Walking in CBD/arts district

How safe is it to walk in a group of 5 experienced travelers around the CBD/arts district? We%26#39;re arriving VIA Amtrak and we would rather walk than take a taxi to our hotel on Tchoupitoulas. Also, how is the walking between Tchoupitoulas and FQ? We are all experienced city people(Chicago), but we know where to go/not go in our city. I don%26#39;t want to accidently wander into a bad area.

Walking in CBD/arts district

The Warehouse District is one of the safest areas of New Orleans. You%26#39;ll be fine walking from the French Quarter to your hotel, especially since you are in a group of 5 people.

Like in any big city, use common sense and stick to the main roads. But, again, the Warehouse District is quite safe, and only a few blocks to the French Quarter!

You can also double check New Orleans crime maps. Just type in the address of your hotel. http://cno-gisweb02.cityofno.com/crimemaps/

Walking in CBD/arts district

This is good too if you like a scare.

http://citizencrimewatch.org/

No problem during the day. After dark, with five people should be OK as well.

Don%26#39;t trust the false sense of security you get by using the crappy City of New Orleans crime maps. They%26#39;re a month old. You%26#39;d think no crime at all happened if you filtered for the past week. You can get a much more accurate, up-to-date impression of crime patterns at http://citizencrimewatch.org

Elgin: The City of Chicago and The City of New Orleans share one thing and that is crime statistics, although, New Orleans has a much smaller population than Chicago. So, if you are Chicago savvy, I would use that savvy with New Orleans, and all should go well.

So, you like to walk, and I would say that you should bring your walking shoes, if you intend to walk from the Union Passenger Terminal on Loyola Ave and Earhart Expressway to Tchoupitoulas Street. You should Google this area, and count the blocks for your own gratification.

I would also like to say that while viewing the map on google, view the French Quarter, and get a good idea of how many blocks the walk is from your hotel on Tchoupitoulas Street, to wherever you want to visit in the FQ. Again, wear your walking shoes.

I would strongly recommend that you do not travel on any city streets here that are not frequented by a group walking. This would not be a good thing.

Late at night walkers on empty streets could be a bad thing, so avoid this scenario.

So, apply your Chicago late at night, if applicable, street smarts in New Orleans, bring your walking shoes, and have a pleasant visit.

We locals read the daily paper and listen to the daily news and find that it is not all in the news, or in the paper concerning the crime rate here. We responsible posters like to say that we do not have a crime free city, whether is is in the FQ or not, this would not be ethical and we would not so advise.

Others on these posts would like to ignore the statistics and say come on in, its all safe.

I do not subscribe to this nonsense and will not be a part of it. What I have written is my best advise I can offer, so be guided accordingly.

Hope your visit is pleasant and your, I believe Amtrak ride delay free and as relaxing as one would imagine.

Wakan Tanks Kici Un

Unfortunately, New Orleans gets a bad rap as being way more dangerous than it actually is, but in reality, New Orleans is no more dangerous than any major city in the country. Since you are experienced travelers, you know that you should always use common sense no matter if you are traveling to New Orleans or Disney World!

The Amtrak station is in the CBD. The walk from the station to your Tchoupitoulas is long, but it%26#39;s fine during the day. There are no ';sketchy'; neighborhoods to go through, but rather office and government buildings to pass on the way. If you are arriving at the station during the night, several streets in the area will be empty, since the workers have left for the day, but it%26#39;s not a ';bad'; area. I%26#39;d take a taxi at night for convenience.

The walk from the Warehouse District to the French Quarter is quite safe and the area gets busy even late at night! Since you%26#39;re in a group, you should be just fine. If you ever feel uncomfortable, taxis are plentiful in the area.

From Amtrak station to Tchouitoulas by day would be fine as the city is hopping in the CBD during the day. I would however, not walk it (even in a group of 5) at night.

Traveling from your CBD hotel to the FQ is also fine especially by day and to early evening/night. Not knowing how far down on Tchouitoulas your hotel is, I would be leery of late night, after 11pm, walking even in a group of 5.

Of course this is also taking into account of your %26#39;city smarts%26#39; and staying on main streets with more traffic.

We took a little getaway in N.O. a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised by all the walkers on Magazine St. (between Canal %26amp; Poydras) at 9:30PM on a Monday night.

Can someone please name off some major streets for me (I already know magazine, st.charles, bourbon, canal, tchoupitoulas)? I will be able to tell if a street is busy when I look down it, but I am trying to learn the map in my head so I don%26#39;t have to take one out when I am walking around. If I know the major roads, I will learn where they are, versus learning all the streets.

Also, with the crime watch, I%26#39;ll be wearing a money belt and have a fake wallet in my shoulder bag (to put stuff in that i buy/hold my togo cup and water), so I%26#39;m not concerned with being pick pocketed. Also, I know how to react to someone walking up to me and trying to hassle me. I just feel like so many posts on here about crime and since NOLA is smaller than other major cities, it would be easier to wonder into the wrong neighborhood with a tourist target on my face. There are even people who live a hour away from Chicago, but never go, because they are scared of the crime, so maybe the crime posts are those type of people in the first place?

Thank you all for your comments and I am very excited to visit your city and spend my money!

Oh I forgot to mention. When I say I like to walk, I am saying that walking 2 miles to get somewhere is normal. I looked up the Amtrak distance to our hotel and it is less than a mile, plus we%26#39;ll have backpacks not suitcases.

Again, thank you all for your help, this site has basically helped me plan my entire trip.

I%26#39;d definitely recommend that you read the trip reports from visitors on this site. You%26#39;ll find very few reports of any type of crime from visitors here. Tourists are rarely affected, and if they are, it%26#39;s some type of robbery/pick-pocketing.

For major streets around the Warehouse District/CBD, along with the ones you mentioned, there%26#39;s also S. Peters, Poydras, Convention Center Blvd, Camp St.