World City Guide

Nightlife

New Orleans has it all. The most well-known district is the French Quarter, centring on Bourbon Street. This is more a magnet for tourists than for locals and there is everything from strip shows (and more, towards the western end) to bars featuring blues, jazz and Cajun music. Across Esplanade Avenue at the eastern end of the French Quarter is a much more sedate nightlife hotspot - Faubourg Marigny.

Jazz is generally considered to be a New Orleans’ creation and the city is constantly buzzing with music. There are dozens of live venues, as well as numerous jazz trumpeters and other buskers on the streets. Bars and clubs throughout the city are permitted to remain open 24 hours and it is one of the few places in America where alcohol can be consumed on the street provided it is in a plastic container. The legal minimum drinking and gambling age is 21 years. As in most large US cities, the distinction between bars, clubs and live music venues is often blurred.

The daily newspaper Times-Picayune (website: www.nola.com), lists nightlife events – a section on Friday covers the weekend highlights. The monthly publication Offbeat, and the weekly Gambit both are free newspapers with nightlife listings. The monthly New Orleans Magazine (website: www.neworleansmagazine.com) also lists and reviews entertainment in the city. Inside New Orleans (website: http://neworleans.cox.net/cci/entertainment) is an up-to-date and savvy Internet site, while Gambit’s affiliated online outfit (website: www.bestofneworleans.com) also posts weekly nightlife events. CitySearch New Orleans offers nightline events online at http://neworleans.citysearch.com.

Bars: Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, 941 Bourbon Street, is one of the city’s most atmospheric bars and quite unlike other Bourbon Street bars, lit only by candles. It dates from the 18th century and is said to be the oldest building in use as a bar in America. The Old Absinthe House, 240 Bourbon Street, opened in 1806, may no longer serve absinthe but for an historical artefact it is youthful in atmosphere. The Bombay Club, located in the Prince Conti Hotel, 830 Conti Street, is for those who prefer a more upmarket venue, with cocktails served in the wood-panelled interior. Pat O’Briens, 718 St Peter Street, is a New Orleans drinking institution and the place to try the famous Hurricane cocktail (rum, orange juice, pineapple juice and grenadine). F&M Patio Bar, 4841 Tchoupitoulas Street, a loud and popular place in Uptown that never closes, frequently sponsors all-nighters and some decent late-night fare. Napoleon House, 500 Chartres Street, is the originator of Pimm’s Cup and a fantastic French Quarter venue, which has been around since 1914. The eclectic decor has attracted the likes of Nicolas Cage and Matt Dillon. Mardi Gras and Jazz memorabilia decorate the chic, Ritz Carlton French Quarter Bar (FQB), 921 Canal Street, one of the city’s newer hot spots. For the feel of an English gentlemen’s club, visit the cigar-friendly Polo Lounge at Windsor Court Hotel, 300 Gravier Street. The other-worldly is evident at the candlelit, Loa, in the International Hotel, 221 Camp Street. It has an ‘interactive altar’.

Casinos: There are over 1,200 slots, 45 gaming tables, live performances and a Wild Card Sports Bar with 16 screens at Bally’s Casino Lakeshore Resort, 1 Stars & Stripes Road (tel: (800) 572 2559; website: www.ballysno.com). Harrah’s New Orleans, 4 Canal Street (tel: (504) 533 6000; website: www.harrahs.com), a massive shopping, dining and gambling complex on the corner of Poydras Street and South Peters Street, offers more than 2,900 slot machines and 120 table games. Treasure Chest Casino, 5050 Williams Boulevard, in Kenner (tel: (504) 443 8000; website: www.treasurechest.com), near the airport and Lake Pontchartrain, has about 1,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a shuttle service from many downtown hotels. The minimum gambling age is 21 years and identification may be required. The dress code at these casinos is smart-casual.

Clubs: Jazz clubs are a dime a dozen in this city. Funky Butt, 714 North Rampart Street, is a smart club that often hosts well-known local and national jazz acts. Its Art Deco style and split-level interior make it a popular hangout. Palm Court Jazz Café, 1204 Decatur Street, is a traditional New Orleans jazz club with a mahogany bar and good food. Donna’s Bar and Grill, 800 North Rampart Street, is on the northern edge of the French Quarter and is where locals go to eat, drink and to listen to brass band music. Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen Street, in the Faubourg Marigny, is run by vocalist Charmaine Neville and pianist Ellis Marsalis (father of Wynton and Branford) and is renowned for its hamburgers.

To dance to sounds other than jazz, clubbers head for Ampersand, 1100 Tulane Avenue (website: www.clubampersand.com), located in a former CBD bank. This is a popular club that attracts a young financial-industry crowd, with its cocktails and the latest in techno pop and house. Saturday is theme party night with a drink-all-night cover. Listen or dance to music ranges from jazz to Latin at the funky Café Brasil, 2100 Chartres Street. The French Quarter’s Oz, Bourbon Street (website: www.ozneworleans.com), is the city’s best dance club and attracts a mostly gay clientele.

Live Music: Ernie K-Doe’s Mother-in-Law Lounge, 1500 North Claiborne Avenue (website: www.k-doe.com), is a must-see for fans of the singer whose ‘Mother in Law’ was a number one hit in 1961. He plays in this 50s-retro venue on most nights. Tipitina’s, 501 Napoleon Avenue, Uptown (website: www.tipitinas.com), at 233 North Peters Street, is another city institution, featuring music from New Orleans and beyond. Come early and queue for entrance to the legendary Preservation Hall, 726 St Peter Street (website: www.preservationhall.com), where guests sit on the floor, if they must, to catch musicians trained in the ‘Louis Armstrong school.’ Storyville District, 125 Bourbon Street, is another top jazz venue – it has several stages, a restaurant and serves a mean jazz brunch. House of Blues, 255 Decatur Street, covers many musical genres, from blues and funk to rock and country. It is now one in a chain of restaurant-clubs, owned in part by comedian Dan Aykroyd, who starred in The Blues Brothers (1980).