New Orleans Amtrak Station Area

[ciship]

We will have a few hours to kill before boarding the City of New Orleans heading to Memphis. Is there anything within walking distance in this area. Maybe a trolley that runs in front of the station that we can hop on and off? Also, will we be able to store our luggage securely at the station so that we don't have to drag it around with us..........or at the very least "check" our bags early for the trip to Memphis?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

New Orleans is a walking city. Walk to the French Quarter and enjoy some beignet and mimosa before your train. If you are sober on public transit in NOLA you are doing it wrong.

 

[henryj]

You can take the streetcar from right in front of the UPT to Canal. New Orleans has four streetcar routes now. .

http://www.norta.com/Maps-Schedules/System-Map/Line.aspx?ID=49

The best and most scenic one is the St. Charles line. You can just walk a few blocks from UTP to Lee Circle and catch it there.

http://www.norta.com/Maps-Schedules/System-Map/Line.aspx?ID=12

 

[ciship]

New Orleans is a walking city. Walk to the French Quarter and enjoy some beignet and mimosa before your train. If you are sober on public transit in NOLA you are doing it wrong.

So, you're saying that the French Quarter is within walking distance to the train station?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Easily.

 

[me_little_me]

From a time point of view, take the trolley if possible. On our last trip through, we would just check the trolley schedule. If we just missed it, we'd walk to/from our hotel. If not, we'd wait. Trolley is out the door then around to your right as you go out. Hard to see as you come out. Runs every half hour. Senior discount (but they don't tell you that even if you are obviously a senior).

You can walk all the way to the French Quarter but at this time of the year, it is hot and humid. Even walking in the evening to hotel and morning to train, we ended up sweaty. Hotel was halfway to the Quarter.

 

[neroden]

The New Orleans Streetcars are classics and well worth riding if you like such things. And yes, the train station is very close to the French Quarter

 

[MiRider]

The FQ is a 20 minute walk at minimum and that's if all you want to do is go to the nastiness known as Bourbon St.

The walk is closer to 40 minutes if you want to check out the Riverfront and French Market area which, imo, is much nicer and a lot more interesting.

NOLA is one of my favorite places and I'm a frequent visitor - usually as a single female.

I'm also not a chicken or a sissy in the least when it comes to urban areas but I find the station itself unpleasant and not well supervised and the area surrounding it desolate and not visitor friendly.

Use Google Maps street view and virtually walk it and see what you think.

My personal suggestion, and the only way I ever go, is to take the Trolley or a taxi - others here may think differently but I like to err on the side of caution.

Also, the Trolley is awesome and a great way to get around.

If you're ever in the FQ for any length of time, you really need to try a pedicab too - I love them and use them whenever possible.

I don't know how much time you actually have before catching the CONO but there is now also a HOHO (Hop On Hop Off) bus that will take you all over the city.

The tours are from 9:30 to 5:30, 7 days a week - there are 11 stops and there's a bus every 30 minutes - tix are $29 for a full day of fun - the whole loop only takes 2 hours if you just want to do that.

The closest stop to the station is at the Hyatt about a 5 minute walk from the station on Loyola.

Check it out here: Hop On Hop Off New Orleans

 

[Dan O]

I will be arriving in New Orleans two weeks from today. I see sometimes the train is an hr or two late. Would I have any trouble getting a cab if it's late or very late, say 3 AM?

Dan

 

[Bob Dylan]

Nope, cabbies work late in NOL, its a Night Life mecca! They should be lined up in front of Union Station when you arrive!

 

[Dan O]

Nope, cabbies work late in NOL, its a Night Life mecca! They should be lined up in front of Union Station when you arrive!

Thanks.

Dan

 

[ehbowen]

Nope, cabbies work late in NOL, its a Night Life mecca! They should be lined up in front of Union Station when you arrive!

Thanks.

Dan

On the other hand, be prepared for a bit of a wait. On our last trip to NOL on the Sunset Limited, we didn't arrive until almost eleven and there were only one or two cabs for about twenty groups of passengers needing rides. More cabs did eventually arrive (they do have radio and can tell their dispatcher when more are needed), but we didn't get to our (downtown) hotel until midnight. Walking was not an option as at the time my father was in need of a hip replacement.

ETA: Be aware that for cabs in downtown/French Quarter New Orleans, there is a minimum flat rate (by ordinance) of $10 a ride, no matter how close your destination. At least, that was the rule in effect at the time of our trip (October 2012).

 

[SarahZ]

It's still $10.

 

[CoachSlumber]

Use the streetcar if it is hot and you have any kind of baggage.

 

[SarahZ]

I had a bit of a wait after getting off the CONO, but it wasn't long, maybe five minutes. The gentleman at the taxi line asked everyone where they were going and combined people into cabs if they were going the same way. It was pretty efficient.

If you've ever been in a taxi line at an airport or another train station, it's exactly the same. They have a sign to indicate where to stand, and the taxis pull into the cul-de-sac in front of the train station.

 

[JoeBas]

It's still $10.

Plus an additional fee of $1 for each additional passenger (Sometimes charged, sometimes not).

 

[ciship]

I will be arriving in New Orleans two weeks from today. I see sometimes the train is an hr or two late. Would I have any trouble getting a cab if it's late or very late, say 3 AM?

Dan

I had a bit of a wait after getting off the CONO, but it wasn't long, maybe five minutes. The gentleman at the taxi line asked everyone where they were going and combined people into cabs if they were going the same way. It was pretty efficient.

If you've ever been in a taxi line at an airport or another train station, it's exactly the same. They have a sign to indicate where to stand, and the taxis pull into the cul-de-sac in front of the train station.

Sarah Z........thank you for the great info (and I LOVE your Grumpy Cat photo!)

 

[SarahZ]

It's not Grumpy Cat. It's a grumpy cat. It's a generic photo I found when I was mad at customers one night, and it makes me laugh every time I see it.

This is Grumpy Cat:



I love her.

 

[debmep]

We were also asked if we minded sharing a cab to the French Quarter. I sat in the front and hubby sat in the back with a single guy. He was dropped off first, and then we were driven

to the Hotel Provincial. Our fare was $8 for both of us. We gave the cabbie a $10.

 

[Bob Dylan]

As has been said the standard fare to anywhere in the FQ and the Central Biz District is $10 but the Garden District is $12-15!! For newbies that don't have this info, cabbies have quoted fares to the Quarter and Biz District of $12-$15 and for the Garden District as much as $20! (As has been said the starter does like to do Cab Share when there's a large crowd waiting and the drivers like it too!! )

Of course this is SOP in all cities where meters aren't used!!

 

[me_little_me]

I had a bit of a wait after getting off the CONO, but it wasn't long, maybe five minutes. The gentleman at the taxi line asked everyone where they were going and combined people into cabs if they were going the same way. It was pretty efficient.

We had that done to use and the cab driver charged both us and the other guy the $10. Next time, I'll demand my own cab.

 

[George Harris]

I had a bit of a wait after getting off the CONO, but it wasn't long, maybe five minutes. The gentleman at the taxi line asked everyone where they were going and combined people into cabs if they were going the same way. It was pretty efficient.

We had that done to use and the cab driver charged both us and the other guy the $10. Next time, I'll demand my own cab.

There should be some form of registration number on/in the taxi. Write it down and make a complaint to the agency of the city that regulates taxis. If it is not listed, use google and find it. NO is a tourist city. They will fix the things that make the tourists unhappy. If you do not see such, get his license plate number and do likewise using it. This stuff will come to a screeching halt if they find they cannot get away with it.

 

[Dan O]

Has anyone just taken the street car from the New Orleans Amtrak station to their hotel in the French Quarter? It looks like our place is about a block off the line which would not be that bad of a walk w/ our limited luggage?

Dan

 

[Alice]

Yes, last December. From the train depot, just walk out the front and cross into the middle of the street to get on the streetcar, it is very obvious. Part of the time I had a car and parking at the depot was much less than at the motel so I made that trip often. Check the schedule, it is quicker to walk it instead of waiting sometimes. Nobody bothered me even by myself, late at night, with the wheelchair packed full.

 

[tricia]

If, when you leave New Orleans, you're aiming to catch the northbound Crescent at 7AM, I think the streetcars don't run that early in the AM. So even if the streetcar connection works for getting you to a hotel when you arrive on Amtrak, you might need a taxi for getting from hotel to Amtrak when you're leaving town.