From the airport to the city centre Louisiana

Only one airport handles international flights in Louisiana: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (flymsy.com). Several other regional airports - Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport - are served by airlines operating domestic flights within the USA. If you're coming from Europe, New Orleans is the place to land.
To get downtown from the airport, the Jefferson Transit Authority's E1 Veterans-Airport bus line (US$2 one way, jptransit.org) and the Regional Transportation Authority's 202 Airport Express (US$1.25 one way, norta.com) connect in just under an hour. The Regional Ride Day Pass (US$3, norta.com) is also accepted on these two buses and is valid for 24 hours after activation.
A shuttle service is also available between the airport and downtown New Orleans (airportshuttleneworleans.com), for groups of 10 or more only, as well as cabs (US$36 for 1-2 people), apps like Lyft and Uber, car rental companies (nearly a dozen) and hotel shuttles.

Arrival by train Louisiana

Amtrak operates a huge rail network throughout the country. Trains are rarely the fastest (delays are also frequent), cheapest or most convenient option, but they do offer a picturesque and comfortable way to travel. The network connects the country's largest cities and many smaller towns. In general, the earlier you book, the cheaper it is.
Three routes connect New Orleans with the rest of the country: City of New Orleans (Chicago - New Orleans via Memphis), Crescent (New York - New Orleans via Atlanta) and Sunset Limited (Los Angeles - New Orleans via San Antonio, Tucson and Phoenix).
In addition to single tickets, Amtrak offers vacation packages including train travel, hotel accommodation and excursions/activities. You can also purchase a multi-trip pass or the USA Rail Pass, which allows you to travel for 30 days in Economy class (a limited number of 10 trips is available).

Public transport Louisiana

In addition to the national rail company Amtrak, which serves the south (New Orleans, Schriever, New Iberia, Lafayette and Lake Charles) and far east (Hammond, Slidell) of Louisiana, a regional line should soon link New Orleans to Baton Rouge (info: southernrailcommission.org/louisiana). The state also has an intercity bus network with Greyhound (greyhound.com), which serves Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Gonzales, Grambling, Gray, Kenner, LaPlace, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Monroe, Morgan City, New Iberia, Opelousas, Raceland, Shreveport, Slidell, St. Francisville and Thibodaux. Greyhound covers the whole country, with some connections to Canada and Mexico. There are also two low-cost companies: Megabus (us.megabus.com), which serves Baton Rouge and New Orleans as well as other U.S. destinations and a few cities in Ontario and Quebec (Canada), and FlixBus (flixbus.fr/bus/etats-unis), which connects Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans to each other and to other U.S. cities.
Louisiana also has a smallferry network, including three operated by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD, wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/operations/ferrystatus): the Calcasieu River crossing near Cameron in the extreme southwest of the state, the Ouachita River ferry between Duty and Enterprise (south of the Beef Wildlife Management Area), and the Mississippi River crossing between Plaquemine and Sunshine (south of Baton Rouge). Lastly, the RTA, New Orleans' public transportation company (norta.com), operates the ferry linking downtown to the Algiers district on the opposite bank of the Mississippi, as well as the ferry linking Lower Algiers to Chalmette.
Most cities offer an urban bus network (Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Shreveport, etc.), but service is sometimes limited during evenings and weekends. Tickets cost between US$1 and US$2, and day passes are often available (around US$3-4), as are multi-ticket cards, weekly and monthly passes. New Orleans is the most developed in terms of public transit, but it's not always reliable and many areas are not served late into the evening. The Regional Transit Authority (norta.com) has a network of some 40 bus lines, four streetcars, a ferry between downtown and the Algiers district and another between Lower Algiers and Chalmette. Two other companies serve the NOLA metropolitan area: Jefferson Transit (jeffersontransit.org) and St. Bernard Parish Rapid Urban Transit (sbpg.net/178/Transit).

New Orleansstreetcars. The New Orleans streetcar is one of the best-known in the U.S., as famous as San Francisco's, especially since Tennessee Williams immortalized it in his 1950 play A Streetcar namedDesire. Elia Kazan's film adaptation of this play, starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, was also a resounding success.

One of the best guided tours of the city is by streetcar. It's a very useful means of transport (US$1.25) and used by the locals. In circulation since 1835, it's the oldest still on rails. For nearly sixty years after its construction, the car was pulled by mules. In 1893, the line was converted to electric power and the streetcar began to run.

Bike, scooters & co Louisiana

New Orleans offers a bike-share service, Blue Bikes (bluebikesnola.com, rates by the minute or monthly package), as does the state capital, Baton Rouge, with Gotcha (ridegotcha.com, several packages available, many U.S. cities served). For the moment, no other locality offers this service, despite discussions on the subject in recent years, notably Lake Charles.
As regards electric scooters, Louisiana allows their use provided users are at least 15 years old, and helmets are compulsory for those under 18 (for adults without helmets, an insurance policy covering at least US$10,000 in medical expenses is required). Self-service scooters are available on the streets of New Orleans, notably with the company Go X (goxapp.com/scooter-rentals-in-new-orleans), but this is currently the only city in Louisiana offering this service.

With a driver Louisiana

Cab service is offered mainly in medium and large Louisiana cities, and several companies have their own app. Cabs are metered, and pick-up and mileage rates (1 mile = 1.6 km) vary from city to city. Don't forget to add an extra charge for luggage and a tip (10-15%).
The Uber service (uber.com/ca/en-ca/ride) is also available in Louisiana (Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Monroe, the greater Alexandria-Shreveport area and the Lafayette-Lake Charles area). Lyft serves the same cities, with the addition of Houma (lyft.com/rider/cities). For longer distances, and to save on travel costs, it's also worth checking out centralized car-sharing systems. We suggest the Ridesharing website (ridesharing.com).

By car Louisiana

The car is king in the United States and, as a rule, Americans take it for any trip, no matter how short. It is important to mention here that in many cities, except in the center, sidewalks are scarce and it can be complicated, even risky, to get around on foot.

The traveler is generally struck by the poor condition of the roads, a testimony to the lack of infrastructure policy by the State until now. The road network covers the entire state, but there are few roads along the Gulf Coast. Compared to states like California and Texas, distances are reasonable in Louisiana. For example, to get from the extreme southeast (New Orleans) to the extreme northwest (Shreveport) of the state, it takes about 5 hours to drive (315 miles = 505 km). If the whole network is free, tolls are installed in some places: the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (bridge between Metairie and Mandeville), the section of the LA 1 road between Golden Meadow and the Gulf of Mexico, and the bridge to get to Avery Island.
French, Belgian and Swiss driver's licenses are accepted for up to three months in all states, but you will need to obtain an international license in your home country before departure. If you wish to rent a car in Louisiana, you must be 21 years of age, or even 25 years of age for certain models, and have a credit card. Gasoline, which is sold by the gallon, is considerably cheaper than in Europe, and its price varies from state to state. That said, Louisiana, like several other Southern states such as Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, offers the lowest price at the pump (gasprices.aaa.com).
In terms of regulations, the speed limit is 60-75 mph onInterstates and some US and LA highways, 55 mph on most two-lane roads, and 30-40 mph (sometimes less) in the city. Seat belts are mandatory for all passengers and car seats for younger passengers. The maximum blood alcohol level is under 0.08 g/l (zero tolerance for those under 21), and impaired driving is punishable by a fine or more (frequent checks).
The traffic rules and signs are more or less the same as in Europe, with a few differences. Traffic lights are placed on the other side of the intersection, and there is no right of way in Louisiana (right of way is given to the first one to arrive, but right of way if you arrive at the same time). Turning right on a red light is permitted everywhere unless a sign indicates that it is prohibited. The same logic applies to turning left on a red light, provided you are on a one-way street and turning left on another one-way street. Finally, coming to a complete stop is mandatory when following or passing a stopped school bus (almost always yellow) with working red flashers.
Regarding speed limits, the police show no leniency to drivers caught in the act. Fines in the U.S. are not sent to your home, here you are chased and pulled over to the side of the road to be ticketed. Again, one thing you don't want to do is get in the car and go looking for your papers in the glove compartment or in your bag. Stay very still until the police officer asks for your papers.
If you get a fine, pay it as soon as possible, otherwise the vehicle will be registered in the computer and you will have to pay a heavy fine at the next police control. Or, if you don't get checked, the car rental company will be informed of the case and you will have to pay more than the fine.
As for parking, no problem in the region. But in the city, especially in New Orleans, parking is often difficult and, before stopping your car, you must read everything that is written on the parking signs, as parking is often limited to a specific duration, to specific days... The police are always on the lookout and violations are quickly noticed. Also check if the spaces are paid (note that the new parking meters in New Orleans also have a menu in French) or if you are in a zone reserved for residents. Public parking may seem expensive (though not as much as some downtown hotels), but sometimes it's the best way to avoid fines and lost time. A good idea is the website parkopedia.com which lists parking lots, availability and rates. Warning: it is strictly forbidden to park in front of a fire hydrant. If you make a mistake, you can be sure that you will receive your ticket within 5 minutes. Also, be aware that you can only park your vehicle in the direction of traffic.