St. Charles Streetcar Line

Great way to get to see the area at minimal cost but not if you are in a hurry, LOL. This is something to do if you have some time to kill, want to rest your feet, people watch, etc. We bought the passes at Walgreens that allow you unlimited access for 3 days for $ 9 great deal & very convenient since we never carry a lot of cash. My nieces & nephew loved the ride and we enjoy the spectacular views of the Garden District & Audubon area.

I took my mom on the St. Charles street car & we had a wonderful time. It’s was very peaceful and relaxing. The scenery was gorgeous and the homes were absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect, not too hot with a cool breeze. I would recommend going before or after rush hour because the street cars can get a little packed.

I live here, so I’m only writing this for the few tourists that I actually care for – elderly and children (especially toddlers).
I can’t tell you how many times I have walked down the neutral ground in order to avoid this cattle car. As a resident who shuffles back and forth, I absolutely can’t stand it. It’s only pleasurable when it’s empty or mildly full. If not, it’s pretty much a cattle car. Yes, it’s cheap. yes, it can be pleasant sometimes. Hence three stars.
The streetcars are very old. If you have problems stepping up, it won’t kneel and there will be no ramps.
On most days of the week, it’s packed. The weekends-​forget it especially when there’s something going on during the weekend (There is always something going on). Wake up really early and take it. Saturdays by 9am, though – that’s right, packed. Use Über or use a cab if you’re not that «tech-​savvy.» If you are capable of walking just walk.
I normally smirk at the tourists waiting and waiting, only for the streetcars to literally just roll pass them because it’s jam-​packed.
However, it really does pain me to see elderly people waiting in the heat for it. Please, plan accordingly if you are elderly or traveling with the elderly!!! Stops have no seats, nor covers for rain or heat. There are stops on every other block (part of the problem).
And people – please be nice and give up your seat for someone who needs it. I CAN’T STAND SEEING THAT! Don’t complain why the car drivers are rude. It seriously can be hell. Unfortunately, RTA (regional transit authorities) pretty much have designed it so that you have to take the streetcar. Sometimes, they’ll send buses out the same route, but the buses are small. Guess what? They are packed too.
If you are with disabled, small children, and other people in need of help, please make sure you have a backup.

Quick review: A must-​do during your visit to New Orleans! I’m a sucker for history and inexpensive options to explore a city, and the St. Charles Streetcar Line offers generous helpings of both.
Details :
Everyone needs to ride the St. Charles Streetcar at some point in life. It’s an excellent way to get around the neighborhoods of New Orleans, especially if you are visiting without a car, and it’s a neat piece of history!
If you are staying near the French Quarter, you can pick up the streetcar near Canal Street and take it to the WWII Museum, Garden District, Tulane University, and Audubon Park/​Zoo to name a couple spots.
Have exact change! As other reviewers mention, it’s $ 1.25 per ride.
The interior of the cars is beautiful, wooden benches and brass hardware (I just wish they didn’t have modern advertising lining the top of each side).
Be prepared to wait as sometimes the streetcar will pass your stop if it is already full. Once you board, you might find yourself cozying up to the people around you as they really pack in riders. But the fresh breeze from the open windows and the architecture you get to see during the ride makes every second enjoyable.
Also, chances are you will not grab a seat right away, but be patient and something will open up sooner or later! I found that standing during the ride was just fine, there are plenty of handholds.
And to reiterate, go and ride the St. Charles Streetcar!

One of the best ways to tour the city, for only $ 3/​day. There are many stops and sights along the way from Canal Street (french quarter) to Claiborne Ave.
This streetcar line is the longest continuously opened streetcar in the world so they say and can usually be found packed with tourists who are visiting the Garden District for the homes and the oldest cemetaries in the city. You can get on and purchase a day pass on the trolly itself.
This should be included on everyone’s N.O. bucket list.

There are so many different good and bad things about the NOLA street cars, it is hard to give them a rating.
Pros:
1) Very stereotypical New Orleans, and a must experience for any tourist
2) $ 1.25 for a one-​way ticket, or $ 3 for a 24 hour pass that can be used on any streetcar in the city (Canal Steet, River sweet, etc), so a cheap way to get around.
3) Runs the entire length of St. Charles, from Canal Street all the way past Audubon Park.
Cons:
1) Sometimes can take FOREVER. Sometimes can take 10 minutes. Depends on the driver and the people in the car.
2) People seem utterly unable to walk a block, so you will be sitting at one block for a few minutes, then as soon as the car starts again someone will ask to stop at the next block. It is a huge waste of time and would save everyone time if people would just walk a block.
3) It gets very stuffy when it rains because they shut the windows and there is no central air flow.
4) You must pay in cash and exact change is needed unless you are ok getting a change voucher redeemable only on the streetcars.
5) I think it is 80% of the streetcar drivers’ personal mission to be as rude as possible. They hurry you along in the rudest way and then take their sweet time with everything else. There have been a few nice ones, but most of them seem to hate everyone around them.
So in summary, if you want the pretty ride, you should check it out. But after the first ride, the busses are much more efficient and fast.

After walking our feet off in the French Quarter, we took a ride in two of the cars through the Arts and Garden Centre and back.
For the magnificent cost of 80 cents (seniors rate) we travelled back in time. The drivers were helpful as I struggled to climb onto the car — very high step — and made me laugh.
Only minus point was having to get off the car to climb back on after the driver got off, went to the other end and got back on again. Another 80 cents and we were off again.
Thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Seriously the best first twenty minutes of your toddler’s life.
$ 1.50 gets you there. $ 3.00 gets you there and back with your screaming toddler, his stroller, your nephew and his bicycle.
And if it’s as awesome as you imagine you can go again. Or you can stay home and drink. Drink all of the wine.

I love how convenient this street car is and the service is frequent even in weekends. For $ 3 & you can ride all the streetcar lines all day. It’s a bargain!
The drivers are all friendly & really helpful.
It’s clean & sometimes packed with people even late at night. Beautiful sceneries. The houses that were decorated for the holidays were so amazing.

It’s amazing that you can ride a street car these days. We rode it from MidCity to the French Quarter the first night that we were in town. It was an adventure because there was some characters on the bus. The driver was really funny and he helped to get this drunk old man to stop hitting on me. The ride will be bumpy so, get ready to hold on.
I have heard mixed reviews on the reliability of the street car but, we weren’t in a hurry to go away where so, I didn’t pay attention to if it was on time. You need to have exact change as there isn’t an option for paying by card. I believe you can buy day passes for $ 3.00 in addition to just paying for single rides.
This is a must do in New Orleans or really anywhere you can ride a street car. I think kids would get a kick out of it too!

Great way to see the city.
$ 1.50 one-​way or $ 3 to hop on & off all day. Super easy and convenient way to see major hot spots in New Orleans from Garden District to French Quarter areas, Audubon Park to WW2 Museum.
I suggest the $ 3 route; you get a real bang for your buck.
~Christy

This is one of the oldest means of public transportation in New Orleans. It has a great historical value here. Though not as reliable/​efficient as other means of transportation nowadays, it is still a very popular choice by many locals and tourists alike. It is the most inexpensive and get you through a good popular chunk of New Orleans.
For example, it’s only three dollars (Single dollar cash money!) for a day pass (24 hour). Not bad. With this pass you will receive a scannable card. Otherwise, it’s $ 1.25 one way (exact change).
During peak times, which is most of the day, the streetcar gets really full up to the driver and front door so be mindful of The fact that you might end up standing for most of the ride. There is no heating/​AC on these cars, but they do have a lot of windows to open up on those hot days. Luckily on the days that we rode this on, we were in winter. Another tip is that you will need cash and exact change for your ride.
Be mindful that the drivers are a little bit gruff and blunt in mannerisms. With that in mind, be sure to study your maps before getting on as not to slow down the process.
I think this is worth getting on at least once if you plan to take a trip to New Orleans.

is your authority. Buy passes at Walgreens, there’s one on every corner. Buy a 1 or 3 day Jazzy Pass and your life will be so easy. So will getting around town! A 3 day pass is $ 9. You can ride one way for $ 1.25, exact change.
The stops are easily seen up/​down the boulevards, watch for passengers gathering. Refer to your transit map, use your phone as others have suggested. The St Charles pick up is on Canal. Another in CBD.
Another great website is
. Updated & very informative.
Please note that if you travel to the end of the St Charles line past the colleges, you will have to get off. There’s always been a turn around here, but it’s a little further now, on past Le Madeline. You will be instructed where to go to get back on, IF you want to immediately make the return.
You want off & it’s not an official stop? Just pull the cord.
And be aware no matter how much fun it is to ride along with the breeze coming through the windows, taking in all the great views, that those slatted wooden seats do become a tad uncomfortable:) But you can just hop on, hop off. There is so much to see/​do using this line that runs through the Garden Dristrict, out to Tulane & Loyola, Audubon Park.
To the disgruntled 2015 holiday reviewer I recently read: do you realize what these holidays have been like? Everyone’s stressed. (Before Goliath; & the Sugar Bowl) The cars are loaded to the max. RTA can’t control that. Running late, cars too full to stop, etc. Yea, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it & I’ve been riding the streetcars 30 years as a tourist. But those drivers do their best & are pretty efficient & nice about it. (We were on Magazine St. & could not get a cab, although one had been called for us twice & we saw 4 – 5 just drive on by. So we walked up to St Charles and grabbed a trolley.)
Please remember that locals use the trolleys for their everyday transportation

There’s no need for you to mess around with a tourist bus in NOLA, as you can ride the St. Charles Ave. Streetcar (as well as the other streetcar lines or public buses) for just $ 1.25 each way (exact change required) or $ 3 for a day pass. The St. Charles Ave. car will take you from the heart of the business district through the Garden District and all the way out to the universities. You get beautiful views on a route that’s been running for over 150 years. When you exit from the back make sure to push the doors hard (real hard).
If you want a quick and easy way to see some of the sights in the Garden District, hop off at Washington Ave. walk two blocks south, and you’ll find Commander’s Palace on your left and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 on your right. Explore the neighborhood and you’ll find sights such as the house where Jefferson Davis died, the Benjamin Button House, and homes of the rich and famous like Anne Rice and John Goodman, and the former home of Archie Manning (where Peyton and Eli grew up).

This is a wonderful and inexpensive way to see New Orleans. The all day fare is $ 3!
We took the green line from downtown on Canal street for a 13 mile ride past the Garden district and it’s beautiful
Mansions on to Loyola and Tulane Universities and further into other residential areas and back– totaled 90 minutes and gave a real flavor for the city

I took the St. Charles Streetcar line from Canal Street down to Audubon park and the Garden district. The route was super scenic as it took you through the beautiful neighborhoods of the Garden district. Get a window seat so you can look at all the amazing houses and architecture! The driver was super nice, and helped point out famous attractions at certain stops. He yelled out the stop names, but I oftentimes couldn’t hear it, so make sure you pay attention to the stops.
The only thing is that on my way back, a few of the streetcars were so packed that they no longer took passengers, so I opted to walk along the track until another one came by.

Would you believe I had fun riding a streetcar? I guess this goes on the list of riding a ferry. Streetcars are becoming rare. The last streetcar I rode was more than 10 years ago in San Francisco. Usually those streetcars are for tourists.
The St. Charles Streetcar are not only for tourists but locals also ride them. It’s actually a relief I can ride the streetcar and take the time to look at the architecture along St. Charles. Plus it’s one less car needed on the street.

Pretty good experience for getting around town but also for sightseeing…
PLUS: quick turnover with a new cart coming every 5 min it seemed like. Cheap! $ 3 for an all day pass. Pretty cool ride, clean and roomy, friendly drivers…
NEGATIVE: on this day they had construction, so mid way we had to get of and get on a bus that carried us 2 miles down, and then get on the cart again… It was somewhat of a hassle, plus the rain made it worse… On top of that, the conductor didn’t mention this at the beginning of the ride!
Still, a good experience. Would do it again

Great, scenic streetcar line. We were fortunate to be staying close to the action so it wasn’t a long ride to Canal street.
The streetcar creaks through these epic neighborhoods, surrounded by 100 year old trees and mansions. The windows were down when we rode and we felt the heavy air of the south throughout.
We also took it back home after a night out and was glad to hear that it ran until 4 a.m. Even the Metro in Paris stops at midnight, so going until 4 is a huge win for the night owls of NOLA, which is pretty much everyone visiting.

In terms of transportation, the St. Charles Streetcar Line is the bee’s knees. Need a designated driver to get you to the bars, the St. Chuck Line is your $ 1.25 ticket to not getting a DUI.
This streetcar line got me down to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas every day when I was 13 volunteering during the summer. This week it has been my Ol’ Faithful to get to Napoleon for «the Mardi Gras.» ;)
Some things to know…
–Make sure to post up at an actual Streetcar Line stop, noted by the signage. You can’t just roll up to any corner, believe me I know this because I’ve sprinted to the stop after a streetcar just kept going passed me.
–If it’s just you or a group of 7, errbody pile in so they can close the door and be on their way. You’re just pissing people off standing in the doorway holding up the line.
–Exact change $ 1.25. You’ll get a voucher if you give them more than that, but have your shiz ready to go.
–The seats can flip to face each other, i.e. mini party on the streetcar!
–You’re not actually allowed to have food or drink on the streetcar… so if you just bought that daq, hide it in yo’ bag! I’ve gotten ditched for having a Bloody Mary so I was prepared.
–The back door will open when the light turns green, put some back into it to get it open.
–Enjoy! It’s not the fastest means of travel, but it’s quite enjoyable if you just take it all in.