New Orleans French Quarter: How to Get Past Bourbon Street

The muffuletta sandwich was invented at Central Grocery on Decatur Street in 1906. The Sazerac cocktail, rye whiskey, Peychaud’s bitters, absinthe rinse, was invented at a pharmacy a few blocks away in the 1850s. Café du Monde opened in 1862 and has served the same beignets and chicory café au lait every day since, 24 hours a day. New Orleans’ French Quarter contains more specific food inventions per square block than almost anywhere in America, and most of them are available in the original locations if you know where to look. None of them are on Bourbon Street.

The French Quarter (Vieux Carré) is 13 rectangular blocks along the Mississippi. Dating from 1718, it’s the oldest neighbourhood in New Orleans. Most visitors spend most of their time on Bourbon Street, which smells of stale beer and serves generic cocktails in plastic cups. Everything interesting is on the cross streets. Everything interesting is on the cross streets.

Jackson Square and the Cathedral

Jackson Square is the square bounded by the St Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, and the Presbytère. The cathedral (1789, rebuilt 1852) is an active church with free entry; the interior is cooler than the summer street and has good 19th-century stained glass. The Cabildo (1795) is where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803 and is now a Louisiana State Museum with a good collection on the history of the city. Entry around $9.

The square faces the Mississippi River levee. Walking up the levee gives you a perspective people miss - the river is higher than the surrounding land because the levee raises the bank, and the city behind you sits below river level. This is why New Orleans floods.

Café du Monde on Decatur Street opposite the square has been serving beignets and café au lait since 1862. The covered outdoor tables are open 24 hours. The beignets come in sets of three and are covered in powdered sugar that will coat your clothing. This is standard and unavoidable. Café au lait is coffee mixed with hot chicory-laced milk. Budget $10-15 for the experience.

The Real Bourbon Street Problem and the Alternatives

Bourbon Street between St Ann and St Peter is the gay bar district and genuinely fun late at night. Bourbon Street south of Canal is the tourist circuit. Nothing on tourist Bourbon Street is unique to New Orleans.

Frenchmen Street (10 minutes’ walk from Jackson Square, technically just outside the Quarter in the Faubourg Marigny) has been New Orleans’ genuine live music street for 30 years. A dozen bars within 200 metres, most with no cover charge or a $5-10 cover, with good jazz, blues, funk, and brass bands playing from 22:00 to 03:00. The Spotted Cat, the Snug Harbor, and d.b.a are the most consistent names. More expensive than it used to be but still excellent.

Preservation Hall (726 St Peter Street, inside the Quarter): the city’s most famous traditional jazz venue, in a building from 1750. Standing room, shows run 45 minutes, tickets $25-35 booked online. The musicianship is serious. Doors open for each show and the line can be 45 minutes if you haven’t booked.

Eating

Central Grocery (923 Decatur Street): the muffuletta was invented here in 1906, by Salvatore Lupo who fed the Italian produce market workers who gathered on Decatur. The sandwich is a round Sicilian sesame loaf stuffed with Italian cured meats, provolone, and olive salad (green and black olives with pickled vegetables in olive oil). It is large, it is excellent, and it costs around $18-22 for the whole thing (enough for two people). Cash only, get there before noon on weekends.

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant (2301 Orleans Avenue, in Treme): the legendary Creole restaurant, operated by Leah Chase from 1946 until her death at 96 in 2019. Lunch buffet around $25. The restaurant fed civil rights workers during the 1960s when Black diners were not welcome in white restaurants. The walls are hung with a significant collection of African American art. Not a tourist trap despite the fame.

Coop’s Place (1109 Decatur Street): the most honest bar and grill in the Quarter. Dark, crowded, no ambiance. Good red beans and rice (Mondays are traditional red bean day in New Orleans), excellent jambalaya, competent gumbo. Around $12-18 for mains.

Killer PoBoys (811 Conti Street, hidden inside Erin Rose bar): po’ boys made with genuine care - the slow-roasted beef and the shrimp with remoulade are well above the tourist-strip average. $12-16.

Getting Around

The Quarter is 13 blocks and walkable. The streetcar on St Charles Avenue (not Canal, which runs a different line) runs through the Garden District 24 hours a day, $1.25 per ride, and is the way to reach Magazine Street (shopping and restaurants) and Tulane University.

A note on driving: the French Quarter has extremely limited parking and the one-way streets are confusing. Arriving by foot from the CBD or by rideshare is sensible.

Staying

Hotel Monteleone (214 Royal Street): family-owned since 1886, 570 rooms, in the heart of the Quarter. The Carousel Bar in the lobby rotates slowly and serves Sazeracs - the New Orleans cocktail (rye whiskey, Peychaud’s bitters, absinthe rinse). Rates $200-400 per night depending on season.

The Catahoula Hotel (914 Union Street, CBD but walkable): boutique, well-designed, excellent rooftop bar, around $150-250.

Auld Sweet Olive B&B (2460 N Rampart Street, Marigny): on the edge of Frenchmen Street, genuine B&B atmosphere, private rooms from $90-140.

When Mardi Gras Is and Isn’t Worth It

Mardi Gras itself (the two weeks before Fat Tuesday, which falls in February or March depending on the year) sees hotels charging 3-5x normal rates and the Quarter becoming genuinely packed. If you want the parades and the spectacle, it is worth it once. If you want to eat well and hear good music without fighting crowds, visit in October or November instead.

The Jazz and Heritage Festival in late April/early May is the city’s best music event and draws a more local crowd than Mardi Gras.