"Panhandlers Have Replaced Alley Thugs" Night Safety. Tip by atufft

Just after Katrina, many businesses in the French Quarter without adequate doors and locks got looted. Many of these businesses were small shops that having lost their uninsured inventory had to close for good. Meanwhile, on the street, the worse threats by back alley thugs were washed away according to locals living there. What remains are young pot smoking panhandlers, mostly restricted to the Marigny district, but these jobless wanderers aren't generally dangerous unless overly drunk. It's a good idea to wear casual clothes and avoid wearing jewelry in this part of town at least at night. Otherwise the French Quarter, Garden District, and Aububon Park districts appear to be quite safe anytime of the day or night. The only other danger would be the piles of garbage and uneven pavement of the French Quarter; however, the decadent nature of the French Quarter is one reason this is the Big Easy. UPDATE: In the past year since our visit, New Orleans has undergone a disturbing increase in violent crime, but most of this appears to be in the neighborhoods, not the touristed French Quarter. Murders of long standing residents by drive-by assailants is particularly disturbing and resulted in an large multi-racial parade of protest by residents demanding gangsters to reign themselves in as well as better police protection. This sort of crime problem and method of protest is a historic feature of New Orleans politics.