Hopping a streetcar is a fun way to get out and see the sights. Yes you could take a taxi, Lyft or Uber and you’d get to where you want to go faster.
But it won’t be as colorful or enjoyable. And you’ll be riding history. You can download an app on your smart phone that tracks when the streetcar will be at your stop. The fare is $1.25 and you can pay by cash or smartphone.
Go to Apple app store or Google Play and download RTA GoMobile to get fares, and real time updates.
One of the nicest and fun things to do is if you are in the Quarter hop a streetcar at either Carondolet St and Canal or Canal St. and the first block on St. Charles. This is the St. Charles Avenue route that goes all the way down St. Charles makes a turn at the riverbend and becomes Carrollton Avenue.
The streetcar goes about another couple miles and comes to an end at Claiborne Avenue. The streetcar just heads in the opposite direction and you can ride all the way back downtown from here.
Sometimes you will see the streetcar chock full of people. If the car is too full you might have to wait for the next one but that is rarely the case. You enter from the front, pay your fare and then you find a seat. If you are with a group of people and if there are 2 seats one behind the other feel free to flip the front seat around so you and your friends can face each other and talk.
There is a recorded speaker that announces what street you are coming too. Unless you are sitting way in the front it’s best to exit through the back door and you need to push hard to open it.
The Canal Street streetcar is red goes all the way out to the cemeteries. It is air conditioned. There is a spur that goes off to the right to City Park. When you get a few blocks from Carrollton Avenue there is Mandina’s, a very popular restaurant that’s been around for decades. This is a fun place to go especially for lunch, it’s loud and raucous, a very popular spot for locals.
At the end of the Canal line at the cemeteries there is Morning Call coffee and beignets. This used to be in the French Quarter just a block from Cafe DuMonde and it is just as old. And the fare is just as good.
Find out more here and how to plane your trip around town: https://www.norta.com/
