Magazine Street Shopping & Strolling

Magazine Street runs 6 miles from the edge of the French Quarter through the Garden District and Uptown neighborhoods, providing a walking tour of New Orleans' residential character, independent shopping, and neighborhood dining. It's the antidote to Bourbon Street -- local, authentic, and family-friendly.

The street is lined with independently owned shops, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, and bars in converted shotgun houses, Creole cottages, and Victorian buildings. For families, the appeal is the variety and the pace -- you stroll, browse, eat when hungry, get sno-balls when hot, and absorb a side of New Orleans that most tourists never see.

Sno-balls are the culinary highlight for kids. New Orleans sno-balls bear no resemblance to the crunchy ice cones sold elsewhere. The ice is shaved to a powdery, fluffy consistency, then drenched in locally made flavored syrups. Popular flavors include wedding cake, nectar cream, and tiger's blood. 'Stuffed' sno-balls have soft-serve ice cream layered inside.

The shopping ranges from practical to whimsical. Blue Cypress Books is a well-curated independent bookstore. Multiple art galleries showcase local artists. Vintage clothing stores, antique shops, and locally made jewelry fill the storefronts.

Logistically, pick a focused section. The full 6-mile street is too long for a family walk. The stretch from roughly 3800 Magazine to 5500 Magazine concentrates the best family-friendly shops, restaurants, and sno-ball stands in a walkable 1.5-mile section.