Sunset Limited - New Orleans Stop

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Hi!

I will be travelling on the sunset limited in about two weeks, and I am just wondering what you can do during the 2 1/2 hour service stop there. Is it possible to leave the station and take a short look at New Orleans (If the station is located in the city).

Or is the train always late, and New Orleans is sort of a buffer station, to get the Sunset back on schedule ?

Thanks,

Martin
 
Martin,

I'm assuming that you are heading west, since you mentioned a 2-1/2 hour layover. In any event that layover is partly to allow for crew changes, refueling and restocking of the train. The layover is also that long to help the train get back on schedule if it is indeed running late.

Now to answer your primary question, if the train does run on time, then yes you could consider venturing out into New Orleans for a little while. The station is more or less right downtown in New Orleans. Canal Street is only a few blocks walk, which is kind of the center of town.

I wouldn't recommend going very far and I certainly wouldn't suggest trying to ride the famous St. Charles Streetcar line from end to end. You probably could however get over to Canal Street for a bit and there is a mall near the Superdome (you can see the stadium from the train station) where you could grab a bit to eat if you like.
 
That mall near the station and near the Superdome are all kind of linked together with a Hyatt Regency Hotel. I am not sure, but it is just possible that the Hyatt Regecy logo will be the most recognizable thing you see as you make your way from the train station to the mall. Once you get in the hotel, I believe you can find the mall from there.
 
A recent check of the Amtrak res site seems to indicate that Train 1, the WB Sunset Limited, usually arrives into New Orleans early, meaning that you would have even a little more than 2 1/2 hours to explore. I will be taking the Sunset rt this July from LAX-ORL and look forward to sightseeing (albeit briefly) in New Orleans on the WB trip home. The time (~ 9:20am - 11:55am) seems to be a convenient time to pass through when shops would be open.

I wouldn't count on sightseeing on the EB Train 2: it is scheduled to be at NOL from 8:30pm to 10:30pm, but most of that time is eaten up with delays - plus it would be too dark to explore.
 
jccollins said:
I wouldn't count on sightseeing on the EB Train 2: it is scheduled to be at NOL from 8:30pm to 10:30pm, but most of that time is eaten up with delays - plus it would be too dark to explore.
Not only would it be too dark to explore, but also the immediate area around the station could be a little questionable after dark. I'm not real sure that I would want to start wandering around that area after dark.

If I were coming in to NOL on the Crescent, something that I hope to do soon, I would probably take a cab from the station at that hour. During the day it's fine, but I would be careful after dark.
 
To call the area around the station questionable at night is being kind I'm sad to say. I would not venture around in that area on foot at night and I'm one who will do that in most "bad areas." Just on the other side of I-10/610 are the projects on the Earhardt Expressway which are quite dangerous.

The other major problem with New Orleans is that if you are in a good area you are guaranteed to be at least 2 blocks from a bad area so be careful out there.
 
This just to "second" what others have said. I have visited New Orleans a number of times through the years and find the area questionable, for sure.

New Orleans is a great city to vist, well worth it, but do be careful everywhere. Ask me to choose between the Big Apple and the Big Easy, I would choose the Big Apple any day.
 
Bill Haithcoat said:
That mall near the station and near the Superdome are all kind of linked together with a Hyatt Regency Hotel. I am not sure, but it is just possible that the Hyatt Regecy logo will be the most recognizable thing you see as you make your way from the train station to the mall. Once you get in the hotel, I believe you can find the mall from there.
It's a little bit tricky finding that mall, which is called the New Orleans Centre. It's a couple of blocks east of the Amtrak station, but there is a rather large post office facility in the way. You have to walk south around the post office building (in the wrong direction towards Loyola), and then walk north towards the mall. You'll see where the street goes under the upper levels of the mall, and there will be an entrance to Macy's underneath. The food court is on the ground level, so just walk past Macy's and it's on your right.
 
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