Tremé is one of the oldest Black neighborhoods in the country, and the places to sleep here are a converted jail, a Victorian mansion, and a guest house across the street from the French Quarter.
1. Inn at the Old Jail, 2552 St. Philip Street
This one has the best backstory in the city. The building went up in 1902 as an overnight lockup for neighborhood offenders and juvenile detainees, operating as an NOPD police jail and patrol station. It later became a library, then a community center, then abandoned ruins after Hurricane Katrina.
Restoration turned it into nine rooms without erasing what it was. Original police memorabilia hangs on the walls alongside exposed brick, reclaimed wood paneling, and 19th-century French furnishings. Guests describe cement floors that somehow read as cozy. Common spaces include a piano lounge, a library, a lush courtyard, and a 2,500-square-foot rooftop deck. Groups can book the entire property, which comes with a full kitchen.
Location does the rest. Kermit’s Tremé Mother-in-Law Lounge, the Candlelight Lounge, and Chickie Wah Wah are all walkable, and the Lafitte Greenway cuts through the neighborhood linking Tremé to the French Quarter one direction and Bayou St. John the other. Congo Square sits nearby, the ground the city designated where enslaved people gathered to make music. The inn is on the National Register and reachable at (504) 301-5743.
2. The Dragonfly Tremé, 1210 North Galvez Street
A woman-owned family operation has run this mansion as a guesthouse since 2015. The house dates to either 1882 or 1892 depending on which of the property’s own pages you read, and it kept 12-foot ceilings, antique fireplaces, pocket doors, and balconies through the conversion.
The layout suits groups. Four bedrooms and five baths sleep up to eight, and the whole property runs about 2,500 square feet of private guest space. A heated saltwater pool sits in secluded gardens with an outdoor shower and a barbecue grill, and the owners book micro-weddings, reunions, and private parties around it. Rooms vary, with a king suite carrying a private balcony and a double queen room holding a clawfoot tub.
Booking takes a phone call. Room-only reservations run Monday through Thursday subject to availability with a two-night minimum, and at least one listing indicates cash payment only. The house sits off Esplanade Avenue, under a mile from the French Quarter and about 1.1 miles from the Fair Grounds, which makes it a strong Jazz Fest position. Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe is nearby.
3. New Orleans Guest House, 1118 Ursulines Avenue
The cheapest of the three and the closest to the Quarter, sitting directly across the street from it in the Tremé-Lafitte section. Rates average under $100 a night, with Sunday typically the lowest.
Rooms come air conditioned with ceiling fans, cable television, and either a patio or a balcony. Continental breakfast is served on the veranda or in a courtyard the listings describe as lush. Parking is free and on site, which matters this close to the Quarter. The property is pet friendly and welcomes dogs.
Everything is walkable from here. Bourbon Street is three blocks, Café du Monde about fourteen minutes on foot, and Louis Armstrong Park, the Backstreet Cultural Museum, St. Augustine Church, and Le Musée de f.p.c. are all close. Reviewer sentiment runs positive at 86 percent recommending across 259 reviews. Listed check-in and checkout both show as 4 p.m., which looks like a listing error, so confirm at (504) 566-1177.
