Mardi gras parking

[sea-u-later]

We will be renting a car before our cruise Feb 18th and are planning on going to Bourbon st Sat. nite around 1o pm and then to one of the early parades Sunday morning before we set sail. My question is, where can we park nearby? Do they have pay parking lots, or what? Im bringing my GPS so Im really not worried about getting lost. Thanks again

[Crichard]

Parking that weekend you will have to pay for all day. Most people park their cars on Saturday morning and some may not move them till Sunday night or Monday. I live in New Orleans and I would find a hotel that will park your car and stay there. Walking is the best way to get around at this time of the year. All day parking can run up to $25 and you cannot move your car. If you leave and return it is another $25. I hate that rule, but thats how it goes. A big parade runs Saturday night and it is one of the best in the city. Frenchquarter will be crazy after that parade. The parades generally start to run on Sunday for like 10. All parades are taking same route downtown due to police shortage. On Sunday, a lot of streets are closed and you may not be able to drive downtown very well at all. A lot of one way streets, may blocked for parade and quarter traffic. You may want to unload at the hotel, and go park at the pier so you have a place for your car while on the ship. If you need some help, my email address is Crichard312@cox.net. I would be sure to have a New Orleans map with you and check the nola.com site for the parade routes. Computer systems dont take into account for closed streets for Mardi Gras. Good luck and enjoy Mardi Gras

Cathy

[map70065]

We will be renting a car before our cruise Feb 18th and are planning on going to Bourbon st Sat. nite around 1o pm and then to one of the early parades Sunday morning before we set sail. My question is, where can we park nearby? Do they have pay parking lots, or what? Im bringing my GPS so Im really not worried about getting lost. Thanks again

 

I agree with Cathy, find a hotel that has parking, park the car and either walk or take a cab. GPS won't help you when there's a parade rolling because sometimes you just can't get from here to there - even walking across a parade route can take some time.

 

If you are staying someplace outside the quarter and want to brave driving there are some pay parking places - if you can get to them at 10pm.

[bike1964]

Will the parades effect getting to and from the cruise port on Julia St? When we booked our cruise leaving on 2/10, I guess we didn't realize we would be dealing with the Mardi Gras. Just want to be able to get to the port and get out without a hassle. Please advise.

[map70065]

Will the parades effect getting to and from the cruise port on Julia St? When we booked our cruise leaving on 2/10, I guess we didn't realize we would be dealing with the Mardi Gras. Just want to be able to get to the port and get out without a hassle. Please advise.

It will affect getting to/from the Julia St. pier. How much it will affect it will depend on where you want to go. If you want to get from the pier to the French Quarter it won't be affected (if you're walking). Driving you will be able to get to the pier, but may need to add some time to you plans (it's hard to tell how traffic will be before/during a parade. The traffic on 2/10 won't be as bad as the next weekend. The traffic isn't an all day thing either, just around parade time.

[bike1964]

Thanks for your help. I'll have to make sure we leave plenty early. I want to try to get to the port by noon. There is a parade @ 11:00 and another @ 1:00 both in Uptown. We are supposed to come Sout on I-55 and exit on Hwy I-10/90 business and tale it to Tscouptlous (spelling) and then to the terminal. Would the Uptown parades be effecting that roue?

[map70065]

Thanks for your help. I'll have to make sure we leave plenty early. I want to try to get to the port by noon. There is a parade @ 11:00 and another @ 1:00 both in Uptown. We are supposed to come Sout on I-55 and exit on Hwy I-10/90 business and tale it to Tscouptlous (spelling) and then to the terminal. Would the Uptown parades be effecting that roue?

If you're talking the 10th you may not have much of a problem getting to the port by noon. The two place I check for current parade information (nola.com and Arthur Hardy's site - http://www.mardigrasguide.com/calendar/) both say that the parades that day are at 1 and 2. If the first parade doesn't start until 1 it won't get close until after 2, so you'll have plenty of time. Your directions are correct I-55 south to I-10, then I-10 east to the 610 loop, where you'll stay on I-10/US90. When I-10 and US90 split you stay on US90 until the Tchoupitoulas exit. If you go over the bridge (the Mississippi) you've gone too far <G> (and you'll have to pay $1 to get back).

[bike1964]

Thanks again for all of your help.

[BenMont1981]

Best deal for overnight/hotel parking that I know of is at garage behind the Astor on Iberville St. Its only $15/day and it is a 24/7 valet secure garage.

 

It is run by Premium Parking Service. Its in the French Quarter one block from Canal St. and one block from Bourbon St.

 

They have more information and a coupon on their website.

 

http://premiumparkingservice.com/promo_overnight.shtml

[LSUcajunmom]

Okay same question just different weekend. We are leaving on Saturday the 21st. What time should we get to NO to be able to get to the pier without traffic worries? thanks in advance for your help.

[curcurt]

Give yourself an extra hour more than normal. Had the displeasure of going from the westbank of the river over to the city and back. My normal trip of 40 minutes took almost 2 hours one way. This was in the middle of the day. All day long they move floats out of the warehouses and get them to the staging areas for the parades and it causes traffic nightmares all day long. This will go on everyday till Tuesday.

[Akalways]

I work in the CBC (central business district) and I see the miles of cars trying to cross WB to EB every night during parade season. Unbelievable. Last night took forever trying to exit my parking garage on Camp as there was no police officer as usual. Then driving down Poydras and Tchoupitoulas streets was like bumper cars trying to dodge the tourists in costume (drinks in hand of course).

 

Anyway, give yourself PLENTY of time if driving in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.