Weekend in New Orleans, LA
A weekend in New Orleans, LA — prioritize Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits ($15-40), Chickie Wah Wah ($5-20), d.b.a. New Orleans (Free-$10), and French Quarter Phantoms ($22-30). Two days means two neighborhoods max. Don't try to see everything.
Traditional jazz in a room that hasn't changed since 1961. No drinks, no food, no talking. Just the music.
726 St Peter St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Shows at 5pm, 6:15pm, 7:30pm, 8:45pm daily; Sat-Sun add 2:30pm & 3:45pm
No cover. Best dance floor on Frenchmen. Cash only. This is the one everyone talks about.
623 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Daily 2pm-2am
The best beer list on Frenchmen, solid whiskey shelf, and live music every night. No cover most nights.
618 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Mon-Thu 5:30pm-1am, Fri 5:30pm-3am, Sat 2pm-3am, Sun 5:30pm-1am
Named after Professor Longhair's song. The room where New Orleans funk was born. Brass bands shake the floor.
501 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115 · Show nights, doors vary — check calendar
The sit-down jazz club on Frenchmen. Proper stage, proper sound, proper dinner. Two sets nightly.
626 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Dining 5-10pm (11pm Fri-Sat), shows at 7:30pm & 9:30pm nightly
Tiny Frenchmen Street restaurant with nightly live music and some of the best small plates in the Marigny.
536 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Mon-Fri 7pm-11pm, Sat 6pm-12am, Sun 4:30pm-12am
Rebirth Brass Band every Tuesday since 1991. George Porter Jr. on Mondays. The Uptown essential.
8316 Oak St, New Orleans, LA 70118 · Mon-Thu 5pm-1am, Fri-Sat 5pm-2am, Sun 4pm-1am
Pick your wine and cheese inside, then sit in the courtyard and listen to live jazz under the lights. The Bywater's backyard.
600 Poland Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117 · Mon-Thu 4pm-10pm, Fri-Sun 12pm-11pm
Kermit Ruffins' bar in the oldest African American neighborhood in America. He cooks BBQ in the parking lot.
1500 N Claiborne Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Wed-Sun, hours vary — check social media
Intimate Mid-City listening room where the cover goes straight to the musicians. A streetcar ride from the Quarter.
2828 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119 · Daily 5pm-2am, shows start around 8pm
1,300-capacity Warehouse District room. The big-show venue when Tipitina's is too far uptown.
907 S Peters St, New Orleans, LA 70130 · Show nights, doors vary
The one good reason to be on Bourbon Street. Real jazz in the middle of the chaos since the 1960s.
733 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Tue-Sat 11am-2am, Sun-Mon 11am-12am
Rated the #1 museum in America. Plan for a full day. The submarine exhibit alone is worth the trip.
945 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 · Daily 9am-5pm, closed Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & Christmas
Free Thursdays for Louisiana residents. The best collection of Southern art anywhere, and it's not close.
925 Camp St, New Orleans, LA 70130 · Daily 10am-5pm
Free Wednesdays for Louisiana residents. The sculpture garden outside is free every day and worth the trip alone.
1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans, LA 70124 · Tue, Thu-Sun 10am-5pm, Wed 12pm-7pm, closed Mon
90+ sculptures under moss-draped live oaks. Free. Every day. One of the best free things in the city.
1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans, LA 70124 · Daily 10am-6pm (Apr-Oct), 10am-5pm (Nov-Mar)
Street performers, tarot readers, artists, and St. Louis Cathedral. Free and open all day. Come early to beat the crowds.
701 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Open daily, sunrise to sunset (performers all day)
The real Bourbon Street. A dozen clubs in three blocks, most with no cover. Walk the strip and follow your ears.
Frenchmen St between Decatur and Royal, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Music starts around 5pm, peaks 9pm-2am
Open-air night market with local art, jewelry, and crafts. Free to browse. Better than anything in the Quarter.
619 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Nightly 7pm-12am
Oldest bar structure in America. Built in the 1720s. Lit by candles. The one Bourbon Street bar worth visiting.
941 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Daily 10am-3am (Wed until 2am)
Above-ground tombs from the 1700s. Guided tour required. This is where the city of the dead begins.
Basin St at St. Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70112 · Tours 9am-3:45pm, every 15 minutes
Where they build the floats. Year-round tours, free king cake, and you can try on costumes.
1380 Port of New Orleans Pl, New Orleans, LA 70130 · Daily 9:30am-4:30pm (last admission)
Last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi. Live jazz onboard. Touristy, yes. Worth it anyway.
Toulouse St Wharf, 1 Toulouse St, New Orleans, LA 70130 · Cruise times vary — check schedule
Alligators, cypress trees, and Spanish moss. 90 minutes in the bayou. $32 without transport, $60 with hotel pickup.
6601 Leo Kerner Lafitte Pkwy, Marrero, LA 70072 · Multiple departures daily, first tour around 9:30am
LaLaurie Mansion, Lafitte's, Ursuline Convent — two hours of real history disguised as ghost stories. From $22.
Meeting point: 723 St Peter St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Multiple tours daily and nightly — check schedule
Community theater in the French Quarter since 1916. Oldest continuously operating theater in the country.
616 St Peter St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Show times vary — check season calendar
Six miles of boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and oak-lined sidewalks. Free to walk. Takes a full half-day.
Magazine St, from Canal St to Audubon Park, New Orleans, LA · Shops generally 10am-6pm, restaurants and bars later
Two weekends, 14 stages, 5,000+ musicians, and the best food tents in America. Late April through early May.
Fair Grounds Race Course, 1751 Gentilly Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70119 · Gates open 11am daily
Free. The parades are free. The whole thing is free. February or early March depending on the year.
Various parade routes, New Orleans, LA · Parade times vary — check schedule
Every Sunday, a brass band leads a parade through the neighborhood. Free. No schedule — you just find them.
Various routes, typically Tremé, Central City, and Uptown, New Orleans, LA · Typically 1pm-4pm Sundays
Antique shops, galleries, and street musicians. Closed to cars during the day. The classy side of the Quarter.
Royal St, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Pedestrian zone 11am-4pm daily; shops generally 10am-6pm
Three floors, three stages, no cover. The biggest club on Frenchmen Street. Brass band upstairs, jazz downstairs.
508 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116 · Daily 4pm-late
$1.25 for a ride through the Garden District on the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world.
St. Charles Ave, from Canal St to S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA · 24 hours (reduced frequency late night)
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