For a broad and unusual assortment of fine art and antiques, for example, get off the streetcar at St. Andrew Street and head straight south. Smiley's runs the gamut from haute couture dresses to '40s suits, serious antique wedding gowns and bodices, silk step-ins and even bloomers, along with an assortment of shoes and hats large and elaborate enough for either Garden District tea parties or Sunday church suppers. In the rear of the store, across the courtyard, is a studio full of vividly painted pseudo-primitive bayou folk art. In and around these four standouts are a number of more traditionally mixed antiques stores and granny's attic salvage shops worth a quick perusal, especially for those intrigued by folk art and old silver. Those whose eye turns more to ethnic and folk arts should stay on the streetcar a little farther, to General Taylor Street, before heading down to Magazine.
Many airlines fly from the Washington area to New Orleans.
Magazine Street runs roughly parallel to and in between St. Charles Avenue and the curve of the Mississippi River from Canal Street, which divides the French Quarter from uptown New Orleans, into the Garden District. Pick up the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar at the corner of Canal and Carondelet.