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Ninth Ward of New Orleans, New Orleans — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The Ninth Ward is the largest and most downriver of the seventeen historic wards of New Orleans. The Industrial Canal splits it. West of that waterway lies the Upper Ninth Ward, while the Lower Ninth Ward occupies the downriver bank toward Saint Bernard Parish. Its name carries weight across Louisiana for music and for the long rebuilding that followed catastrophic flooding.
About Ninth Ward of New Orleans
Where to stay in Ninth Ward of New Orleans
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Beds are thin on the ground here. The Ninth Ward is mostly residential, so most visitors book in the adjoining Bywater or Faubourg Marigny, or in central New Orleans, and travel in. Those who do stay find guesthouses scattered along the Upper Ninth Ward near Saint Claude Avenue, within reach of the Mississippi River levee.
It suits travellers after a quiet, lived-in base rather than nightlife on the doorstep. For hotel choice and sightseeing, the wider city sits just upriver.
About Ninth Ward of New Orleans
What are the main landmarks in Ninth Ward of New Orleans?
This is a residential ward, not a district of set-piece monuments. Its landmarks are largely infrastructural and civic. The Industrial Canal and its floodwall are the defining structures, crossed by the Saint Claude Avenue bridge.
Along the river, the Holy Cross section of the Lower Ninth Ward keeps the ward's oldest houses behind the Mississippi River levee. For museums and major sights, visitors cross into central New Orleans.
What is the history of Ninth Ward of New Orleans?
The ward grew downriver of the original city as New Orleans spread along the Mississippi River. When the Industrial Canal opened in 1923, it cut the Lower Ninth Ward off from the rest of the ward, and the district settled into a working-class, largely African American community. Its low ground made it vulnerable.
In 2005 the Industrial Canal floodwalls failed during Hurricane Katrina, and the Lower Ninth Ward was among the most heavily flooded parts of New Orleans. Recovery has been slow, and much of the area has been rebuilt house by house.
Where is Ninth Ward of New Orleans?
The ward runs along the east bank of the Mississippi River, at the downriver edge of New Orleans. Its far side meets Saint Bernard Parish. Inside, the Industrial Canal draws the line between the Upper Ninth Ward, which includes the riverside Bywater, and the Lower Ninth Ward beyond it.
Saint Claude Avenue threads north through both halves toward Lake Pontchartrain.
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Updated July 2026