New Orleans
Marigny & Bywater
Alex Kuang / Unsplash
Frenchmen Street live music, local bars, and the neighbourhood New Orleans musicians actually live in.
The Marigny sits just downriver from the French Quarter and is where the city's musicians, artists, and long-term creatives chose to live when the Quarter got too expensive and too touristy. Frenchmen Street — five blocks of live music clubs with no cover charge most nights — is arguably the best live music street in America: the Spotted Cat, the Frenchmen Art Market, and the DBA all operate within 200 metres of each other. Bywater, further downriver, has a more residential character with shotgun houses converted into restaurants and a growing gallery scene around St Claude Avenue.
Scores
Walkability
Transit
Price
Local feel
Nightlife
Family-friendly
Centrality
What you gain
- ↑Frenchmen Street: the Spotted Cat, DBA, and Snug Harbor operate nightly with no cover on most nights — the best free live jazz and brass band scene anywhere in the world
- ↑Accommodation at 40–60% of French Quarter prices for the same or better quality; the neighbourhood B&Bs and shotgun-house rentals are distinctly more characterful than Quarter chain hotels
- ↑The Bywater restaurant scene — Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits with its backyard live music, Pizza Delicious, and Satsuma Café — operates entirely for locals rather than tourists
What you sacrifice
- ↓Frenchmen Street nightlife ends late and loud — if you're based here during Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, sleep is negotiable
- ↓Transit to the CBD or Garden District requires a bus or Lyft; the neighbourhood is walkable internally but not to the rest of the city
- ↓The Marigny's residential character means fewer daytime amenities than the Quarter — you're here for the evenings
Best for
Avoid if
Other New Orleans neighbourhoods
Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, and Cafe Du Monde — the most famous neighbourhood in America, for better and worse.
The National WWII Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and a restaurant scene that rivals the French Quarter — with far less noise.
Antebellum mansions, Magazine Street boutiques, and cemetery tours — the upscale residential counterweight to the French Quarter.
Know where to stay — now find when to go.
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