New Orleans French Quarter

The Vieux Carré, as the French Quarter is formally known, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, laid out on a grid by French colonial planners in the early eighteenth century. Its streets are lined with Spanish colonial architecture featuring cast-iron balconies, interior courtyards, and ground-floor arcades — a result of the reconstruction following fires in 1788 and 1794. The district serves as the cultural core of the city, home to jazz clubs, the French Market, and Jackson Square.