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Mid
City
 Mid-City is a portion of New Orleans
in the center of the metropolitan area, about midway between the
Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. It is less visited by
tourists than more famous areas like the French Quarter, but has
impressive attractions of its own. The area of
Mid-City around the Fairgrounds and the nearby portion of Esplanade
Avenue is often called the Bayou St. John neighborhood or Esplanade
Ridge. The old Bayou itself can be seen when you cross the bridge
over it at the tail of Esplanade in front of City Park; it is a a
calm long finger of water constrained by grassy levees as it winds
through the old urban neighborhood. Mid-City is
filled with visitors each year for the week and a half of the New
Orleans Jazz Festival. The rest of the year the neighborhood is
often comparatively neglected by travelers
 Mid-City's central location allows easy access to other
parts of town. Take the Canal Streetcar to the French Quarter and
the Central Business District. Drive or take the bus to the other
end of beautiful Esplanade Avenue to arrive at the lower edge of the
Quarter and the hip Faubourg Marigny neighborhood (alternatively
reached by taking the Canal Streetcar to the far end at Esplanade
and the river levee). Lakeview and Lakefront neighborhoods are a
short drive away. The Carrollton neighborhood at the upper end of
Uptown can be driven to by taking Carrollton Avenue to the other
end. While there is bus service along Carrollton Avenue from
Mid-City to the Old Carrollton neighborhood, those relying on public
transit may wish to consider getting to Uptown and Carrollton by a
more indirect route: take the Canal Streetcar to the Central
Business District, then the green St. Charles Streetcar up. While
this route is longer, it may be less aggravating and is certainly
much more picturesque.
To be continued
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