New Orleans: Bourbon Street Is the Worst Place to Experience It

Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is the most marketed version of New Orleans and the least representative. The street itself is a block-long sequence of daiquiri bars, strip clubs, and tourist shops primarily aimed at groups celebrating bachelor parties and conventions. It smells of stale alcohol before noon. The jazz you hear there is incidental noise, not the music New Orleans actually makes.

The real musical and culinary experience of New Orleans is within ten minutes’ walk of Bourbon Street and has nothing to do with it. This is not a snobbish distinction – it is a practical one. You can have both if you want: spend an hour on Bourbon Street at night, understand what it is, and then go eat and listen to music somewhere else.

Where the Music Actually Is

Preservation Hall on Saint Peter Street, one block from Bourbon Street, opened in 1961 and has been maintaining traditional New Orleans jazz in its purest form since. The nightly performances start at 8pm; the room is small, seats about 100, and the musicians are the real thing. Buy tickets in advance at preservationhall.com. This is not background music; it is a concert.

Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny, a ten-minute walk from the French Quarter, has the actual working music clubs of New Orleans: the Spotted Cat, the Three Muses, the Candlelight Lounge. Live music seven nights a week, no cover at many venues, and the crowd is mixed local and visitor. Frenchmen Street is what tourists think Bourbon Street is.

Where to Eat

Commander’s Palace in the Garden District has held its place as the finest white-tablecloth Creole restaurant in the city for decades. The Saturday jazz brunch is a specific New Orleans institution. Reservations essential.

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in the Treme neighbourhood is where Leah Chase cooked for civil rights leaders during the 1960s because it was one of the few restaurants that served both races. The restaurant remains a cultural institution serving Creole cooking that has not needed to adapt to tourist expectations. Leah Chase died in 2019 at 96; the restaurant continues under family management.

Central Grocery on Decatur Street invented the muffuletta in 1906 – a round sesame loaf with Italian cold cuts, provolone, and olive salad. The original version, eaten at the counter or standing at the street, is what you want. A half muffuletta is enough for most people.

Cafe du Monde on Decatur Street near Jackson Square has been serving beignets (fried dough buried in powdered sugar) and cafe au lait since 1862. Open 24 hours, always busy, always powdered sugar everywhere. It is everything its reputation says.

The French Quarter Beyond Bourbon

Jackson Square has the St. Louis Cathedral (begun 1720, third oldest cathedral in North America), street musicians, portrait artists, and views of the Mississippi. Worth an hour.

The National WWII Museum on Magazine Street is consistently ranked among the top museums in the United States and requires at least half a day. The interactive exhibits on the Pacific and European theatres are exceptional.

Practical Notes

New Orleans is genuinely hot and humid from May through October. The food is better than anywhere in the American South and arguably better than most of the US. Mardi Gras (February or early March depending on the year) requires months of advance booking for accommodation. Jazz Fest in late April and early May is the better event for most adult visitors.