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Shopping Overview

Shopping in New Orleans is like opening a treasure chest in which everything you want is at your fingertips, from rare antiques to novelty T-shirts, artwork, jewelry, and packaged foods that represent the city's flavors and culture.

New Orleanians are sturdy and determined people who have a deep love and devotion for the Crescent City and the varied ethnic components that make up its unique cultural gumbo. For shoppers, this translates into merchandise that reflects that pride, including jewelry and clothing bearing city icons such as the fleur de lis -- a French symbol associated with the city since its early days -- Mardi Gras masks, tributes to its world-class food and culture, and unique and often humorous statements about Hurricane Katrina and its effects on New Orleans. New Orleanians also strongly support local entrepreneurs, which means shoppers can find many unique works by local artists and items produced in New Orleans.

Make sure you take home some of the city's posters and artworks, often collector's items, designed around New Orleans's special events such as Mardi Gras and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Favorite sons such as Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner are also often depicted, as are historic areas of the city. The special sounds of New Orleans -- Dixieland and contemporary jazz, rhythm and blues, Cajun, and zydeco -- are available in music stores and live-music venues such as Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, and House of Blues. Independent bookstores and major chains stock a plethora of local cookbooks, photography, history, and local literature and lore. Clothing stores focus on items that wear well in the subtropical heat, with styles ranging from the latest runway fashions, European designer wear, vintage items and reconstructed clothes, as well as styles from a host of local designers.

The local media are a good source for what is available on the shopping scene, and the Welcome Center on the St. Ann Street side of Jackson Square also has pamphlets to help you plan shopping trips.

The owners and workers who staff shops have a true appreciation for visitors to the city and are happy to help you find just the thing, whether a T-shirt printed with New Orleans themes, jewelry touting the special aspects of the city, designer shoes and apparel, or artwork created by locals. Some shops and galleries have shortened hours and days of operation due to staffing shortage and fewer tourists, but many will accommodate shoppers' schedules by opening by appointment on days or during hours they otherwise would be closed. It's always a good idea, especially in the French Quarter and Warehouse District, where foot traffic is slower, to call before you make a special trip to a shop or gallery. Magazine Street merchants are more consistent in their open times, and their small shops and boutiques are staffed largely by owners and their families.

Small businesses, especially those in the French Quarter, Warehouse, and Arts districts, are still struggling to overcome the adverse effects of Hurricane Katrina, namely a marked decrease in conventions and visitors. Although traffic to New Orleans is starting to pick up, most businesses say profits (if any) are small. To bolster their bottom lines, some stores are turning their formerly information-only Web sites into e-marketplaces in the hopes that visitors will continue to purchase their wares after they return home. Many businesses are also relocating to different streets where there is more foot traffic -- or moving to other parts of town, like Magazine Street.