Nightlife in New Orleans

Best Bars

Choosing the best bar in New Orleans is quite a challenge. There area so many cool places all over town. All the hotels have great bars that offer a sophisticated atmosphere. But, many locals in the French Quarter prefer Molly's on Decatur, MRB's, which has a comfortable courtyard, and Flanagan's. For good mixology drinks Tonique on Rampart is one of the city's best.
In the Bywater neighborhood, locals love Mimi's for dancing and dining. Lost Love Lounge is also a nieghborhood favorite, while Saturn Bar on St. Claude has been a low-scale hipster joint for over twenty years. Other local favorites on St. Claude include the Hi-Ho, Siberia and Sweet Lorraine's jazz club.
Uptown, there are several bars where locals love to hang including Miss Mae's on Napoleon and Magazine, the Saint in the lower Garden District, Tracy's on Magazine in the Irish Channel, and Monkey Hill Bar on upper Magazine near Audubon Park. Along Freret, there is Publiq House, the Cure Bar, and Hi-Hat Restaurant, all of which have great cocktails and mixologists on staff.
In the Mid-City area locals love to hang at Pal's Lounge in the Bayou St. John neighborhood, Fin McCools, and Twelve Mile Limit in the area off of Carrolton and Banks Street. Shamrock is great for numerous games and karaoke.

Best Clubs

New Orleans has a great number of clubs that feature live local music. In the French Quarter, the clubs along Bourbon Street offer a variety of zydeco, rock, pop and karaoke. But Frenchmen Street in the Marigny neighborhood is the favoriate among locals who want to avoid the tourist areas. The three block stretch of lower Frenchmen from Esplanade to Royal is packed with awesome venues that feature some of the best local music acts.
The Treme neighborhood behind the French Quarter has Kermit's Speakeasy, owned by local entertainer Kermit Ruffins, and which features great live music and downhome New Orleans cooking.
If you are going Uptown, Tipitinas on Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas often features live music, while the Maple Leaf on Oak Street in Carrollton hosts a variety of live local bands. Recently Publiq House on Freret has emerged as a favorite place for local bands and features a large dance floor.
In the Mid-City neighborhood, Chickie Wah Wah features great local bands, and also has an impressive menu with healthy options.
In the Warehouse District, the Republic often features electronic dance DJ's and their shows last well into the night. Ampersand is another local club that is great for live DJ dance sets.

Music

Music in New Orleans is ubiquitous. In the French Quarter, Bourbon street has lots of cover bands, as well as jazz and even zydeco bands, but locals generally view the strip as a tourist zone that does not feature their local favorites. Local jazz impresario Irvin Mayfield has opened some great authentic jazz clubs at the Royal Sonesta and the J.W. Marriot on Canal Street, both of which feature top local jazz bands. The Bombay Club is also a gem of a small jazz club that features incredible local jazz artists in an intimate atmosphere.
Most locals favor, however, the lower end of Frenchmen St in the Marigny neighborhood just below the French Quarter for live music. The first three blocks of Frenchmen host a number of clubs that feature all varieties of music from jazz, funk, brass band, rhythm and blues and any typical fusion blend of all of these styles.
In Uptown, Tipitina's at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas Streets often features great local and national acts and is popular with natives and tourists, while the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak Street is a local favorite and often hosts bands that play dance music late into the night. Mid-City Lanes (aka Rock N Bowl) on Carrollton Avenue is also a popular spot for live music and dancing, and is one of the only bars that features zydeco music.
In Mid-City, Chickie Wah Wah is a great local music venue that has amazing food, a great drink selection, and some of the best bands in the city. Recently, the historic Little Gem Saloon on Poydras at South Rampart has emerged as a great place for jazz shows in a dinner club atmosphere.
In the Bywater, check out Vaughn's or Bachannal for live local music.
In the Treme, Kermit Ruffins' Speakeasy often features some great local bands in a down-home local atmosphere that is close to the French Quarter and offers some tasty local food such as Red Beans and Rice, fried catfish and chicken. (I'm hungry just thinking about it.)
And if you are really adventurous, check out the local brass band parade scene, where every Sunday a local social aid and pleasure club hosts a free street parade (known as a second line parade) open to the public. The second lines feature local brass bands, and one can get a schedule of the parades from the Back Street Cultural Musuem in the Treme neighborhood on Henriette Delisle. Curator Sylvester Francis will hook you up!

Night Adventures

New Orleans is a 24 hour city, in that bars do no close at all, or at least a little while at dawn to clean up. So, if you are hankering to stay up all night there is plenty of opportunity to do so. Some clubs are known for having live music well into the wee hours of the morning. The Gold Mine in the French Quarter is known for being most active from 1-4 am.
For late night action oustide of the French Quarter, check out the Maple Leaf and Tipitinas, where locals love to dance. For general late night social activity, check out the Shamrock in Mid-City, or in Uptown there are Ms. Mae's (the Club), and F&M; Patio - which is known for its late night pool table dancing, and Publiq House on Freret Street.