French Market
A flawed, historic market district best treated as a walk, not a shopping assignment.
French Quarter
The French Market has been here long enough that judging it only by the current souvenir stalls misses the point. The district is a working tourist corridor, yes, but it is also part of the riverfront geography and market history of the city.
Walk it with discernment. Use it as a spine between Jackson Square, Café du Monde, the river, the Jazz Museum, and the lower Quarter. Buy something only if something deserves buying.
The market is better as context than destination. Treated that way, it becomes useful again.
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