After our ride on the ferry, stop for beignets at Cafe du Monde and a stroll through the French market, the girls and I found ourselves at the end of the Riverfront streetcar line. After talking with the conductor, I decided we should buy an all-day pass and ride the rails.
We first rode the length of the Riverfront line then back to Canal street. This line is very short and mainly carried tourists around. We enjoyed watching the conductor flip the seats and flip the flow of electricity while we waited at the end to come back.
Disembarking at Canal, we walked half a block to the Canal Street Line. Two different routes leave form here, both headed up Canal. We chose the Cemeteries line; at the end, we got off and wandered around a few of the cemeteries, then went into a nice little coffe shop inside The Herb Import Company, where we used their bathroom and ordered smoothies.
Unfortunately, our wait for a return streetcar was far, far too long. Even all the locals were getting bored and cranky while waiting for the next one. Finally, finally, it came and we all crowded on. As it progressed down Canal, scored of schoolkids hopped on for their trips home. At last, we were back down near the French Quarter where we again waited and waited for the St. Charles Streetcar. After a long wait, THREE streetcars came all in a row. Chloe says the St. Charles car was much older and noisier than the Canal Street one. But, *I* loved going through the garden district and getting to see all the beautiful houses all decked out for Mardi Gras!
As we rode the St. Charles line back, Rob called and told us he was heading out of his hotel. I looked up and realized we were right in front of it … the girls waved madly to get his attention, and all the people on the street waved back … I guess they thought we were excited tourists?
All in all, despite the long waits, we had a fun afternoon riding the rails in New Orleans. I’ve read that they are planning to put in 20+ more miles of streetcars in New Orleans; maybe we’ll have more lines to ride on a future trip!
Single trips are $1.25 each, and it is best to have exact change. Children 2 and under are free. A $5 pass meant we could ride all day and never have to worry about having exact change for the fare …. Strollers are supposed to folded up and aren’t easy to get on and off the streetcar from what I observed.
We rode a street car around Tampa this weekend. So fun–the conductor even let our son ring the bell! We’ll have to do that in New Orleans someday!
I bet he loved that! I always love riding some of the local public transit while traveling — but I don’t think I’ve ever taken a bus here in Atlanta! I didn’t know Tampa had street cars … I hope you’ll write about it!