Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Contrary to popular imagination, New Orleans does not have traditional cobblestone streets. The city's historic paving materials are distinct:
Belgian Blocks: Quarried granite rectangles (not rounded cobbles). Used on key 19th-century streets: Chartres, Royal, Bourbon (French Quarter), St. Charles Avenue (streetcar neutral ground), Magazine Street sections. Many remain exposed or resurfaced over.
Wooden Blocks (Nicholson Pavement): Creosoted pine end-grain blocks (late 1800s). Quiet, horse-friendly. Few remnants survive (e.g., 700 block of Camp Street).
Oyster Shells: Crushed shell aggregate on early suburban streets (Garden District, Bayou St. John). Porous, locally sourced.
Most streets are asphalt over concrete base. Belgian blocks persist where preserved (French Quarter, St. Charles) or where asphalt wore thin. The city's subsidence, high water table, and utilities make traditional cobblestones (rounded glacial stones) impractical—they shift, trap water, damage infrastructure.
Visitors expecting European-style cobblestones (Edinburgh, Prague, Boston's Beacon Hill) find instead a unique palette: Belgian blocks, wrought-iron balconies, gas lamps, plane trees—authentically New Orleans, not imported charm.