Chartres Street: The Quiet Heart of the French Quarter

Chartres Street: The Quiet Heart of the French Quarter

Chartres Street is the French Quarter street that most visitors walk right past on their way to Bourbon or Royal. That is their loss. Running parallel between Royal and Decatur, Chartres is the residential backbone of the Vieux Carré—a quieter, more intimate street where the real life of the Quarter still happens. It is where the cathedral stands, where Jackson Square opens up, and where some of the oldest buildings in the Mississippi Valley still serve as homes, schools, and churches.

History

Chartres Street was part of the original 1721 city plan and was named for the Duc de Chartres, son of the French Regent. It has been a central artery of the Quarter since day one. The Ursuline Convent, completed in 1752 and located on Chartres Street, is the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley and the only surviving example of French Colonial architecture in the Quarter. The St. Louis Cathedral, facing Jackson Square from Chartres, has stood in some form since 1727, making it the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States.

The Neighborhoods

Chartres runs the full length of the French Quarter, from Canal to Esplanade, and continues into the Faubourg Marigny as Chartres Street proper. In the Quarter, the lower blocks near Canal are more commercial. The blocks around Jackson Square are the civic and spiritual heart of the city—the cathedral, the Cabildo, the Presbytère, and the Pontalba Buildings all face the square from Chartres or its immediate surroundings. The upper blocks become increasingly residential, with some of the most authentic neighborhood life in the Quarter.

Key Landmarks and Businesses

The St. Louis Cathedral is the crown jewel of Chartres Street and arguably the most iconic building in New Orleans. The Cabildo, where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803, sits to its left. The Presbytère, now a museum of Mardi Gras history, sits to its right. Napoleon House at 500 Chartres has been serving Pimm's Cups and muffulettas in a crumbling, atmospheric building since 1914—the legend goes that the building was prepared as a refuge for Napoleon Bonaparte if he ever escaped exile, though he never made it. Muriel's at Jackson Square serves elegant Creole cuisine in a reportedly haunted building at the corner of Chartres and St. Ann. And the Old Ursuline Convent, with its French Colonial architecture and lush gardens, remains one of the most beautiful and historically significant buildings in North America.

The Real French Quarter

Chartres Street is where you go when you want to see the French Quarter as a living neighborhood rather than an entertainment district. Residents walk their dogs here in the morning. Children attend school at the Ursuline Academy. The cathedral bells ring on the hour. The tourists are fewer, the noise is lower, and the architecture is somehow even more beautiful because you have the space to actually look at it. If you want to understand what the Quarter was like before the daiquiri shops, walk Chartres Street from end to end.