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The Journal · City guide · The riverfront
The riverfront finally connects.
In April the city opened the piece of riverfront that had been missing. There is now continuous parkland along the Mississippi from Spanish Plaza to Crescent Park, which means you can walk the river from the Bywater to Canal Street without leaving a park.
What opened
The new section is Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park, built on the old Governor Nicholls Street Wharf between the French Quarter and Crescent Park. It is six acres, run by the Audubon Nature Institute: lawns, shade trees, a marsh-themed playground, and a covered gathering space they call the NOLA Front Porch. It opened to the public on April 16, 2026. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
What it changes
The riverfront used to come in pieces. Crescent Park served the Bywater and the Marigny, the Moonwalk served the Quarter, and a warehouse sat between them. Now it is one path: about two and a quarter miles of continuous riverfront. Crescent Park is a twenty-minute walk from the villas through the Bywater, a nice walk in itself. From its entrance you can follow the river past the new park, along the Moonwalk in front of Jackson Square, and on to Spanish Plaza at the foot of Canal Street. It is a real walk, but every step of it is on the water.
What's next
This was the second of three phases. The last one takes down part of the warehouse on the Esplanade Street Wharf, with planning starting later this year.
The takeaway
One more point for the Bywater
The best walk in New Orleans now starts at the villas: a nice twenty-minute walk through the Bywater to Crescent Park, then the river the whole way downtown.
The neighborhood, mapped.
