Named for the French royal family rather than the whiskey it’s now associated with, Bourbon Street runs thirteen blocks through the heart of the French Quarter and transforms completely between day and night. By afternoon it’s a fairly ordinary street of balconied buildings and open shops; after dark it becomes one of the loudest, most electric stretches of pavement in the country.

The street predates the bourbon whiskey it’s often assumed to be named after, having been named in the late 1700s for the French royal House of Bourbon during the city’s colonial period. Its reputation for round-the-clock revelry grew gradually over the 20th century, shaped in part by looser local liquor laws that allow open containers on the street, a rarity in most American cities.

Best Things to Do on Bourbon Street

Bar-Hop Between Live Music Venues

Many bars along Bourbon Street have open facades with bands playing live music that spills straight onto the sidewalk, meaning you can sample several different sounds, blues, cover bands, brass, without paying a cover at any of them.

View Price & Book Tour on Viator

Visit Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

One of the oldest surviving structures in the city, this candlelit bar is reputed to have once been a front for the Lafitte brothers’ smuggling operation and remains one of the most atmospheric stops on the street.

View Price & Book Tour on Viator

Catch a Show at Preservation Hall

A short walk off Bourbon Street, this legendary venue has hosted traditional New Orleans jazz in an intimate, un-air-conditioned room since the 1960s, with no drinks served and standing room only during busy sets.

View Price & Book Tour on Viator

People-Watch from a Balcony

During festivals and busy weekends, upper balconies along the street fill with people watching the crowds below, a Bourbon Street tradition that’s especially lively during Mardi Gras season.

View Price & Book Tour on Viator

Compare Daytime and Nighttime Bourbon Street

Walking the street in daylight reveals architectural details, ironwork, and shopfronts easy to miss once the crowds and neon take over after sunset, worth doing before diving into the nightlife.

View Price & Book Tour on Viator

Best Time to Visit

Evening is when the street comes alive with music and energy, while a daytime walk offers a calmer, more photogenic look at the architecture. Weekends and festival periods bring significantly larger crowds than weekday nights.

How to Get There

Bourbon Street sits within easy walking distance of most French Quarter hotels, and the Canal Street streetcar line drops you within a few blocks if you’re coming from elsewhere in the city.

Good to Know

While many bars are 18 or 21 and up, the street itself is open to all ages, and it’s legal to carry drinks in plastic cups outdoors. The street becomes pedestrian-only in the evenings as barricades go up, and it can get genuinely crowded and rowdy, so keep track of your group and stay aware of your surroundings. Cash tends to move faster than cards at busy outdoor bars and walk-up windows, so it’s worth carrying some. If you’re visiting during a major festival, book accommodations well ahead, since hotel rates and availability shift dramatically during those weeks.

Bourbon Street isn’t subtle, and it’s not meant to be. Approach it as a sensory experience rather than a quiet stroll, and it delivers exactly what it promises. Pace yourself if you’re planning a longer night out, since the energy of the street tends to build steadily rather than peak all at once.