Rent a Bus to Garden District & St. Charles Avenue: The Complete Transportation Guide

The Garden District is the reason people who visit New Orleans once end up moving here. Fourteen square blocks of antebellum mansions, centuries-old live oaks arching over a neutral ground, and one of the most walkable and camera-friendly streetscapes in the American South — all of it sitting right off St. Charles Avenue, the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. The single question every group organizer eventually hits is the same one: where exactly does the bus drop everyone off, and what are the rules once it gets there?

This guide answers it plainly, using the City of New Orleans' own published regulations, and then walks you through everything else a group trip to the Garden District actually needs: the mansion walk, the cemetery, the Magazine Street stretch, the Mardi Gras parade route, the streetcar experience, and what size vehicle gets your crew there without a permit headache. At Party Bus In New Orleans, the Garden District is one of our most-requested New Orleans destinations — for bachelorette parties, wedding weekend shuttles, school outings, and reunion groups alike — so the advice below comes from running these routes, not from a tourism brochure.

What and Where Is the Garden District?

The Garden District sits roughly two miles upriver from the French Quarter, bounded by St. Charles Avenue to the north, Magazine Street to the south, Jackson Avenue to the east, and Louisiana Avenue to the west. It was built in the 1840s and 1850s by wealthy American merchants who wanted nothing to do with the Creole families in the French Quarter — and they showed it by erecting the largest, most theatrical Greek Revival and Italianate mansions they could afford, surrounded by elaborate gardens that gave the neighborhood its name.

It is a genuinely walkable neighborhood, which is both its great appeal and its logistical wrinkle for buses. The streets are narrow, the oak canopy is enormous, and the city has enforced strict motorcoach rules here for years. Understanding those rules before you arrive is what separates a smooth group visit from a bus circling side streets looking for somewhere to stop.

The One Rule Every Group Organizer Must Know

Here is the detail that catches first-timers off guard — and it comes straight from the New Orleans & Company motorcoach rules page, which reflects the city ordinance enforced by the Department of Safety & Permits:

No buses with a seating capacity of more than 20 passengers may travel in the Garden District. The boundaries of the restriction are St. Charles Avenue, Jackson Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, and Magazine Street — the entire neighborhood.

There is a limited exception. The Department of Safety & Permits Ground Transportation Bureau may authorize up to 22 buses per month with more than 20 passengers to travel on Prytania Street and Washington Avenue within the Garden District — but only for the purpose of receiving and discharging passengers from commercial establishments. Loading and unloading is authorized only in zones that are marked and bear signs, the permit must be carried on board, and buses cannot idle for longer than ten minutes.

To obtain a Garden District permit, contact the Ground Transportation Bureau directly at 504-658-7170.

How Your Group Actually Gets There: Three Approaches

The motorcoach restriction sounds limiting, but in practice it pushes groups toward the same approaches the neighborhood's own residents use — and those approaches are genuinely pleasant. Here is how they break down.

Option 1: Minibus Drop-Off on St. Charles Avenue (Best for Most Groups)

A vehicle with 20 or fewer passengers — a Sprinter van, a 14-passenger Sprinter limo, or a compact minibus — can move freely within the Garden District without a special permit. For groups in that range, the bus drops you anywhere along the perimeter, or on a side street, and the walk in is short. St. Charles Avenue itself is the natural staging spine: the tree-lined neutral ground runs the entire length of the neighborhood's northern edge, and from any stop along it, the most-visited mansions are one or two blocks south.

For groups between 21 and 56 passengers, the bus (with the proper permit) may use the Prytania Street and Washington Avenue drop-off points. The Washington Avenue zone puts your group directly across from Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 (1420 Washington Ave) and half a block from Commander's Palace (1403 Washington Ave) — the two most-visited destinations in the neighborhood and the natural starting point for a walking tour of the district.

Option 2: St. Charles Avenue Streetcar (Best for Larger Groups Who Want the Experience)

The St. Charles Streetcar (RTA Line 12) is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from Canal Street at Carondelet all the way uptown to Carrollton Avenue — right through the heart of St. Charles Avenue and past nearly every mansion in the Garden District. A single ride costs $1.25; the Le Pass mobile app cuts out the exact-change requirement entirely (cash fares require exact change — the farebox does not return coins).

The RTA streetcar guide covers pass options including a $3 one-day pass and $9 three-day pass.

For a group that wants the streetcar experience as part of the trip itself — and many bachelorette and sightseeing groups specifically do — the practical move is to have your bus wait on Canal Street or in the Central Business District, board the streetcar as a group, and ride it uptown. The Washington Avenue stop is where most Garden District visitors exit: turn left off the streetcar, walk one block, and you are standing in front of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. Your bus can move to meet you at a designated pickup point after the walk.

Option 3: Drop on Magazine Street (Best for Shopping-Focused Groups)

If your itinerary centers on the six-mile shopping corridor along Magazine Street rather than the mansion walk, a vehicle of any size can drop and pick up on Magazine Street outside the Garden District's interior streets. Magazine forms the southern boundary of the restricted zone; buses stopping here access the boutiques, restaurants, and bars of the Lower Garden District and the Upper Garden District without any interior restriction. Magazine Street metered parking runs Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., so your group's walk from bus to curb is typically under half a block on the south side of the neighborhood.

What Your Group Will Actually See: The Garden District Walk

Most guided tours start at Washington Avenue and Prytania Street and work their way through about eight blocks of streets. Here is what the main stops look like for a self-guided group, with the operational details that matter for trip planning.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 — 1420 Washington Ave.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is the most-visited cemetery in New Orleans outside of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in the French Quarter. It was established in 1833 as the burial ground for the Garden District's German and Irish immigrant communities; the above-ground vaults, double-decker tombs, and society crypts that fill it are the same style you see throughout the city. Anne Rice set Interview with the Vampire partly inside these gates.

The cemetery is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Saturday, 7 a.m. to noon; it is closed Sundays. Admission is free. Groups should enter from the Washington Avenue gate — the main entrance faces the streetcar stop directly, and this is where tour groups assemble.

Self-guided visits are permitted; guided tours run on a schedule from several local tour companies if your group wants context rather than wandering. For current hours and any seasonal changes, check the Save Our Cemeteries organization's Lafayette Cemetery page before your visit.

Commander's Palace — 1403 Washington Ave.

Across from the cemetery sits Commander's Palace, the turquoise Victorian landmark that has defined New Orleans fine dining since 1893. Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, and Tory McPhail all built their reputations here. Groups wanting a celebratory lunch or dinner in the Garden District book Commander's Palace months in advance for large parties — this is not a walk-in situation for a group of 20 or more.

Reservations and group dining inquiries go directly to the restaurant at (504) 899-8221 or via their website. Plan the visit around the reservation, not the other way around, and tell them the group will arrive by bus so they can note the drop-off approach on Washington Avenue.

The Mansion Walk: Three You Should Not Miss

The residential streets between Washington Avenue and First Street hold the highest concentration of antebellum mansions in the district. Three in particular anchor every self-guided walk:

• The Payne-Strachan House — 1134 First Street. Built in 1849 for Judge Jacob Payne, this is the house where Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, died in 1889. The Greek Revival columns and wide front gallery are immediately recognizable; the historical marker on the facade explains the connection.
• The Brevard-Rice House — 1239 First Street. One of the most photographed exteriors in the Garden District — Anne Rice owned it for decades and set the fictional Mayfair family home here in her Mayfair Witches novels. The house is private; photography from the sidewalk is expected and fine.
• The Robinson House (Walter Grinnan Robinson House) — 1415 Third Street. Built in 1859, this Henry Howard mansion was the first home in New Orleans to have indoor plumbing. At 10,516 square feet, it is one of the largest antebellum residential structures in the city.

Groups typically spend 45 minutes to an hour on the mansion walk portion, depending on pace and how many stops they make for photos. The streets are quiet, tree-shaded, and entirely flat — there is no accessibility issue with the sidewalks themselves, though some are uneven brick.

Buckner Mansion — Corner of Jackson Ave. and Coliseum St.

The Buckner Mansion sits on the Jackson Avenue border of the Garden District and is the most grandiose residential structure in the neighborhood. Built in 1856 for cotton merchant Henry Sullivan Buckner, it features three ballrooms and 48 columns wrapping a full-perimeter porch. Most groups see it as they approach from the streetcar stop or as they exit the neighborhood toward Jackson Avenue.

It is a private residence and an event venue; photography from the sidewalk is customary and expected.

Magazine Street: The Second Half of the Itinerary

The Garden District walking tour typically ends at Magazine Street, which runs parallel to St. Charles Avenue two blocks south. The corridor between Jackson Avenue and Louisiana Avenue concentrates the neighborhood's restaurants, bars, and boutiques, and most groups spend another one to two hours here after the mansion walk before the bus picks them up.

Magazine Street meters operate Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., at roughly $4 for two hours. What that means for groups: parking a bus here for an extended stay is not possible, but a designated pickup window is — your bus loops back at an agreed time, loads the group at the curb, and moves out. The six-mile stretch of Magazine Street runs from Canal Street all the way to Audubon Park, so there is always an uncongested block nearby for a quick pickup.

For food specifically: Surrey's Juice Bar (1888 Magazine St), La Boulangerie (4600 Magazine St), and Stein's Market & Deli (2207 Magazine St) are neighborhood staples for casual groups. For a full sit-down meal with a large group, Lilette (3637 Magazine St) and Coquette (2800 Magazine St) handle groups with advance notice.

St. Charles Avenue and the Mardi Gras Parade Route

One of the strongest reasons groups specifically book a New Orleans party bus rental for the Garden District is Carnival season. The St. Charles Avenue corridor from Napoleon Avenue to Canal Street is the Uptown parade route for the city's biggest krewes, and the Garden District sits directly on it. Bacchus, Orpheus, Zulu, and Rex all roll down St. Charles Avenue within days of each other in the weeks before Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras 2026 falls on February 17. The Krewe of Zulu starts on Jackson Avenue (at the 1600 to 2800 blocks) before turning onto St. Charles, making the intersection of Jackson and St. Charles the single best spot in the city to see a parade start and transition. Rex makes its traditional toast at the former Montgomery-Grace house near the Jackson Avenue-Toledano Street corridor.

For a group that wants a Garden District parade viewing spot with guaranteed access, the St. Charles neutral ground between Napoleon and Jackson Avenues fills by mid-morning on the big krewe days.

The practical warning: during Mardi Gras, the bus situation is significantly more complex. St. Charles Avenue closes to vehicle traffic in sections hours before parade time, and the city enforces strict parking prohibitions along the route. Your bus drops your group at a designated pickup point well outside the closure zone, then waits away from the crowd and comes back at a pre-agreed window after the parade clears.

Groups who try to coordinate pickup in the middle of a parade-night crowd without a plan are the ones still waiting on the neutral ground at midnight. When you book a New Orleans party bus rental for Mardi Gras week, we work through the timing and the pickup point before you go — so you are not making those decisions in the dark with a group of 30 people.

Krewe schedules, parade routes, and road closure maps are published by the City of New Orleans at NOLA Ready's Mardi Gras route page and updated each season. Check it in the weeks before your visit.

Which Vehicle Fits Your Garden District Group?

The city's bus size restriction shapes the vehicle decision here more than anywhere else in New Orleans. Here is how the options break down by group size and itinerary type.

The sweet spot for a Garden District trip is a 15- to 20-passenger minibus. You get full freedom of movement inside the district, plush reclining seats, powerful A/C (non-negotiable in New Orleans humidity), and overhead storage for bags and camera gear. For bachelorette groups or celebration outings where the ride itself is part of the event, a party bus in our fleet seats up to 50 passengers and includes a built-in bar, color-changing LED lighting, and premium Bluetooth sound — do the pre-party on Magazine Street or in the Central Business District, then switch to the smaller vehicle or the streetcar for the mansion walk.

For larger groups where everyone stays together on a 40- to 56-passenger charter bus: a full-size coach drops on St. Charles Avenue at the northern edge of the neighborhood, your group walks the two blocks south into the district, and the bus moves to the agreed pickup street after the walk. It is a well-worn routine for convention groups and large tour parties, and it works cleanly as long as the pickup window is set before the group splits up.

What a New Orleans Party Bus Rental Costs for a Garden District Visit

Party Bus In New Orleans provides all-inclusive pricing in under 30 seconds — you will know the exact number before you ever book. The quote is shaped by a handful of clear variables:

• Vehicle size — a 14-passenger Sprinter limo and a 35-passenger minibus are different rates.
• Total hours — how long the vehicle is reserved, including the drive to the Garden District, the visit itself, and any Magazine Street or French Quarter stops on the same itinerary.
• Date and season — Mardi Gras season and Jazz Fest weekends (late April and early May) price at peak demand.
• Pickup location and route — a pickup from the French Quarter is a shorter run than a pickup from Metairie or the airport.

For real ranges: 14-passenger Sprinter limos run $170–$344/hour; 15–20 passenger party buses run $204–$378/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $244–$414/hour; 35–50 passenger party buses and minibuses run $294–$490/hour; and 40–56 passenger charter buses run $150–$300/hour or $1,200–$2,500/day. Pricing depends on mileage, time of year, and vehicle type — but you will never be surprised by hidden costs. Call 504-758-3591 any time for a free, all-inclusive price quote at no obligation to you.

A Real Itinerary Example

Here is what a typical Garden District group trip looks like, from pickup to drop-off:

A bachelorette group of 16 booked a 20-passenger party bus for a Saturday in March. Pickup at 11:00 AM from their hotel on Canal Street, ride up St. Charles Avenue to the Washington Avenue stop — about 15 minutes. The group spent 45 minutes in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, walked the mansion blocks on First Street and Third Street, and stopped for a drink at a Magazine Street bar.

The bus was waiting on Magazine Street at 2:30 PM for pickup. Total time: 3.5 hours, one vehicle, no parking scramble, and the party started the moment the bus left the hotel. 3.5-hour all-inclusive rental: $1,050 — about $66 per person.

Getting There: Routes and Drive Times from Around New Orleans

The Garden District is close to most of where groups are staying. Drive times below are typical off-peak estimates — New Orleans traffic on weekend afternoons and during event weekends can extend these significantly.

The natural approach from downtown is up St. Charles Avenue — it is a direct, uninterrupted run from the Central Business District to the neighborhood's front door, and it is also the most scenic approach in the city. For groups coming from the North Shore via the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the approach is via I-10 West to the Pontchartrain Expressway and then Magazine Street or St. Charles.

Other Stops Groups Add to the Same Itinerary

The Garden District rarely fills an entire day by itself. Most groups combine it with one or two other stops, and a New Orleans party bus or minibus rental handles the connections cleanly. Here is what groups most often add:

• French Quarter and Bourbon Street. The natural bookend — Garden District in the afternoon, French Quarter at night. The bus runs the St. Charles Avenue corridor back downtown in 15 minutes, setting your group up at whatever French Quarter intersection makes sense for the evening.
• Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo. Two miles upriver from the Garden District on St. Charles Avenue. Audubon Zoo (6500 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70118) has dedicated bus parking on Magazine Street and a group entrance process; the park itself surrounds the zoo with 350 acres of open green space and a lagoon. Groups with children make this the natural second half of a day that starts in the Garden District.
• Frenchmen Street. The best live music strip in the city sits in the Marigny, about 10 minutes from the Garden District by bus. Groups that visit the Garden District in the late afternoon are often at Frenchmen Street venues by 9 p.m.
• The National WWII Museum. Located at 945 Magazine St in the Warehouse District, the museum has a designated loading and unloading zone on Magazine Street and complimentary bus parking two blocks away in the museum's lot under the I-10 overpass — one of the cleanest bus logistics situations in the city. Groups combining a museum visit with the Garden District walk do the museum first (doors open at 9 a.m.) and walk the district in the early afternoon.

Trip Types Groups Bring to the Garden District

Different groups, same neighborhood. A few of the visits we coordinate most often:

• Bachelorette and bachelor parties. The Garden District walk plus Commander's Palace (book well in advance) or a Magazine Street dinner, followed by a French Quarter night — the classic New Orleans bachelorette weekend structure. The 14-passenger Sprinter limo is the right pick for groups of that size: premium leather, tinted privacy windows, and room for the champagne.
• Wedding weekend shuttles. Out-of-town wedding guests who have a free afternoon between the rehearsal dinner and the ceremony frequently land on a Garden District walking tour. A 20-passenger minibus handles those groups without a permit and without anyone having to navigate a rental car through unfamiliar New Orleans one-way streets.
• Birthday and milestone celebrations. The Garden District's combination of history, beauty, and dining makes it a natural milestone destination. Groups celebrating a 40th or 50th birthday often spend an afternoon on the mansion walk and reserve Commander's Palace for the dinner.
• School and educational groups. The history of the Garden District — its antebellum architecture, the stories of the families who built it, the cemetery, the connection to the pre-Civil War cotton economy — makes it one of the most content-rich educational stops in New Orleans. Groups under 20 students fit easily in a minibus; larger groups coordinate the permit process and use the Prytania and Washington Avenue drop points.
• Reunion and family groups. A manageable walkable neighborhood, a famous restaurant, a famous cemetery, six miles of shops — the Garden District works for mixed-age groups because there is something for everyone and nothing requires walking more than a few blocks at a stretch.

Tips for Your Garden District Visit

A few things worth knowing before your group arrives:

• The cemetery has limited hours. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 closes at 2:30 p.m. on weekdays and at noon on Saturday, and is closed Sundays. Groups visiting on a Saturday should arrive no later than 11:00 a.m. if they want a full hour inside.
• The mansions are private residences. Every house on the walking tour is privately owned and actively occupied. Photography from the public sidewalk is completely standard — photographers line up outside the Brevard-Rice House year-round. Approaching a gate or going onto a property is not appropriate and will get your group in trouble.
• Commander's Palace requires advance reservations for groups. Walk-in availability for a party of more than eight is essentially zero. If Commander's Palace is on your itinerary, the reservation call happens before you book the bus, not after.
• Heat and humidity are real. New Orleans in June, July, August, and September is genuinely taxing for outdoor walking. Groups visiting in summer should plan the Garden District walk for the morning hours (ideally before 11:00 a.m.) and have a climate-controlled bus or a restaurant stop planned for midday. A charter bus with powerful A/C waiting at the Magazine Street pickup point is not a luxury in August — it is a necessity.
• The streetcar requires exact change or the Le Pass app. If your group is boarding the St. Charles streetcar as a unit, either load the Le Pass app in advance or make sure everyone has $1.25 in quarters or dollar coins. A group of 20 trying to make change at the farebox while the streetcar fills up is a slow-motion problem.
• Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest change everything. Vehicle access, street closures, and bus availability all shift dramatically during these periods. Book early and confirm your approach with our team for any event-week visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a charter bus drive into the Garden District?

Not without a special permit, and even with one, only on Prytania Street and Washington Avenue. The city restricts buses with more than 20 passengers from traveling inside the Garden District (bounded by St. Charles Avenue, Jackson Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, and Magazine Street). The exception allows up to 22 permitted buses per month with more than 20 passengers to use Prytania Street and Washington Avenue for passenger drop-off only.

Permit contact: Department of Safety & Permits Ground Transportation Bureau at 504-658-7170. Groups larger than 20 should plan to drop on St. Charles Avenue and walk south, or use the streetcar from Canal Street to the Washington Avenue stop.

Where is the best drop-off point for a Garden District group visit?

For groups of 20 or fewer in a minibus or Sprinter, anywhere along the St. Charles Avenue neutral ground or the side streets within the district. For larger groups with a permit, the Washington Avenue drop zone puts everyone steps from Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and Commander's Palace. For groups taking the streetcar, board at Canal and Carondelet and exit at Washington Avenue — the stop is right in front of the cemetery entrance.

Is the St. Charles streetcar a good option for groups?

For groups who want the streetcar as part of the experience, yes — and it is a genuine experience, not a backup plan. It is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, it runs 24/7, and it costs $1.25 per ride. For groups that just need transportation, a minibus is more efficient because it keeps everyone together, door-to-door.

The streetcar requires coordinating boarding, distributing fare, and making sure no one misses the car — fine for a group of 10, more complicated for a group of 30.

How far in advance should I book a bus for a Garden District trip during Mardi Gras?

October or November for a February Fat Tuesday visit. The weeks of Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras day are the highest-demand period for New Orleans party bus rentals all year, and the right-size vehicles go months before the parades. Groups that call in January for a Fat Tuesday weekend are usually working with whatever is left.

The earlier you call, the better your vehicle options and your price.

What is Lafayette Cemetery No. 1's address and hours?

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is at 1420 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130. Hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to noon. Closed Sundays.

Admission is free. Confirm current hours at Save Our Cemeteries before your visit, as hours can shift for private events.

Can we combine a Garden District visit with the French Quarter on the same bus rental?

Absolutely — and most groups do. The Garden District is 15 minutes from the French Quarter by bus via St. Charles Avenue and Carondelet Street. The French Quarter has its own motorcoach restrictions (buses under 31 feet may use authorized routes; larger buses require an Oversize Load permit from the Department of Public Works at $40 application plus $10 per trip), but drop-off and pickup near Bourbon Street, Canal Street, or the river is straightforward on an agreed schedule.

We handle both sets of logistics when you book a multi-stop itinerary.

Do you have ADA-accessible vehicles for Garden District tours?

Yes. ADA-accessible vehicles are always available — just let us know your group's needs when you book and we will arrange the right vehicle. The sidewalks in the Garden District are primarily brick and can be uneven in sections, so note any mobility considerations when discussing the itinerary.

Book Your New Orleans Party Bus Rental for the Garden District Today

The Garden District walk, the Lafayette Cemetery, Commander's Palace, the Magazine Street stretch, the St. Charles neutral ground at parade time — all of it is easier when your group moves together in one vehicle instead of splitting into rideshares and reassembling at every corner. Party Bus In New Orleans has access to a fleet that spans 14-passenger Sprinter limos to 56-passenger charter buses, and we take care of the permit process, the drop-off logistics, and the pickup timing so your group's organizer can actually enjoy the trip. Give us a call any time at 504-758-3591 for a free, all-inclusive price quote — or use our online tool for instant availability. Let's get your group to the Garden District.