Bourbon Street New Orleans
Laissez les bons temps rouler! A Guide to Bourbon Street in New Orleans
Bourbon Street runs through the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, and it delivers a sensory experience unlike anywhere else in the United States. Music spills out of open doorways at all hours, the smell of Creole cooking drifts down the block, and the crowd is always moving. It is loud, it is unpredictable, and for many visitors it becomes the highlight of the trip.
The street stretches about thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue. The lower end near Canal Street is where most of the bars, clubs, and souvenir shops are concentrated, while the upper blocks become quieter and more residential. First-time visitors often stick to the loudest stretch, but the full length of the street rewards those who keep walking.
History and Character
Bourbon Street takes its name from the French royal House of Bourbon, not from the whiskey. The street was laid out in the late 1700s when New Orleans was a French colonial city, and it has been a center of commerce and social life ever since. The buildings along the street reflect the French and Spanish colonial architecture that defines the French Quarter: iron balconies, stucco facades, and courtyards hidden behind heavy wooden doors.
The street’s reputation for all-night revelry grew significantly after World War II, when servicemen passing through the city helped establish the bar culture that persists today. Mardi Gras, held each year in the weeks before Ash Wednesday, draws enormous crowds and has become inseparable from the street’s identity, but Bourbon Street operates at full volume year-round.
Where to Visit
Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street, just off Bourbon, is one of the most important music venues in the country. It has been hosting traditional New Orleans jazz since 1961. The room is small and deliberately spare, with standing room and a few benches. Shows run nightly, and the wait outside can be long, so arriving early is worthwhile. The musicians who perform there are often among the best jazz players in the city.
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar at 941 Bourbon Street is one of the oldest surviving bar structures in the United States. The building dates to the early 1700s and has never been fully modernized – it is lit almost entirely by candles after dark. The bar serves a signature purple drink called a Voodoo Daiquiri that has become a local tradition. The atmosphere is genuinely old and slightly crumbling in the best way.
St. Louis Cathedral faces Jackson Square, a short walk from the main stretch of Bourbon Street. The current building was completed in 1794 and has been modified several times since. It is the oldest continuously active cathedral in the United States. Even if you are not religious, the interior is worth seeing, and the square in front of it is one of the most recognizable public spaces in the South.
The Old Absinthe House at 240 Bourbon Street has been operating in some form since 1807. The building retains much of its original character, including a marble bar where regulars have plastered thousands of business cards over the decades. It is a reliable place to escape the street noise and sit with a drink in surroundings that feel genuinely historical.
The Historic New Orleans Collection on Royal Street, one block over from Bourbon, holds an extensive archive of maps, photographs, documents, and art related to Louisiana history. Free gallery exhibitions rotate regularly, and paid tours of the historic buildings on the site provide context that makes walking the French Quarter more rewarding.
Where to Eat
Cafe du Monde in Jackson Square has been serving beignets and cafe au lait since 1862. The beignets are fried to order, dusted heavily with powdered sugar, and best eaten immediately. The cafe is open around the clock except on Christmas Day, which means it is accessible even after a late night on Bourbon Street. Lines form during peak hours, but the cafe is large enough that waits rarely stretch beyond fifteen minutes.
Gumbo Shop at 630 St. Peter Street has been serving Creole food to locals and visitors for decades. The menu covers the classics – gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, shrimp Creole – with consistency and reasonable prices for the neighborhood. The courtyard seating is a good option when the weather cooperates.
Galatoire’s at 209 Bourbon Street has been in continuous operation since 1905 and is one of the most respected restaurants in the city. The downstairs dining room operates on a first-come, first-served basis with no reservations, which means Friday lunch can involve a long wait on the sidewalk. The menu is classic New Orleans French Creole: trout amandine, oysters en brochette, shrimp remoulade. It is formal by Bourbon Street standards and accordingly more expensive than most neighbors.
Dooky Chase’s Restaurant is not on Bourbon Street itself – it is in the Tremé neighborhood about a mile away – but it deserves mention for anyone serious about New Orleans food. Leah Chase, who ran the kitchen for decades until her death in 2019, is a central figure in Creole cooking history. The restaurant continues to operate and serves a buffet lunch on weekdays that is among the most culturally significant meals available in the city.
Acme Oyster House at 724 Iberville Street, one block from Bourbon, serves raw and chargrilled oysters along with po-boys and other Gulf seafood staples. The raw bar is the main attraction. Oysters are shucked to order and priced by the dozen. It fills up quickly at lunch and dinner.
Where to Stay
Hotel Monteleone at 214 Royal Street is one of the last family-owned hotels in the French Quarter and has been operating since 1886. The Carousel Bar on the ground floor revolves slowly and has been a gathering place for writers and locals for generations. The hotel is large enough to offer full amenities but retains the feel of an older, independently run property. It is a short walk from the heart of Bourbon Street without being on top of the noise.
The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Baronne Street sits at the edge of the French Quarter near Canal Street. The building dates to 1893 and the lobby is genuinely grand – high ceilings, long corridors, ornate detail. The Sazerac Bar inside the hotel is where the Sazerac cocktail, one of the oldest American cocktails, has been served for over a century.
Soniat House on Chartres Street is a smaller, quieter option for travelers who want to be in the French Quarter without staying in a large hotel. The property occupies two 1830s townhouses and has around thirty rooms furnished with antiques. It does not have a restaurant or pool, but the location and character make it a reliable choice for those who prioritize atmosphere over amenities.
Activities and Tips
Take a guided walking tour. Several companies offer French Quarter tours covering history, architecture, culinary traditions, and the city’s more unusual folklore. A two-hour walk with a knowledgeable guide provides context that is hard to pick up on your own, and many guides are local historians or longtime residents with genuine expertise.
Attend a second line. Second lines are brass band processions that move through New Orleans neighborhoods on Sundays throughout much of the year. Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs organize these parades, which are open to anyone who wants to join the crowd following the band. They bear little resemblance to the tourist experience of Bourbon Street and offer a more direct look at the city’s musical culture.
Visit during the week if possible. Bourbon Street on a Friday or Saturday night is genuinely crowded, especially between June and August and during football season. Weekday evenings are considerably calmer, bars are easier to enter, and the music is often just as good.
Drink water throughout the day. The heat and humidity in New Orleans can be severe from late spring through early fall. Alcohol dehydrates quickly in hot weather, and the walk between Bourbon Street and other parts of the French Quarter is longer than it looks on a map. Carry water and drink it.
Wear comfortable shoes. The French Quarter streets are uneven brick and cobblestone in many places. The sidewalks are narrow and often crowded. Shoes that can handle hours of walking on irregular surfaces will make the trip considerably more pleasant.
Carry cash. Many bars on Bourbon Street are cash-only or strongly prefer it, and smaller restaurants throughout the French Quarter operate the same way. ATMs are available throughout the area, but the fees are often high.
Beyond Bourbon Street
Jackson Square is the open plaza in front of St. Louis Cathedral at the river end of the French Quarter. Artists set up along the iron fence surrounding the park, and tarot readers, musicians, and street performers fill the space on most days. It is one of the few genuinely public gathering places in the neighborhood.
The French Market runs along Decatur Street from Jackson Square toward the Faubourg Marigny. The covered market sells local food products, crafts, and souvenirs. The section closest to the square tends toward tourist goods, but the produce and prepared food stalls further along are used by locals.
Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny, just beyond the French Quarter boundary, is where many of the city’s working musicians perform on a regular basis. The clubs there – including the Spotted Cat Music Club, d.b.a., and the Maison – charge little or no cover and host live music most nights of the week. Many locals consider Frenchmen Street a more honest version of what Bourbon Street promises but does not always deliver.
The Garden District is a thirty-minute walk or a short streetcar ride from the French Quarter. The neighborhood developed in the nineteenth century as wealthy Americans built large homes away from the Creole French Quarter. The architecture is different – Greek Revival and Italianate mansions behind iron fences and mature oak trees. Magazine Street runs through the neighborhood and has a concentration of independent restaurants, bars, and shops.
City Park in Mid-City holds the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Besthoff Sculpture Garden, botanical gardens, and the Carousel Gardens amusement park. It is significantly quieter than the French Quarter and offers a different perspective on the city. The streetcar to City Park runs from Canal Street.
Laissez les bons temps rouler. Let the good times roll – and take your time doing it.