Lafayette Square makes a pleasant place to rest during a walk around New Orleans’ Central Business District. Look for statues of the city's forefathers, including Benjamin Franklin and Southern statesman Henry Clay, whose bronze likeness is the park’s focal point. Most visitors flock to the square during spring for the free Wednesday at the Square concert series. The Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival is also held at Lafayette Square each fall.
Lafayette Square is bordered by St. Charles Avenue, Camp Street, North Maestri Street, and South Maestri Street in New Orleans’ Upper Central Business District. It is within walking distance to many attractions, but paid parking garages and meters are available nearby. Wednesdays in the Park offers bike valet.
The public square is open daily. Wednesday at the Square runs for 10 weeks from mid-March to mid-May, and the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival takes place in October.
New Orleans’ historic French Quarter may get most of the attention, but some of the city’s biggest attractions are just a short streetcar ride away in the Central Business District (known as the CBD locally). Football fans fill up the Caesars Superdome—home of the New Orleans Saints—while the Smoothie King Center next door hosts NBA games and music concerts. Just a few blocks from Lafayette Square, the National WWII Museum is ranked one of the best museums in the US.
