Best hostels in New Orleans

New Orleans spreads its hostel and budget beds across seven neighborhoods that are nothing alike, and the right one depends on whether you want brass-band noise at 2 a.m. or a porch and a streetcar ride. The French Quarter and the Central Business District sit on opposite sides of Canal Street, close enough to walk between but separated by a century of architecture and a sharp drop in nightly rates. West along the river, the Warehouse District trades balconied townhouses for converted lofts and convention foot traffic. Mid-City stretches along the Canal streetcar line toward City Park, quieter and cheaper the farther you ride from downtown. Across the Mississippi, Algiers offers ferry-dependent calm. Gentilly Woods and Storyville round out the budget map with motel-strip practicality and one of the country's better-rated hostels, respectively. Skip the instinct to book the first Bourbon Street result; the neighborhoods below sort by inventory depth, and the thinnest ones often suit a hostel traveler better than the crowded center does.

1. 1

   Central Business District

   Downtown grid between Canal Street and the Pontchartrain Expressway, New Orleans

   Corporate high-rises and streetcar access wrapped around a handful of converted historic buildings with hostel-friendly rates.

   At about $65 a night, International House Hotel holds an 8.8 and occupies a converted Beaux-Arts bank on Gravier Street, a block from the St. Charles streetcar. The CBD's grid runs wide and flat between Canal Street and the Superdome, better for walking than the Quarter's narrow sidewalks. Breakfast spots line Baronne and Carondelet; the late-night energy dies fast once the office workers leave, which is the point for a budget traveler who wants sleep before a streetcar ride to the Garden District. Don't bother with the convention-tower lobbies closer to the expressway; the locals know those blocks as dead air after 6 p.m. The CBD works if you treat it as a transit hub, not a destination.

   1. Budget

      International House Hotel

      8.8/10 rating ~$65/night
      Check rates
2. 2

   Warehouse District

   Arts and convention corridor south of Poydras Street along the riverfront, New Orleans

   Gallery-lined blocks between the convention center and the WWII Museum, with converted-warehouse budget rooms.

   Light catches the glass fronts along Julia Street's gallery row before the museums open, and the Warehouse District trades Quarter chaos for wide sidewalks and repurposed industrial space. Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans-Convention Center scores an 8.8 at about $79 a night, at the convention center's eastern end on Convention Center Boulevard. The National WWII Museum sits three blocks north; Cochon and Peche anchor a restaurant stretch along Tchoupitoulas. Avoid the chain coffee stops by the Hilton cluster; the locals head to the smaller cafes near Magazine Street's southern reach. The streetcar on St. Charles is a ten-minute walk west, and the Riverwalk runs along the water. This neighborhood suits a traveler who wants proximity to the Quarter without sleeping inside it.

   1. Budget

      Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans-Convention Center

      8.8/10 rating ~$79/night
      Check rates
3. 3

   French Quarter

   Historic grid between Canal Street and Esplanade Avenue along the Mississippi, New Orleans

   The oldest neighborhood in the city, where brass bands compete with restaurant noise on every block past sunset.

   Wyndham New Orleans, French Quarter holds an 8.4 at about $67 a night, planted on Canal Street's Quarter side where the streetcar stops and the pedestrian crush begins. The Quarter's grid runs tight between Decatur and Bourbon, louder the deeper you walk and quieter only east of Ursulines toward Esplanade. Skip the souvenir strip on the lower Bourbon blocks; the locals swear by the produce stalls inside the French Market and the coffee window at Cafe Du Monde on Decatur. Jackson Square anchors the daytime foot traffic, and Royal Street's antique dealers keep calmer hours. This is the neighborhood for a traveler who wants to walk out the door into noise. It is not the restful base the other six neighborhoods promise, and the hostel-price competition here stays thin.

   1. Budget

      Wyndham New Orleans - French Quarter

      8.4/10 rating ~$67/night
      Check rates
4. 4

   Mid-City

   Residential corridor along the Canal streetcar line between downtown and City Park, New Orleans

   Streetcar-connected residential blocks with the city's most social hostel and direct access to City Park's live oaks.

   The Canal streetcar hums past India House Hostel on South Lopez Street, where a 7.6 rating and about $48 a night buy a bunk in a rambling compound with a pool and communal kitchen. Mid-City stretches along Canal and Carrollton between the cemeteries and City Park, a neighborhood of shotgun houses, corner snowball stands, and Bayou St. John's grassy banks. The locals prefer the restaurants along Bienville and Banks to the Quarter's tourist-menu strip. Better than the downtown convention towers for travelers who want neighborhood texture over lobby polish. The streetcar runs to Canal Street in about twenty minutes, and the Sculpture Garden at City Park is walkable from the hostel. Late-night noise stays low; the bars close earlier here.

   1. Budget

      India House Hostel

      7.6/10 rating ~$48/night
      Check rates
5. 5

   Algiers

   West bank neighborhood across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter, accessed by the Canal Street Ferry

   Ferry-dependent calm on the river's opposite bank, with porch-front budget rooms and a skyline view of the Quarter.

   The Canal Street ferry drifts across the Mississippi in about five minutes, and Algiers Point wakes up slower than anything on the east bank. Federal City Inn & Suites scores a 7.6 at about $62 a night, set back from the levee in a neighborhood of Creole cottages and quiet residential blocks. Skip the instinct to stay closer to Bourbon Street; the ferry runs until late evening, and the walk from the Algiers terminal to the inn passes through some of the city's least-touristed streets. The locals know Algiers Point for the jazz at the Old Point Bar and the weekend second-line parades. Don't bother with this neighborhood if you need 2 a.m. walkability to the Quarter; do book here if a porch and river air matter more than proximity.

   1. Budget

      Federal City Inn & Suites

      7.6/10 rating ~$62/night
      Check rates
6. 6

   Gentilly Woods

   Residential subdivision east of City Park along Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans

   Highway-adjacent motel strip for travelers who need a car and a low rate, not a walking neighborhood.

   Motel 6 New Orleans, la, Near Downtown sits along Chef Menteur Highway at about $54 a night, in a stretch of Gentilly Woods that trades walkability for the lowest nightly rate on this list. The neighborhood is residential and car-dependent; the nearest bus lines run along Gentilly Boulevard, and City Park's eastern edge is a short drive but not a comfortable walk. Avoid Gentilly Woods if you want to explore on foot; the sidewalks thin out and the commercial stretches are gas stations and drive-throughs, not cafes. The locals treat this as a commuter zone, not a destination. It suits a traveler passing through with a rental car who needs a clean room and highway access, not the New Orleans of walking tours and streetcar rides.

   1. Budget

      Motel 6 New Orleans, la - Near Downtown

      ~$54/night
      Check rates
7. 7

   Storyville

   Historic district north of the French Quarter along Basin Street near Louis Armstrong Park

   The city's top-rated hostel on a quiet block between the Quarter's northern edge and the Treme's brass-band heritage.

   At about $25 a night, HI New Orleans Hostel holds an 8.5 and occupies a converted building on Baronne Street at the seam between Storyville and the Treme. Basin Street runs along Louis Armstrong Park's western wall, and the Quarter's back edge on Rampart is a short walk south. Better than the generic towers downtown for solo travelers and backpackers who want a communal kitchen and a common room over a lobby. The locals know these blocks as the transition zone between the Quarter's noise and the Treme's residential quiet; brass bands rehearse in the park, and the St. Augustine Church on Governor Nicholls is close. Skip the overpriced bunks inside the Quarter itself. This is the cheapest rated bed on the list, and the rating earns it.

   1. Budget

      HI New Orleans Hostel

      8.5/10 rating ~$25/night
      Check rates