Travel Guide
Everything you need to know β hours, tickets, tips, and how to make the most of your visit.
Overview
Just downriver from the French Quarter in the Marigny, a few blocks of Frenchmen Street hold the city's best concentration of live music clubs, from trad jazz and brass bands to blues and funk. Many venues have little or no cover, and there is an evening art market nearby.
Insider Knowledge
Music typically starts around 6:00 PM and runs past midnight, with sets changing every couple of hours.
Nearby
new-orleansLarger than Central Park, City Park in Mid-City is a 1,300-acre spread of moss-draped live oaks, lagoons and gardens. It is home to the New Orleans Museum of Art, the free Besthoff Sculpture Garden, the Botanical Garden and a classic Cafe Du Monde outpost.
new-orleansThe city's oldest neighborhood, laid out in 1718, packs Creole townhouses, balconies, galleries and courtyards into a walkable grid. Jackson Square, framed by St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo and the Pontalba Buildings, is its lively heart, with artists, brass bands and fortune tellers.
new-orleansJust downriver from the French Quarter in the Marigny, a few blocks of Frenchmen Street hold the city's best concentration of live music clubs, from trad jazz and brass bands to blues and funk. Many venues have little or no cover, and there is an evening art market nearby.
new-orleansThe St. Charles streetcar, running since 1835, rattles under live oaks from the edge of the French Quarter to Uptown. Hop off in the Garden District to wander past grand 19th-century mansions, then browse the shops and cafes of Magazine Street a few blocks away.
new-orleansDesignated by Congress as America's official WWII museum, this Warehouse District campus tells the story of the war through aircraft, personal accounts and immersive galleries on both the European and Pacific fronts. Its 4D film Beyond All Boundaries is a highlight.
new-orleansAbout an hour upriver on Louisiana's River Road, Whitney Plantation is a museum devoted to the lives of enslaved people. Memorials, restored buildings and first-person narratives make it one of the most important and moving historic sites in the South.
Bring cash for covers, drink minimums and the tip bucket that goes around for the band.
Check the venues' posted schedules or a local music calendar to pick sets in advance.
For a seated, all-ages traditional jazz set, book Preservation Hall in the French Quarter separately.
Common Questions
For live local music, yes: Frenchmen is about bands, while Bourbon is mostly bars and cover acts.
Weeknights are less crowded than Fridays and Saturdays but still lively.
Most clubs are 21 and over at night, so check if traveling with teens.
Lizza, our AI travel assistant, can build you a full New-orleans itinerary β free, in seconds.
Looking for more? Browse travel guides & tips β