French Quarter or Garden District?

We're college students interested in going to New Orleans for spring break. It seems like hotels are clustered around either the Garden District or French Quarter. Which would you recommend (for reasons of food, good clubbing, etc)? Also, even though the French Quarter is the furthest east of these 2 areas, is it easy to get from it to the main Tulane campus? MANY THANKS!!

There are actually few hotels in the area of the Garden District. There are some, and as the other answers say, also some bars/clubs. However, the concentration of hotels, bars/clubs, restaurants, and things to do is far greater in the FQ than in the GD..

I recommend staying in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre") if you can. There is a very wide range of hotel selections available, from moderate guest houses to very exclusive "boutique" hotels. Search Yahoo Travel and Travelocity for ideas and also check the hotel websites.

To get to the Tulane campus you take the Saint Charles Avenue streetcar from downtown to the stop for Tulane University (www.norta.com). You can't miss it - the campus fronts on Saint Charles. It is about 30 minutes by streetcar and 15 to 20 minutes by taxi from downtown.

Stay in the Garden District, it's cheaper and take the cable to go clubbing. There are some great places nestled in the Garden district area also. To Tulane it's not to difficult from either area.

if your trying to be near tulane staying the the garden distract is you best bet, but all you will get is frat hosue parties and such, if you want to experiance the bouborn street night life stay in the quaters. i wouldn't say one is cheaper than the other tho. the easiet way tp get to tulane campus from downtown (since you don't knwo ur way aroudn the city) is to drive all the way down st. charles ave until u get to tulane. i would say in decent traffic maybe 15-20 mins from lee circle which would be the easy way to get onto st.charles. i hope im making sense. but once u see a map of downtown and uptown u will see what i'm getting at. if u plan on taking a taxi u have nothing to worry about cause most of them usually take the shortest and most local known route (most not all tho)

If you're gonna stay in the Garden District be careful that you ARE actually in the GD. Hotels quite often say they are but they are generally just Uptown (an area which includes the GD).

You'll have more fun if you stay in the Quarters and you won't have to be checking addresses in the GD for safe/er area.

I would stay in the Quarter or the Central Business District (CBD), which is right across the street from the FQ, Canal St divides the two. I just came back from Mardi Gras and we stayed at the St James Hotel, which was a great location for MG. It wasn't too crowded or busy and the FQ was only a few blocks away. For food and clubbing the FQ is better in my opinion. There are tons of bars and clubs in the quarter and many of NOLA's best restaurants as well. K Paul's restaurant on Chartres St in the Quarter was absolutely amazing and I highly recommend it. Commander's Palace in the Garden District was also amazing and a must eat. The streetcar will take you from downtown to Tulane and is a nice ride on the most historic streetcar line in the world. For college kids i defiantely think the quarter or the CBD is better.

I would recommend staying in the French Quarter. For spring break crowds it has much more of what you are looking for. Bourbon Street with its blocks of bars, and restaurants around the quarter, good music on frenchmen street and lots of other entertainment and historic landmarks. You can hop on the streetcar, take a cab or even the bus up to Tulane. The Garden district/Uptown is much more spread out and not as easy to walk around from destination to destination in close proximity. Have fun.