Bourbon Street
Nightlife District · New Orleans, Louisiana
Thirteen blocks through the middle of the French Quarter that are the loudest and least representative thing in New Orleans, and the first place most visitors go. It is named for the French royal house rather than the whiskey. The upper blocks toward Canal Street are daiquiri shops, cover bands and hand grenades in plastic cups; the lower blocks past St Ann are quieter, older and the historic heart of the city's gay quarter. Almost every local will tell you to walk it once and then go to Frenchmen Street, and almost every local is right.
Bourbon Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70116, United States
A public street, open at all hours and free to walk. Bars run until dawn and there is no general closing time; most are 21-and-over from mid-evening with ID checked. The street is closed to vehicles in the evenings. Open containers are legal in plastic cups but glass is prohibited on the street and enforced. Note that Mardi Gras parades do not run on Bourbon Street — it is too narrow for floats.