Casey Willems Pottery to artistic Shadyside Pottery.

For some eclectic, multi-cultural shopping, don't miss the African items at The Davis Gallery and the Indonesian artifacts at Private Connection. The Stella Jones Gallery isn't far, providing excellent educational events in the form of art lectures, panel discussions, gallery talks and demonstrations with artists. Where else but on Magazine!

Go over your exciting finds in the relaxed environs of St. James Hotel on Magazine Street. Older than some of the antiques you'll find on the street, the hotel first opened its doors to business in 1859.

Legend has it that this was the famous “St. James Infirmary” immortalized in New Orleans Blues' history. Many locals believe that one of the current 1 st Floor guest rooms was a meeting place for early plotters of the Texas Revolution. After being magnificently restored recently, the hotel is ready for more action!

As a fine art gallery with contemporary flair, the Cole Pratt Gallery (Magazine) showcases works of Southern artists. For more of the same flavor, head for Southern Expressions on Jackson Square.

New Orleans Center near the Louisiana Superdome has more treats in store with over 60 specialty stores spread over 3 floors. Check out Ann Taylor, Ashley Stewart Woman, Bare Leather, Bruce Brice Gallery, Claire's Boutique, Crescent City Collectibles and Bath & Body Works. Within 6 blocks of the Superdome, the cocktail bar at Renaissance Pere Marquette offers a welcome pretext to rest your aching feet.

The Esplanade on Williams Blvd and W. Esplanade Ave houses such retailers as American Eagle outfitters, The Avenue, Banana Republic, The Children's Place, Eddie Bauer, Friedman's Jewelers, GapKids, Fantastic Imports, Lord & Taylor and Macy's.

ust across the Mississippi, the Oakwood Shopping Center on Westbank Expressway features Adler's, After Hours Formalwear, Amy's Country Candles, Best Image, Body Shop, Books-A-Million, JC Penny, The Disney Store and The Shoe Dept. Nearby Holiday Inn offers free shuttle to Algiers Ferry, which offers exciting river cruises across the Mississippi: the venerable birthplace of New Orleans.