Shopping · New Orleans · United States
Shopping in New Orleans
Shopping streets, markets and souvenirs worth the suitcase space.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ, CC0
Quick answer
New Orleans shopping runs from Royal Street's antique dealers and galleries to Magazine Street's boutiques, with markets, music shops and local food products to take home. Best souvenirs: Chicory coffee, Pralines and Louisiana hot sauce.
Key facts
- Shopping areas
- 4
- Markets
- 3
- Top souvenir
- Chicory coffee
Where to shop
Royal Street
Antique shops, fine-art galleries and jewellers in the French Quarter, quieter than Bourbon Street one block over.
Magazine Street
About 9 km of independent boutiques, vintage shops, home stores and cafés from the Warehouse District to Uptown.
Decatur Street
Souvenir, hot-sauce and voodoo shops near the French Market.
Frenchmen Street
Louisiana Music Factory for local records, plus art and crafts at the evening market.
Markets
French Market
Open-air sheds along Decatur Street with food stalls, a flea market and souvenir stands.
Frenchmen Art Market
An evening night market of local artists and craftspeople in the Marigny.
Crescent City Farmers Market
A weekly farmers' market with Louisiana produce, seafood and prepared foods.
What to buy
Chicory coffee
Tins of coffee with chicory from Café du Monde and local roasters.
Pralines
Creamy pecan-and-sugar candies from French Quarter candy shops, boxed for travel.
Louisiana hot sauce
Bottles from Avery Island and smaller local makers, sold in specialist shops on Decatur Street.
Carnival masks
Hand-made feather and leather masks from French Quarter mask shops.
Local music
Records and CDs by New Orleans brass, jazz and funk bands from the Louisiana Music Factory.
Streets and markets worth a wander
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Market · French Quarter
Café du Monde and the French Market
Café du Monde has served beignets, square doughnuts buried in powdered sugar, with chicory café au lait under its green-and-white awning since 1862.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Iconic
- Kids
- Shopping
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Street · French Quarter
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street's 13 blocks through the French Quarter are the city's party strip, with neon-lit bars, cover bands, daiquiri counters and balcony crowds throwing beads.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- After dark
- Free
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Street · Faubourg Marigny
Frenchmen Street
Three blocks of Frenchmen Street pack in live-music clubs such as the Spotted Cat, d.b.a.
- Time needed
- An evening
- Cost
- Free
- After dark
- Free
- Iconic
Food and drink to take home
Edible souvenirs travel best when they are dry or sealed: consider Beignets, Bananas Foster, Sazerac and King cake. Café du Monde at the French Market, serving them since 1862, and Café Beignet on Royal and Bourbon streets. Check your home country's rules on bringing food and drink back.
Shopping by neighbourhood
| Area | Price level | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Faubourg Marigny | $$ | Painted Creole cottages and the live-music clubs of Frenchmen Street |
| Bywater | $$ | Colourful shotgun houses, murals and riverside Crescent Park |
| Tremé | $$ | Congo Square, brass bands and second-line parades |
| Uptown and Magazine Street | $$ | Boutiques, universities, Audubon Park and Tipitina's |
| Mid-City | $$ | City Park's live oaks, Bayou St. John and the Canal streetcar |
Paying and bargaining
Prices are in USD. Tip 18–20% at sit-down restaurants, $1–$2 per drink at bars, 15–20% for taxis and ride-hailing, and a few dollars to musicians you stop to listen to.
When to shop
Shops and markets are quietest in January, June and August–September; the busiest months are February and April.
- March: Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival (usually late March)
- April: French Quarter Festival — free music stages (usually mid-April)
- April: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (usually the last weekend of April and first of May)
- June: Creole Tomato Festival at the French Market (usually June)
- July: Essence Festival of Culture (usually Fourth of July weekend)
- September: Southern Decadence, an LGBTQ+ festival (usually Labor Day weekend)
Staying near the shops
$$ · Best for families, quiet stays and shopping
Uptown and Magazine Street
Boutiques, universities, Audubon Park and Tipitina's
Questions travellers ask
+What should I buy in New Orleans?
Chicory coffee, Pralines, Louisiana hot sauce and Carnival masks.
+Where is the best shopping in New Orleans?
Royal Street: Antique shops, fine-art galleries and jewellers in the French Quarter, quieter than Bourbon Street one block over.
+What are the best markets in New Orleans?
French Market, Frenchmen Art Market and Crescent City Farmers Market.