Fodor's Expert Review French Market
The sounds, colors, and smells here are alluring: ships' horns on the river, street performers, pralines, muffulettas, sugarcane, and Creole tomatoes. Originally a Native American trading post and later a bustling open-air market under the French and Spanish, the French Market historically began at the present-day Café du Monde and stretched along Decatur and North Peters streets all the way to the downtown edge of the Quarter. Today, the market's graceful arcades have been mostly enclosed and filled with shops, trinket stands, and eateries, and the farmers' market has been pushed several blocks downriver, under sheds built in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration project. Latrobe Park, a small recreational area at the uptown end of the French Market, honors Benjamin Latrobe, designer of the city's first waterworks. An evocative modern fountain marks the spot where Latrobe's steam-powered pumps once stood. Sunken seating, fountains, and greenery make this a lovely place... READ MORE
The sounds, colors, and smells here are alluring: ships' horns on the river, street performers, pralines, muffulettas, sugarcane, and Creole tomatoes. Originally a Native American trading post and later a bustling open-air market under the French and Spanish, the French Market historically began at the present-day Café du Monde and stretched along Decatur and North Peters streets all the way to the downtown edge of the Quarter. Today, the market's graceful arcades have been mostly enclosed and filled with shops, trinket stands, and eateries, and the farmers' market has been pushed several blocks downriver, under sheds built in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration project. Latrobe Park, a small recreational area at the uptown end of the French Market, honors Benjamin Latrobe, designer of the city's first waterworks. An evocative modern fountain marks the spot where Latrobe's steam-powered pumps once stood. Sunken seating, fountains, and greenery make this a lovely place to relax with a drink from one of the nearby kiosks.
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