St. Charles Streetcar
The oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, and still the best way to see Uptown.
The green streetcars on St. Charles Avenue have been running since 1835, and the current rolling stock — Perley Thomas cars built in 1923 and 1924 — is the same wood-and-brass equipment your grandparents would have boarded. Varnished mahogany seats, exposed bulbs, windows that crank open, no air conditioning by design.
Board at Canal and Carondelet for the full Uptown ride: 13.2 miles round trip, about 90 minutes if you stay on the whole way. Get off at Washington Avenue for Commander's Palace and the Garden District. At Audubon Park for the park loop. At Carrollton for the river bend and Cooter Brown's.
Fare is $1.25 cash, exact change, or use the RTA app. Slow, bumpy, occasionally stopped for traffic. The point is not to arrive efficiently. The point is the ride.
Links