930 Poydras St., 504-304-6615
Café Adelaide cafeadelaide.com, 300 Poydras St., 504-595-3305
Grand Isle Restaurant grandislerestaurant.com, 575 Convention Center Blvd., 504-520-8540
Ruth’s Chris Steak House ruthschris.com, 525 Fulton St., 504-587-7099
Fulton Alley fultonalley.com, 600 Fulton St., 504-208-5569
Drago’s Seafood Restaurant dragosrestaurant.com, 2 Poydras St., 504-584-3911
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Begin walk at the Hilton Riverside hotel.
2 Cross Poydras Street and turn left.
3 Walk 16 blocks down Poydras to South Robertson Street.
4 Turn left to cross Poydras.
5 Walk 16 blocks back down Poydras to the Hilton Riverside.
Jazz musicians Kermit Ruffins and Shamarr Allen are among the regular performers gracing the stage at the Little Gem Saloon.
4 FRENCH QUARTER: WHERE HISTORY MEETS FUN
BOUNDARIES: Iberville St., Bourbon St., St. Ann St., Decatur St.
DISTANCE: 1.66 miles
PARKING: Several garages and lots along N. Peters St.
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Riverfront Streetcar, St. Charles Ave. Streetcar
To much of the outside world, the French Quarter is synonymous with Bourbon Street, that often sleazy yet strangely magical playground where you can let loose with a Hurricane or a Hand Grenade, go crazy for a pair of beads, or party so hard that when you wake up the next day, you just might wonder who you are and where you’ve been.
But the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré, as it’s known in French, is a hotbed of fascinating history, culinary artistry, and mesmerizing music. It’s the antiques shops of Royal Street, the artists of Jackson Square, and the jazz musicians of Preservation Hall. It’s Friday lunch at Galatoire’s or late-night drinks at the Napoleon House.
The French Quarter is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, developed after the city’s founding in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. Most of the historic buildings in the Quarter were built in the late 18th century, after two devastating fires destroyed most of the old French Colonial architecture. At the time, New Orleans was under Spanish rule, so much of what you’ll see—from wrought-iron balconies to common-wall brick houses—reflects that period.
There’s so much to do and see in the Quarter that just one walking tour wouldn’t do it justice. Therefore, we offer three separate walks: this one, along with the Back of the Quarter (Walk 5) and French Market/Riverfront (Walk 6).
Begin at North Peters and Iberville Streets. Walk four blocks down Iberville. In the fourth block, you’ll pass two classic seafood eateries: Acme Oyster House to your left and Felix’s to your right. Both places have bars where you can take in the art of oyster shucking. Also on this block are the higher-end Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse and Bourbon House, both run by restaurateur Dickie Brennan, who with other members of the Brennan family owns some of the city’s top restaurants.
Turn right on Bourbon and brace yourself for the adult-themed playground that lies ahead. Ironically, one of the city’s most critically acclaimed restaurants, the legendary Galatoire’s, is among the first places you’ll pass. Galatoire’s dates back to 1905, when Jean Galatoire brought his culinary talents to New Orleans from the village of Pardies, France. Known for its French Creole cooking, Galatoire’s boasts such dishes as crabmeat Sardou, chicken Clemenceau, oysters Rockefeller, and shrimp rémoulade. Eating at Galatoire’s is the ultimate fine-dining experience, with tuxedoed waiters tending to your every need. If you’re a regular, you likely have your own waiter. Although reservations are taken for the second floor, waiting in line for the more festive first floor—especially on Fridays—is the way to have a true Galatoire’s experience.
Continue down Bourbon, where you’ll pass strip joints, T-shirt shops, daiquiri shops, and the like. At the end of the block is Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House, which opened its doors in 1807. Legend has it that the pirate Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson met on the second floor to plan the victory of the Battle of New Orleans. Over the years, the tavern has hosted such celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Mark Twain, and Liza Minnelli. Its interior features antique chandeliers and the jerseys of football legends hanging from the exposed cypress beams.
In the next block, the Royal Sonesta Hotel is to the right. The Sonesta has long been one of the Crescent City’s finest hotels. It’s home to Restaurant R’evolution, the latest restaurant of chef John Folse, and Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, the jazz club of Grammy Award–winning trumpeter and bandleader Irvin Mayfield. One of the city’s musical treasures, Mayfield is an amazing talent who also teaches, composes, and travels the world spreading the gospel of New Orleans jazz. He and his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra perform at the club on Wednesday nights in a show billed as Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam; other regulars include the James Rivers Movement, Glen David Andrews, and Shannon Powell. One of the most famous traditions associated with the Sonesta occurs every Mardi Gras, when those lucky enough to book balcony rooms arm themselves with beads to toss to the raucous revelers below. The celebrating begins the Friday before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) with the annual “Greasing of the Poles,” a Sonesta-sponsored event in which celebrity greasers spread petroleum jelly on the hotel’s supporting poles to prevent partiers from climbing up to the balcony.
Over the next few blocks you’ll pass several more bars and lounges, among them Rick’s Cabaret, one of Bourbon Street’s fancier strip clubs; the Famous Door, where pianist, actor, and American Idol judge Harry Connick Jr. played his first gig at 13 years old; and the Chris Owens Club, a burlesque joint whose ageless namesake is a French Quarter nightlife legend.The Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter, at 541 Bourbon, occupies the one-time site of the legendary French Opera House, which served as the center of the city’s social and cultural life, especially among the Creoles. The Opera House opened in 1859, and New Orleans quickly became known as “The Opera Capital of North America.” It remained that way until 1919, when a fire destroyed the building.At the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse Streets is Tropical Isle, known for a drink called the Hand Grenade, a melon-flavored concoction that, with its mixture of “liqueurs and other secret ingredients,” is billed as “New Orleans’s most powerful drink.” Farther down the block, to the left, is Channing Tatum’s Saints and Sinners, the bordello-themed restaurant and bar that Tatum, a regular visitor to New Orleans, opened with a business partner in 2012.
From Toulouse, walk one block to St. Peter Street and turn right. On this block, you’ll pass two of the city’s most beloved landmarks: Preservation Hall and Pat O’Brien’s. Preservation Hall opened in 1961 to honor traditional New Orleans jazz. Nightly performances feature bands made up of such musicians as Greg Stafford, Charlie Gabriel, and Ernie Elly. All ages are welcome, so if you have children in tow, bring them along for this one-of-a-kind learning experience.Pat O’Brien’s, or Pat O’s for short, is a playground within itself, an entertainment mecca since 1933, when, at the end of Prohibition, Pat O’Brien converted his speakeasy to a legal drinking establishment. Pat O’s features several bars, among them a patio bar and a piano bar, where dueling entertainers lead sing-alongs from two copper-topped baby grand pianos. The signature drink is the Hurricane, a rum-based libation served in