Royal Street runs paralell to the infamous Bourbon Street. It's something to note, that as crazy and wild as Boubon Street is, Royal Street is equally as elegant and peaceful. Royal Street is the place to go if you are looking to take a peaceful stroll on a pretty street on a sunny afternoon, especially if window shopping is your game.
While Bourbon Street is littered with beer bottles Royal Street is crammed with art galleries, many exhibiting paintings and artwork featuring things "New Orleans" like jazz musicians playing saxophones on street corners and green plants raining down from black iron balconies. The color that jumps out from these works of art is fierce...all bolds and no hint of whimsy pastels on these canvases. Art lovers will also find shops specializing in antiques and glass.
Royal Street has some of the prettiest buildings in New Orleans...ones done in beautiful pastel colors, sunny yellows, salmon pinks, and many with the famous New Orleans black iron balconies. As I before-mentioned, many have ferns and other green plants raining down towards the street, and these homes and hotels can make for great picture taking places.
For those that appreciate street performers, it is on Royal Street that you can find them as well. From the slow wail of a saxophone from a parapalegic musician, to the men who stand on soapboxes, frozen until someone drops them a dollar, at which time they move, playing music or miming for the crowds, to the delight of young and old alike. Look for one man dressed in an Uncle Sam red white and blue suit who is walking a dog. You will find him not far from Jackson Square on Royal, walking his dog across the street, frozen in mid-stride. It's really something else.