Tulane and Loyola share a stretch of St. Charles Avenue across from Audubon Park: Loyola's main campus is at 6363 St. Charles Ave and Tulane's Gibson Hall at 6823. Neither campus has a retail strip beyond its bookstore, so students shop on the commercial streets around them. A student guide to Uptown puts Freret Street and Maple Street within walking distance of Tulane, and Oak Street sits further upriver near the South Carrollton streetcar line. Upper Magazine Street rounds it out.
On campus. The Tulane University Official Bookstore fills the first floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center, and the Loyola University New Orleans Official Bookstore is on the first floor of the Danna Student Center.
Freret Street. The commercial blocks run between Jefferson and Napoleon avenues and are mostly restaurants: High Hat Cafe (4500 Freret St), The Company Burger (4600 Freret St) and Humble Bagel (4716 Freret St), with a small-format Rouses Market (4645 Freret St) for groceries. The Freret Market sets up near Freret and Napoleon on the first Saturday of most months with about 70 vendors.
Oak Street. In order up the street: Haase's Shoe Store (8119 Oak St), Blue Cypress Books (8123 Oak St), More Fun Comics (8200 Oak St), Jacques-Imo's Cafe (8324 Oak St), Southern Rhoades General Store (8518 Oak St) and Coutelier (8604 Oak St).
Maple Street and upper Magazine. On Maple, The Encore Shop (7814 Maple St) sells designer consignment for the symphony. On Magazine, Dirty Coast Uptown (5415 Magazine St), Scriptura (5423 Magazine St), Whole Foods Market Arabella Station (5600 Magazine St) and Perlis Clothing (6070 Magazine St) cover gifts, paper, groceries and gameday clothes.
Tulane. The Tulane University Official Bookstore is on the first floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center on the uptown campus. It carries Tulane apparel and gear, textbooks and course supplies, general books, residence hall bedding, bath and decor, health and beauty items, greeting cards and gifts. Graduates can try on and buy caps and gowns there with no shipping fees, and official Tulane rings and announcements are sold through Balfour on select dates. It is open Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:30pm, Friday 8:30am to 6pm and Saturday 10am to 7pm, closed Sunday.
Loyola. The Loyola University New Orleans Official Bookstore is on the first floor of the Danna Student Center (6363 St. Charles Ave). It sells apparel and spirit gear for adults and kids, textbooks, school supplies, Apple products, computers and headphones, dorm bedding and appliances, diploma frames, books, vinyl and snacks. It is open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm and closed on weekends, so plan Saturday visits around that.
Both campus stores have dorm sections: Tulane's lists bedding and bath, organization, appliances and decor, and Loyola's lists the same plus Apple gear. Loyola students can also route online orders to the Amazon Lockers on the lower level of the Danna Student Center, open daily 7am to 2am.
For groceries, Rouses Market (4645 Freret St) is a small-format supermarket on Freret, with chopped salads, prepared entrees, sushi and poke alongside the basics. Whole Foods Market Arabella Station (5600 Magazine St) is open daily 8am to 9pm.
For a first apartment kitchen, Coutelier (8604 Oak St) sells chef's knives, whetstones and cutting boards and runs knife-sharpening classes; it is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm. Southern Rhoades General Store (8518 Oak St) mixes vintage kitchenware and home goods with candles, soaps and teas, Tuesday to Friday 10am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm.
Books and comics. Blue Cypress Books (8123 Oak St) sells new and secondhand books and signed copies, open Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm. Octavia Books (513 Octavia St) is the other Uptown independent, open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm. More Fun Comics (8200 Oak St) is also on Oak Street.
Secondhand. The Encore Shop (7814 Maple St) is run by Symphony Volunteers and sells pre-owned women's clothing, formal gowns, shoes, handbags and jewelry, many from designer labels. Consignors keep half of each sale and the rest goes to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
Shoes. Haase's Shoe Store (8119 Oak St) has been family-run since the 1920s and sells shoes for all ages.
Markets. The Freret Market, near Freret and Napoleon, runs on the first Saturday of most months with about 70 vendors.
For official gifts, the Tulane University Official Bookstore has Tulane gear, gifts and diploma frames, and the Loyola University New Orleans Official Bookstore has spirit gear for the whole family, diploma frames and gift cards. Tulane's is open Saturdays; Loyola's is closed on weekends.
For something local, Perlis Clothing (6070 Magazine St) sells its Crawfish line and gameday clothes that include Tulane. Dirty Coast Uptown (5415 Magazine St) has New Orleans tees, prints and hats, open Monday to Thursday 11am to 6pm and Friday to Sunday 10am to 6pm. Scriptura (5423 Magazine St), in the same block, sells journals, pens and fine paper for thank-you notes. A signed book from Blue Cypress Books or Octavia Books works for any reader, and a Japanese chef's knife from Coutelier (8604 Oak St) is the bigger gift for a parent who cooks.
Quick and casual. Humble Bagel (4716 Freret St) sells hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagels Thursday to Sunday from 7am to 1pm or until they sell out, with no phone orders. The Company Burger (4600 Freret St) is open daily 11am to 10pm. Both are on the Freret blocks closest to campus.
With parents. High Hat Cafe (4500 Freret St) serves Louisiana and Southern food built around catfish, with a full bar, daily 11am to 9pm. Jacques-Imo's Cafe (8324 Oak St) has served Cajun and Creole home cooking since 1996. It is open Wednesday to Friday 5pm to 10pm and Saturday 4pm to 10pm; it takes reservations by phone only for parties of five or more, and smaller groups are seated first come, first served.
Streetcar. Both campuses are on the St. Charles streetcar line (green cars). Tulane's admission page lists the fare at $1.25 per ride, per line, cash only, or by card through the Le Pass app. Cars run every 10 minutes from 6am to midnight and every 20 minutes overnight. From the French Quarter or the Central Business District, board at Common Street and St. Charles Avenue, one block off Canal Street. From the Amtrak station at Union Passenger Terminal, take the Loyola streetcar line (red cars).
Driving and parking. From I-10, exit at St. Charles Ave/Carondelet St, turn right onto St. Charles at the second light and follow it about four miles. At Tulane, parking is limited: there are two visitor spaces in Cowen Circle outside Gibson Hall, other campus spaces are metered, and there is limited street parking on St. Charles. Tulane recommends transit or a taxi. At Loyola, visitors can park free in the Marquette Horseshoe on St. Charles Avenue; Parking Services is at 504-865-3000.
Four of our districts fill the gaps. Uptown Magazine is closest: Buffalo Exchange (4119 Magazine St) buys, sells and trades clothing, Monday to Saturday 11am to 8pm and Sunday 11am to 7pm. Lower Magazine has Funky Monkey (3102 Magazine St) for vintage clothing, accessories and costumes.
Downtown, Canal Place and Riverwalk has Nordstrom Rack at the Riverwalk outlets, open Monday to Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 11am to 6pm. For laptop repairs and pickups, Lakeside in Metairie has an Apple store, with Genius Bar appointments, open Monday to Thursday 10am to 7pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 8pm and Sunday 11am to 6pm.
