How to Get to New Orleans Jazz Fest

When you’re asking about how to get to the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the easy answer is that since the location is in the event’s name it shouldn’t be hard to locate.

In point of fact, the Crescent City’s famous jazz festival has been held in the same location since 1972 (the Fair Grounds Race Course), and it happens to be pretty close to the popular French Quarter – so once you get yourself to the city it’s actually not hard to find at all.

If the question is a broader one about the best way to get to the city and then to festival grounds, then here are your main options.

>> The 2011 New Orleans Jazz Fest runs from April 29-May 8.

Flying to Jazz Fest

The closest big airport to the New Orleans Jazz Fest is, of course, New Orleans International Airport (MSY) – but there are a few other airports within 100 miles or so of the city that could be alternatives for you, depending on where you’re coming from.

The airports in Biloxi and Baton Rouge are in the 70-75 mile range, and the airport in Lafayette is a little more than 120 miles away. What can make those options more appealing is a particularly great deal on airfare that doesn’t include flights to New Orleans, or if you’ve got friends in one of those cities. In the latter case, you could fly in for a visit and then make a road trip of it for the rest of the trip to New Orleans.

>> More information on airports to use for New Orleans Jazz Fest

Driving to Jazz Fest

Even if you fly to New Orleans or arrive in the city via bus or train, you may still choose to rent a car so you can get around easily from wherever you’re staying to the festival grounds and back again. Once you reach the vicinity of New Orleans, then, you’ll need to know how to get to the festival itself.

The New Orleans Jazz Fest takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course, which is located about a mile north of the French Quarter. It’s a largely residential area surrounding the racetrack and grounds, which means it’s not recommended that you park in the streets around the festival (don’t want to upset the neighbors, after all).

The official festival website recommends that you take advantage of the Jazz Fest Express – a shuttle that runs from downtown to the festival and back throughout the day – rather than try to drive out to the festival grounds themselves and find parking. There is some parking available on-site, but it’s quite limited, and if you park in a spot that turns out not to be a spot you may return to find your car’s been towed.

Driving out to New Orleans Jazz Fest anyway? One parking area that’s popular is in the City Park/New Orleans Museum of Art area adjacent to the Fair Grounds. And here are some driving directions to get you to the festival:

• Westbound from I-610 – Exit on Paris Avenue, take a left to Gentilly Blvd., then a right on Gentilly Blvd.
• Eastbound from I-610 – Exit on St. Bernard Avenue, take a right on Gentilly Blvd.
• From the French Quarter – Take Esplanade Avenue in a northwest direction, turn right on Broad Avenue, then left on Gentilly Blvd.

Taking the Jazz Fest Express

As mentioned, there’s a Jazz Fest Express that runs between downtown and the Fair Grounds on a continuous basis during the 10-day festival. The shuttle starts up at 10:30am each day and the last run is 7:30pm each night.

The Jazz Fest Express route, operated by Gray Line, includes the Sheraton Hotel (500 Canal Street), the Gray Line Lighthouse at the Steamboat Natchez Dock (Toulouse St. at the Mississippi River), and City Park (next to Marconi Meadows). You can book tickets on the shuttle individually or as part of your Jazz Fest ticket package. If you’re parking your car at City Park, you can get a shuttle package that includes admission to the festival, shuttle transportation, and parking.

>> More information about the New Orleans Jazz Fest Express on its official site

Taking the Bus to Jazz Fest

There’s a Greyhound station on the Pontchartrain Expressway, not far from the Louisiana Superdome, and from there you have a few options.

>> The official address for the New Orleans Greyhound Station is 1001 Loyola Avenue.

There are city buses that will connect the two points, including the 51 or 52 St. Bernard buses. They run from the Rampart station on other side of the Superdome from the Greyhound station all the way up to the entrance of the Fair Grounds. Bus 91 connects the Rampart station with the City Park/Museum station near the festival, and if you’re more in the mood for a streetcar then the Canal Streetcar connects those two stations as well.

>> Learn more about public transportation in New Orleans on the NORTA website.

Taking the Train to Jazz Fest

There’s also an Amtrak Station in New Orleans, and it occupies the same space as the Greyhound terminal – so once you reach New Orleans by train you can use the same directions as above for reaching the New Orleans Jazz Fest on the local buses.

>> The official address for the New Orleans Amtrak Station is 1001 Loyola Avenue.

photo by Jeff Keen