Most people visiting New Orleans never take the ferry. That’s their loss, and in a way, it’s what keeps Algiers Point the way it is.
The neighborhood sits directly across the Mississippi from the French Quarter, connected by a six-minute ferry ride that costs two dollars and deposits passengers at the foot of Canal Street. Algiers is the second-oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, founded in 1719, and its streets look like a Victorian village that managed to escape the tourist economy entirely.
The houses are wood-carved and painted in layers of history. The pace is residential, genuinely quiet, and about as far removed from Bourbon Street energy as a place can get while still being seven minutes from it.
The House of the Rising Sun at 335 Pelican Avenue sits three blocks from the ferry landing inside the Algiers Point Historic District. Built in 1896 after the Great Fire of Algiers leveled much of the neighborhood the year before, the B&B has 11-foot ceilings, pine floors, and two named guest rooms that reflect the neighborhood’s musical roots.
The Red Allen Room honors Henry “Red” Allen, a swing and jazz trumpet legend born in Algiers, and comes with a four-poster king-size bed and private bath. The Memphis Minnie Room is named for blues guitarist Lizzie Douglas, also Algiers-born, with a queen bed and an adjacent private bath. Hosts Kevin and Wendy Herridge, one a Cajun from Houma and one a jazz historian from London, serve a healthy continental breakfast and offer a neighborhood walking tour by printed brochure that’s better than most professional guides.
The Algiers levee is two blocks away. Walking it at dusk, with the skyline of downtown across the water and the freighters moving upriver in the low light, is one of those New Orleans experiences that doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t show up on most itineraries. The neighborhood has its own bars, coffee shops, and restaurants within easy walking distance, including Dry Dock Café and Congregation Coffee Roasters, meaning there’s no reason to cross back over until you’re ready.
The House of the Rising Sun is at 335 Pelican Avenue. Call (504) 231-6498 or book at risingsunbnb.com. Rates start around $120 per night.
