Bourbon Street is one of America’s great party streets, a mecca of nightlife with its many bars from live music venues to dive bars to cut-it-loose destinations.
It is the quintessential representation of the New Orleans lifestyle, which is best summed up on one popular phrase: “laissez les bons temps rouler,” or “let the good times roll.”
Consider this your essential guide to going out in the part of the Big Easy, a important party tool for the bars in Bourbon Street (well, on Bourbon Street, actually). Here are the most commonly asked questions about Bourbon Street bars, located in the French Quarter section of New Orleans.
Your Bourbon Street Bars Questions Answered
Q.) What is the most famous bar on Bourbon Street?
A.) There are several and if you go by the name on the door the answer is the Famous Door. That is a PubClub.com favorite because it has cover bands blasting rock music. Bar historians, tho, may argue that it is the long-standing ones that are the most famous and those are the Old Absinthe House dating back to the mid-1800s and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop , which goes back to 1732, therefore making it the oldest Bar in New Orleans.
Q.) How many bars are on Bourbon Street in New Orleans?
A.) No one has been sober enough to count! Haha. Considering Bourbon Street is 13 blocks from Canal Street to the Esplanade with the bars lined on both sides of the street on seven to eight of them, the number of bars is staggering. An approximate number is 70, tho keep in mind there are places that sell “Big Ass Beers” on the street, as well as slushy drink places and tube shot girls. So the real number is close to 100.
Q.) Do bars on Bourbon Street charge cover?
A.) For the most part, they do not, even the live music bars. Needless to say, this makes it easy to go from one place to the other and back again throughout the night. And keep in mind you can take your drinks out onto the street when exiting a bar.
Q.) How much do drinks cost on Bourbon Street?
A.) Drink prices vary by bar but expect to pay $6-8 for a beer and $7-10 for a cocktail. If you want to drink cheaply on Bourbon Street, there is a a daily Happy Hour from 4-7 with most places serving 2-for-1 and even 3-for-1. That is not a typo. What can drain your wallet quickly is taking shots from a tube that girls serve from placing the tube down their cleavage.
Q.) What is the most popular bar in New Orleans?
A.) Among the many well-visited establishments, the World Famous Cat’s Meow is probably the most popular bar on Bourbon Street. It is well known for having karaoke.
Q.) Where do locals drink in New Orleans?
A.) Locals go to Bourbon Street when friends are in town but primarily they drink on Frenchman Street just beyond Bourbon Street and the Garden District area. which is a neighborhood on the other side of Canal Street.
Q.) What is the name of the famous bar in New Orleans?
A.) There are several but the most famous bar in New Orleans is Pat O’Brien’s, know for creating the city’s signature drink, the Hurricane. The tall rum-based cocktail is served in a to-go cup or a Hurricane glass, which you get to keep.
Q.) What is Bourbon Street famous for?
A.) Debauchery! Seriously, it’s known for having high-energy and casual-attire bars on both sides of the street for several blocks. This, of course, leads to debauchery.
Q.) Is Bourbon Street a Red Light District?
A.) While you can certainly find plenty of opportunities for sex on Bourbon Street, it is not a Red Light District.
Q.) What is the smell on Bourbon Street?
A.) Leftover debauchery! It’s the leftover mess from the night before which includes beer, puke and everything else people leave behind after several hours of drinking. Therefore, PubClu.com advises not going there before about 3 p.m. That smell in your hotel room the next morning, by the way, is likely from the bag of leftover Krystal burgers you forgot you got at the end of the night when you were hammered.
Q.) What clubs do celebrities go to in New Orleans?
A.) While celebrities do go to Bourbon Street ou are most likely to encounter them at live music venues. Among the city’s most popular and famous are Tipitina’s and the Maple Leaf.
Q.) What kind of bars are on Bourbon Street?
A.) Pretty much anything you can imagine. The kind of bars on Bourbon Street are: dive bars, live music venues (mostly with cover bands playing rock, country and TropRock, which is a Jimmy Buffett-style of music), dance bars, karaoke bars and famous-drink bars such as the Tropical Isle with its Hand Grenade and Pat O’Brien’s with its Hurricane. There are also some of New Orleans’ most famous restaurants on Bourbon Street, mostly on the lower end close to Canal Street.
Q.) What is so bad about Bourbon Street?
A.) The morning-after smell. That’s about it, tho there is petty crime for those who are stumbling about on their own. Those who are in that state should call it a night and go back your your hotel. Otherwise you’re an easy target for pickpockets. This applies to women, too; thiefs do steal pocketbooks in addition to wallets.
Be sure and read PubClub.com’s complete guide to the best bars on Bourbon Street.
Frenchman Street is indeed where many locals go out in New Orleans and it’s a fairly short walk from the main part of Bourbon Street. Cocktail prices on Bourbon do vary and it is the bigger party scene.