Shopping for Discovery and Surprise

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	Art, Antiques, Fashion and Collectibles Abound in the French Quarter.

New Orleans ' French Quarter merchants have won the battle against strip malls and generic chain operations. Personality and individuality prevail here and richly diverse, often family owned and operated retail establishments line the neighborhood streets, allowing for a shopping experience that is full of discovery and surprise.

Raucous Variety
To be found throughout the French Quarter are exhaustive offerings in American and European antique and contemporary furniture; paintings, sculpture, drawings and every other artistic medium imaginable; local and regional crafts; and clothing galore including custom-designed gowns, off-the-rack designer numbers, vintage couture, fanciful lingerie, custom millinery, and hip, trendy, street-wear. All manner of new, used and rare books and music are offered in shops ranging from expansive to closet-like. Cooks can placate their passions at century-old grocery stores cum delicatessens, comprehensive kitchen shops and general stores offering hard-to-find regional food-stuffs. There's even a culinary antiques shop that carries everything from ancient china, crystal and hand-embroidered linens to rustic duck presses.

This vast variety of unique goods is available within the six by twelve block space we embrace as the French Quarter. Plan at least one full day of leisurely browsing and digging when shopping in the Quarter. A comfortable pair of shoes, an open mind and an open schedule will be of great benefit. While a large sum of cash is also rather nice to have when out for a day of shopping, window shoppers and curiosity seekers will not be disappointed either.

Of Ports and Pedigrees
New Orleans ' age, distinct European heritage, and status as a major port city have made it a favorite destination for collectors. The concentration of elegant antiques shops lining Royal Street are highly reputable establishments often run by third- and fourth-generation family members who are eager to educate on the pedigree and history of their goods. The life span of the establishments is reflected in the exceptional range of their international stock of fine objects d'art, jewels and antiquities . The sheer number of shops also translates into bargaining power for the consumer.

Two blocks from Royal Street , Decatur Street , by comparison, is at once both trendy and bohemian. Its boutiques sell modish, body-hugging club clothing that appeals to the young and hip as well as vintage clothing and accessories befitting of screen queens.

Literally and figuratively, Chartres Street is somewhere in between. Chic, locally-owned shoe and clothing boutiques and shops offering custom-designed jewelry co-exist on the same block with contemporary art galleries, and oddities shops stocked to meet the demand for things like Civil war musket balls and old Confederate money.

The French Quarter supports numerous bookstores representing all manner of interests with a strong bent toward local and regional writers, both modern and classic. Like other retail establishments in the neighborhood, the majority of the bookshops offering used, rare and collectible books are independently owned.

Back of the Quarter
The French Market and Community Flea Market at the back of the Quarter is a fun place to shop for a dinner party, peruse local cookbooks, or dig for bargains from all corners of the world. A collection of small, interesting shops extend from the front of the complex at Decatur and St. Ann Streets back to Ursuline Street . Until the late 19th century Choctaw vendors sold herbs and medicinal plants at the site of the French Market, which extends from Ursuline Street back to Governor Nicholls Street . The Spanish erected the first enclosed market here in 1782, where fresh meat, poultry, produce, game, seafood, baked goods, spices, seasonings, fruit and live plants are now sold.

The Community Flea Market extends from Governor Nicholls Street back to Barracks Street . Some vendors are out every day but weekends are particularly lively here and everything from notable local artists and jewelry designers, to importers of fine international crafts as well as mass-produced junk and to people peddling the dusty contents of their grandmothers' attics turn out to sell their wares. These independent vendors expect you to bargain for their 'best' deal. Sometimes you get it. Sometimes you don't but you'll usually leave feeling amused.

 

Jyl Benson is a New Orleans-based writer and publicist and frequent contributor to Time, New Orleans, St. Charles Avenue and the Times Picayune. She also regularly contributes to travel and guide books on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.