Royal Street: The Elegant Side of the French Quarter

Royal Street: The Elegant Side of the French Quarter

If Bourbon Street is the id of the French Quarter, Royal Street is the superego. Running parallel to Bourbon just one block closer to the river, Royal is the refined counterpart—a street of antique shops, art galleries, fine restaurants, and some of the most beautiful ironwork balconies in the world. It is where locals go when they want the Quarter without the chaos, and where visitors discover that New Orleans has a sophistication that goes far deeper than daiquiris and cover bands.

History

Royal Street was part of the original city plan drawn up by French engineer Adrien de Pauger in 1721. Named Rue Royale in honor of the French crown, it was the commercial heart of colonial New Orleans. The street housed the earliest banks, merchants, and government buildings. When the Spanish took control, they added the gorgeous wrought-iron balconies that define the streetscape today. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Royal Street became the financial center of the booming American city—a Wall Street of the South, home to banks, auction houses, and trading firms.

The Neighborhoods

Royal Street runs through the French Quarter from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue. The lower blocks near Canal are more commercial, with major hotels and chain retailers. But from about the 400 block onward, the street transforms into gallery row—block after block of art dealers, antique shops, and jewelry stores housed in historic buildings. The upper blocks past St. Philip become increasingly residential, with some of the quietest and most beautiful courtyards in the Quarter hidden behind unassuming doorways.

Key Landmarks

The Historic New Orleans Collection at 533 Royal is one of the finest museums in the South, housed in the 1792 Merieult House. Brennan's Restaurant at 417 Royal has been a fine dining institution since 1946, famous for its Bananas Foster and boozy brunches. The LaLaurie Mansion at 1140 Royal is one of the most notorious haunted houses in America. The Cornstalk Hotel at 915 Royal features the famous cast-iron cornstalk fence. And on weekend afternoons, Royal Street is closed to traffic and filled with some of the best street musicians in the world—jazz clarinetists, brass bands, and solo guitarists performing beneath balconies dripping with ferns.

Art and Antiques Capital

Royal Street is the art and antiques capital of the Gulf South. Galleries like Rodrigue Studio, M.S. Rau Antiques, and the dozens of smaller galleries between St. Louis and Dumaine make this one of the densest concentrations of art dealers in the country. M.S. Rau alone has been dealing in fine antiques, jewelry, and art since 1912. Walking Royal on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, ducking into galleries and courtyards, is one of the great free pleasures of visiting New Orleans.