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One of New Orleans' many nicknames is "the Crescent City ,"
because of the way it nestles between the southern shore of Lake
Pontchartrain and a dramatic horseshoe bend in the Mississippi River. This
unique location makes the city's layout confusing, with streets curving to
follow the river, and shooting off at odd angles to head inland. Compass
points are of little use here - locals refer instead to lakeside (towards
the lake) and riverside (towards the river), and, using Canal Street as
the dividing line, uptown (or upriver) and downtown (downriver).
Most visitors spend most time in the battered, charming old French Quarter
(or Vieux Carré ), site of the original settlement. On its fringes, the
funky Faubourg Marigny creeps northeast from Esplanade Avenue, while the
Quarter's lakeside boundary, Rampart Street , marks the beginning of the
historic, run-down African-American neighborhood of Tremé . On the other
side of the Quarter, across Canal Street , the CBD (Central Business
District), bounded by the river and I-10, spreads upriver to the
Pontchartrain Expressway. Dominated by offices, hotels and banks, it also
incorporates the revitalizing Warehouse District and, towards the lake,
the gargantuan Superdome . A ferry ride across the river from the foot of
Canal Street takes you to the suburban west bank and the residential
district of old Algiers .
Back on the east bank, it's an easy journey upriver from the CBD to the
rare-fied Garden District , an area of gorgeous old mansions, some of them
in delectable ruin. The Lower Garden District , creeping between the
expressway and Jackson, is quite a different creature, its run-down old
houses filled with impoverished artists and musicians. The best way to get
to either neighborhood is on the streetcar along swanky St Charles Avenue
, the Garden District's lakeside boundary; you can also approach it from
Magazine Street , a six-mile stretch of galleries and antique stores that
runs parallel to St Charles riverside. Entering the Garden District,
you've crossed the official boundary into uptown , which spreads upriver
to encompass Audubon Park and Zoo .
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