A One-Day Tulane Visit Plan and Where to Stay

A one-day Tulane visit fits comfortably, because the uptown campus is small and the streetcar stops at its front door. Take the official tour in the morning, eat on campus, then spend the afternoon on a private Uptown New Orleans tour with a current student, covering Broadway and the buildings your student cares about. Below are the order, the parking, the food and the hotels.

How should we spend one day visiting Tulane?

One day visiting Tulane works in four steps: the official visit in the morning, lunch on campus, a private tour after lunch, and dinner off campus. In the words of Eliana, our Tulane Campus Lead, "it's a really small campus," so once you arrive you can do all of it on foot.

9:00 a.m., the official visit. Tulane's admission office runs a 30-minute information session followed by a student-led walk that typically lasts 90 minutes, on weekdays at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and most Saturdays at 9 a.m. It starts in 210 Gibson Hall, 6823 St. Charles Avenue (Tulane admission, campus tours, as of October 2026). Register before you go.
11:30 a.m., lunch in the middle of campus. Eliana describes the square at the center of campus as "where all the dorms are. That's where like the food areas are."
1:00 p.m., a private tour. Spend 60 to 90 minutes on what the morning raised: the buildings for your student's major, the residence halls from the outside, and Broadway, Greek row, on the uptown edge of campus.
Evening, dinner on Freret Street. Eliana puts Freret "about a 20 minute walk" east of campus, which makes it a dinner stop more than a tour stop.

Two walking times help you pace the day. From the bottom of campus to the football field is "only a 15 minute walk," Eliana says (about 18 minutes from Gibson Hall to Yulman Stadium on OpenStreetMap foot routes). Broadway is "maybe a 10 minute walk to see all of them," meaning the chapter houses.

Keep the morning slot even if you book a private tour. The two cover different ground, so do both if you can.

Where should we park when we visit Tulane?

Parking for a Tulane visit is free and easy on weekends and tight on weekdays. Tulane's admission office says "there are just two parking spaces in Cowen Circle outside Office of Admission in Gibson Hall for visitors" (getting here, as of October 2026).

Weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: campus spaces need a daily permit or an hourly space. Daily permits are valid in the Diboll Garage, and hourly parking is on the Diboll ground level or in spaces marked for ParkMobile (Tulane parking for visitors).
Weekends: campus parking is free in any non-reserved space with no permit, per the Newcomb Art Museum's parking page. Skip anything marked Reserved, even on a Saturday.
Streets: many streets near campus carry a two-hour limit from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and no limit on weekends. Broadway Street and Audubon Boulevard are the closest.
No car: for weekday visits, Tulane's families office "strongly recommend[s]" public transportation or a taxi.

The St. Charles streetcar is the easy way up from downtown. From the French Quarter or the Central Business District, board at Common Street and St. Charles Avenue, one block off Canal Street, and ride about four miles up the avenue. A ride costs $1.25 and a one-day Jazzy Pass $3 (RTA fares). The "Saint Charles at Tulane University" stop sits in the neutral ground in front of Gibson Hall.

What should we see at Tulane beyond the main campus loop?

Beyond the main campus loop, the six places families ask to see at Tulane are Broadway, the buildings for their student's major, the residence halls, the football field, Audubon Park and the restaurant streets. A private tour reaches most of them in one afternoon.

Broadway Street. Greek row, right next to campus on the uptown side. In Eliana's words, "that's a lot of off-campus houses. It's also like where The Boot is," the bar on the corner of Broadway and Zimpel Street. More in Greek life and rush at Tulane, for parents.
The buildings for your major. Most academic buildings sit on the quad at the St. Charles end, the business school aside. Tell us the major when you book, and the route passes its building.
The residence halls. They sit around the central square, next to the dining. Students admitted since Fall 2023 live on campus for their first three years under Tulane's residency requirement, so these halls are home well past freshman year.
Yulman Stadium and the rec center. The football field is at the far end of campus from St. Charles, with the rec center "right below the football field."
Audubon Park. Directly across St. Charles Avenue from Gibson Hall, open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The restaurant streets. Eliana counts "another like four bars and restaurants" about 10 minutes west of Broadway, and many more on Freret Street to the east.

Where can we eat on a Tulane visit?

The best places to eat on a Tulane visit are on campus for a quick lunch and on Freret Street for dinner. Eliana places the campus food in the square at the center of campus, beside the residence halls, a short walk up from the academic buildings near St. Charles Avenue.

Freret Street's restaurant strip runs between Jefferson and Napoleon avenues, near Tulane and Loyola, and went "from mostly vacant storefronts to 30-plus restaurants, bars, and shops after 2009," according to New Orleans & Company's Freret Street guide, updated September 2026. On foot from the middle of campus, the Jefferson Avenue end is about 14 minutes and the Napoleon Avenue end about 24 minutes, by OpenStreetMap foot routes.

The places that guide names, sorted by meal:

Breakfast and coffee: Humble Bagel, Mojo Coffee House, Bearcat Cafe
A casual lunch or dinner: The Company Burger, Val's, High Hat Cafe
A sit-down dinner: Pigeon and Whale

The list is the visitor bureau's, with no ranking from us. For a Saturday breakfast, go early: the guide says Humble Bagel's kettle-boiled bagels can sell out well before noon on weekends.

Where should families stay when visiting Tulane?

Families visiting Tulane stay on St. Charles Avenue, in Uptown, Carrollton or the Garden District, which Tulane's families office names as the neighborhoods closest to campus (travel resources, as of October 2026). Downtown works too, with the streetcar ride up the avenue.

Hotels on St. Charles Avenue, with the distance to Gibson Hall:

Park View Historic Hotel, 7004 St. Charles Ave., overlooking Audubon Park, about a 4-minute walk
The Chloe, 4125 St. Charles Ave., 1.8 miles by road
The Columns, 3811 St. Charles Ave., 2.0 miles
St. Charles Inn, 3636 St. Charles Ave., 2.1 miles
Hotel Henrietta, 3500 St. Charles Ave., 2.1 miles
The Pontchartrain Hotel, 2031 St. Charles Ave., 3.2 miles

New Orleans & Company names the last five in its guide to the area around Yulman Stadium, updated July 2026. Tulane's families office also offers partner rates at hotels and bed and breakfasts through its own booking tool, with a share of each booking going to Tulane programs.

Book early for Wave '26 Weekend, Tulane's homecoming and family weekend, November 5 to 8, 2026, and for the two Jazz Fest weekends, April 22 to 25 and April 29 to May 2, 2027. Our Tulane visit dates guide for 2026-27 lists the closures, Mardi Gras week and the other dates to plan around. When the day is set, a private tour is $150 for your family, 60 to 90 minutes, any day of the week.

Frequently asked questions

Can we take the streetcar from the French Quarter to Tulane?

Yes, the St. Charles streetcar runs from the edge of the French Quarter to the front of Tulane. Board at Common Street and St. Charles Avenue, one block off Canal Street, and ride up the avenue to the "Saint Charles at Tulane University" stop in front of Gibson Hall. A ride is $1.25. The green streetcars are not fully accessible; the buses on the route are.

Is parking free at Tulane on weekends?

Yes, parking at Tulane is free on weekends in any non-reserved campus space, with no permit needed, according to the Newcomb Art Museum's parking page as of October 2026. Street time limits near campus are not enforced on Saturday or Sunday either. On weekdays, use the Diboll Garage, an hourly space, or the streetcar.

How long does a Tulane campus visit take?

A Tulane campus visit takes about two hours for the official part: a 30-minute information session, then a walk that typically lasts 90 minutes. A private tour adds 60 to 90 minutes. Both fit in a morning and early afternoon, with lunch on campus between them and dinner on Freret Street after.

Do official Tulane tours run on Sundays?

No Sunday times appear on Tulane's admission site, which lists tours on weekdays at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on most Saturdays at 9 a.m., as of October 2026. A private tour runs seven days a week, early or late, so a Sunday can still work for that half of the visit.

Sources, read October 2026: Tulane admission, getting here · Tulane Campus Services, visitor parking · Tulane families office, travel resources · New Orleans & Company, Freret Street guide · Jazz Fest 2027 dates