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New Orleans: Tips and Safety


Thore

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Fellow Cachers (if somewhat distant).

I will be in New Orleans on business next week and have about half a day for caching in the City. I am staying in a Hotel on Canal Street, close to the river and looked up a number of caches north of Canal St. and south of Esplanade Ave (East of US 10). And a few south of US 90.

Being german I have to rely on hearsay of where to go and where not. I admit that I heard some bad stories about crime in N.O. that I find hard to believe.

 

Could you (someone) please advise on areas to stay away from and whether my intended caching area contains some unsafe areas? Any tip or help will be appreciated!

 

Thank you all in advance and Happy Hunting

Thore

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I lived in New Orleans for 8 years until Katrina hit. While the crime/murder rate is high, it tends to be among the local population rather than aimed at the tourists. As long as you stick to areas with people around (particularly touristy areas with people around) you will likely have no problem. Take special care in cemeteries-- they are cool but some of them aren't famous for being safe. Perhaps check with someone at the hotel before you head out to see if they have suggestions about the area you are planning to visit.

 

Oh...and THE must do cache in New Orleans is View Carre-- make sure you check out the hours on that one and try to arrange to visit it early in your trip.

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Fellow Cachers (if somewhat distant).

I will be in New Orleans on business next week and have about half a day for caching in the City. I am staying in a Hotel on Canal Street, close to the river and looked up a number of caches north of Canal St. and south of Esplanade Ave (East of US 10). And a few south of US 90.

Being german I have to rely on hearsay of where to go and where not. I admit that I heard some bad stories about crime in N.O. that I find hard to believe.

 

Could you (someone) please advise on areas to stay away from and whether my intended caching area contains some unsafe areas? Any tip or help will be appreciated!

 

Thank you all in advance and Happy Hunting

Thore

 

I haven't done much caching since Katrina, but I'll echo what the others have said. Since you only have half a day, stay in the French Quarter, you'll be fine. If you do find more time, try some caches in City Park. And don't forget View Carre!

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Fellow Cachers (if somewhat distant).

I will be in New Orleans on business next week and have about half a day for caching in the City. I am staying in a Hotel on Canal Street, close to the river and looked up a number of caches north of Canal St. and south of Esplanade Ave (East of US 10). And a few south of US 90.

Being german I have to rely on hearsay of where to go and where not. I admit that I heard some bad stories about crime in N.O. that I find hard to believe.

 

Could you (someone) please advise on areas to stay away from and whether my intended caching area contains some unsafe areas? Any tip or help will be appreciated!

 

Thank you all in advance and Happy Hunting

Thore

 

I haven't done much caching since Katrina, but I'll echo what the others have said. Since you only have half a day, stay in the French Quarter, you'll be fine. If you do find more time, try some caches in City Park. And don't forget View Carre!

 

My first cache find ever was in City Park :ph34r: Katrina took out that cache, though :( I don't know about the current caching situation in City Park, but there are several caches in Audubon Park. You can get there in about 30-45 minutes on the street car from the French Quarter. The park is lovely and the street car ride will take you past some of the most beautiful houses in New Orleans. Tulane University (where I go to school) and Loyola University are across the street from the park if you happen to enjoy walking through college campuses. Be sure to check on the recent finds on the Audubon Park caches before you head out, though. I had a very frustrating 2 days caching there this spring when I was unable to find nearly every one I tried for. Some were confirmed missing, while others I just wasn't able to spot.

 

Edit: Doh...forgot that the street cars probably still aren't running. Last I knew they had city buses running along the street car route, though, so you can likely still get there easily (and even faster than by streetcar) from the French quarter.

Edited by niffir
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Also, I did most of the caches in the French Quarter during the day, and other than parking issues, I never felt threatened or was worried about safety issues. At night looking for caches in those areas may be totally different.

Triple that-View Carre is a must find. The French Quarter is pretty safe as are most of the general touristy areas-Magazine Street, The Garden District, and Uptown. Tourism and the related dollars are a major part of the city's economy, and the police force does its part to minimize the criminal impact in those zones.

 

One other safety tip (and this would apply to any city with an active nightclub life): if a beautiful woman welcomes your approaches in a bar, it is sometimes a good idea to check the equipment department before proceeding. Getting slapped in public is a lot less embarrassing than the alternative. ;):)

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May be late with this reply, but I have to stress again the View Carre', I have been to New Orleans many times, and have never really felt "unsafe".

It is like any big city, watch your surroundings and have fun, that is what most people are in New Orleans to do.

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Thanks to everyone for the advice. I am flying in tomorrow, so will not be checking beack here for a bit.

Apparently the rumors about N.O. are slightly exaggerated. As usual.

I added View Carre to my list and look foreward to caching in New Orleans.

 

Thanks again everyone and Happy Hunting

 

Thore

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Thanks to everyone for the advice. I am flying in tomorrow, so will not be checking beack here for a bit.

Apparently the rumors about N.O. are slightly exaggerated. As usual.

I added View Carre to my list and look foreward to caching in New Orleans.

 

Thanks again everyone and Happy Hunting

 

Thore

 

Saw you logged the View Carre cache. Hope you had a great trip to New Orleans! Let us know what other caches you visited. I now go there a couple times a year and would love to hear of any caches you think I should check out. I've not lived in the city since before the Hurricane (and didn't cache much the year before it), so most of the ones I have done there have long since been archived.

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Thanks again to everyone!

I had a safe travel in, got a lucky break and almost all of sunday to cache. I saved VIEW CARRE for last... and boy was it worth it. WOW. When looking out of my hotel window and checking the distances I thought 'No. It can't be...' But well... it was. Took some spectacular pictures

 

When I got to Pirate Alley a guy walked up to me warning me about walking the sidestreets, especially this one as there 'is a lot of anger here and people looking for trouble'. I never felt threatened (being 6'6 might help ;-) ) but have to admit that I tried to stay clear of certain locals

 

@ Niffir: I covered all of the French quarter, mostly virtuals, but also a few traditionals (5).

I can recommend 'A shining example' (Virtual GCA5A9) and 'From distant shores' (Virtual GCD7CB)

As far as the traditionals go I liked 'Half Fast Cache' GCQ91H A bit of a tricky hide but nicely restored houses.

 

I think I will go back to VIEW and try to meet the owner. Outstanding piece of work.

 

Thore

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