Guides · United States
Getting around New Orleans
How to move around New Orleans on a 3-day walking trip: metro, tickets and the notes that matter.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
New Orleans
Transit and walking
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: New Orleans itinerary.
Getting around
- RTA streetcars and buses cost USD 1.25 a ride, paid with exact cash on board or through the Le Pass app; a Jazzy Pass gives unlimited rides for USD 3 a day, USD 8 for three days or USD 15 for seven days.Source: New Orleans RTA, fares · checked Sep 2026
- The Steamboat Natchez, the last steam-powered sternwheeler on the Mississippi, sails from the Toulouse Street wharf behind Jackson Square: the two-hour jazz lunch cruise is USD 65 with lunch or USD 43.50 sightseeing only, the dinner jazz cruise USD 107.50, and a 75-minute sightseeing cruise USD 25.75.Source: Steamboat Natchez · checked Sep 2026
Questions
Quick answers
How much do the tickets cost?
The cathedral, the parks, the markets, the Historic New Orleans Collection and the streets themselves are free. The WWII Museum is USD 37 for adults, the cemetery tour from USD 29, the New Orleans Museum of Art USD 23 for out-of-state visitors with the sculpture garden free, and Preservation Hall sets are ticketed by the show. Streetcars are USD 1.25 a ride or USD 3 for a day pass.
How do I get around?
On foot in the French Quarter and by streetcar beyond it: the St. Charles line to the Garden District, the Canal line to City Park, the Riverfront line along the levee. Pay USD 1.25 in exact cash on board, or buy a Jazzy Pass for one, three or seven days in the Le Pass app. Taxis and ride-hailing apps are plentiful, and a bicycle is a good way to reach the Bywater and City Park.
How much walking is this itinerary?
About 2.5 km in a straight line on day one, all flat and all inside the French Quarter; about 2 km on day two plus the streetcar; and about 1 km on day three plus two streetcar rides. Summer heat and humidity are the real limit, so the mornings are outdoors and the afternoons indoors from June to September.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in New Orleans
The French Quarter is thirteen blocks by six and flat, so day one never needs a vehicle: Jackson Square when the artists set up, the cathedral, the French Market for coffee and beignets, Royal Street for the antique shops and the Historic New Orleans Collection, and the two music streets after dark. Day two starts across Rampart Street in Tremé, the oldest Black neighbourhood in the country, with the cemetery tour that is the only way in, and rides the St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District in the afternoon. Day three is the WWII Museum in the morning, the art museum and sculpture garden in City Park by the Canal streetcar, and Bourbon Street to finish. Buy a Jazzy Pass for the streetcars; St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is entered only with the licensed tour, and Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District is closed.
