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| Home > City Guide - New Orleans - Shopping | ||
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Shopping The French Quarter is one of the main shopping areas, with plenty of unique craft shops, galleries and other stores. The Central Business District (CBD) and Uptown are also good shopping centres. Lots of the souvenirs are based around the city’s unique Mardi Gras, with masks, costumes, dolls, photos, paintings and other artefacts. Voodoo items also make rather unusual gifts. For more tasteful items, there are the many antique shops on Royal and Magazine Streets. Jackson Brewery – Millhouse is a large mall on the waterfront in the French Quarter. Other shopping centres include Riverwalk Marketplace, The Esplanade, New Orleans Shopping Center, Bank One Center and Lakeside Shopping Center. Tax-free shopping is available at the Tanger Outlet Center and Louisiana Tax Free Shopping Center. Running for several blocks along Decatur and North Peters Streets, the French Market, open daily 0700-1900, is one of the most colourful spots in the city (see Key Attractions). The large covered sheds, built in 1936 as a public works project, house the Farmer’s Market, where fresh produce is sold, and the Flea Market, with an assortment of clothes, jewellery, hot sauces and other New Orleans souvenirs. French Quarter shops have the longest hours of operation, from about 1000-2200, except Sunday, when all shops close at approximately 1700. General shopping hours in the city are 1000-1700. New Orleans’ sales tax is 10%. The state sales tax is only 9% and refunds for that percentage of the price of goods purchased in tax-free stores are available to overseas visitors at the international airport’s LTFS (Louisiana Tax-Free Shopping) Refund Centre. The LTFS voucher and the sales receipt from the store are required, as well as passport and international air ticket. Refunds under US$500 are paid in cash, otherwise a cheque will be put in the post. |
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