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Bar-Hopping Guide: New Orleans French Quarter

A verified six-stop bar-hop through the New Orleans French Quarter, from Tujague's to Napoleon House, with the order to walk it and what to drink.

James Harlow
Updated 2026-06-28 6 ranked bars

The short answer

Our editors' №1 is Tujague's.

6 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.

Best overallTujague's
Runner-upOld Absinthe House
Third pickSazerac Bar at the Roosevelt

The French Quarter is small enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes, which makes it the best bar-hopping district in America if you avoid the frozen-daiquiri stretch of Bourbon Street. This route runs six historic, verified rooms in an order that flows on foot, from lower Decatur up toward Canal and back into the Quarter.

Every stop here is confirmed open in 2026. We cut one name earlier versions carried, Preservation Hall, because it is a music room rather than a bar. What is left are six places a local would actually send you, several of them among the oldest bars in the country.

We drew on each venue's own listings, Difford's Guide, and pattern-read Google Maps reviews, and we cross-checked hours and addresses before publishing. Start early; several of these fill by evening.

Six French Quarter stops, in walking order

Editor's №1

Tujague's

429 Decatur StreetCreole restaurant and standing barSince 1856

The city's second-oldest restaurant, and the birthplace of the Grasshopper.

The roomTujague's has poured since 1856 and, though it moved a few doors down Decatur in 2021, it kept its standing bar and its claim to the Grasshopper. In 2026 it marks 170 years, which makes it the right place to start a Quarter crawl grounded in history.

Order thisA Grasshopper, or a whiskey at the stand-up bar. Open afternoons into evening; brunch on weekends.

Full listing & hours →

Old Absinthe House

240 Bourbon StreetHistoric barSince 1806

Two centuries of Bourbon Street, business cards stapled to the walls.

The roomBuilt in 1806 and pouring since the 1810s, the Old Absinthe House survived Prohibition and every hurricane since, its walls now papered with dollar bills and cards. It is the one worthwhile stop on Bourbon itself, best in the afternoon before the street gets loud.

Order thisAn Absinthe Frappe, the house drink. Open from morning until very late daily.

Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt

130 Roosevelt WayHotel cocktail barSince 1938

African-walnut bar, Paul Ninas murals, and the drink that named it.

The roomThe Sazerac Bar inside the Roosevelt is the polished heart of the route, a restored 1930s room where Huey Long once held court beneath the murals. It makes a definitive Sazerac and a proper Ramos Gin Fizz, and it is the quietest stop of the six.

Order thisA Sazerac, naturally, or the Ramos Gin Fizz. Open evenings; smart-casual room.

Full listing & hours →

Jewel of the South

1026 St. Louis StreetCocktail bar in a Creole cottageRanked No. 6 in North America

A 19th-century cottage running one of the continent's best bars.

The roomChris Hannah's Jewel of the South ranked No. 6 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, a short walk off the tourist track. It is the technical high point of the crawl, from a benchmark Brandy Crusta to a French 75 by the bartender who made that drink famous in the Quarter.

Order thisA Brandy Crusta or a French 75. Reservations recommended; closed Tuesdays.

Full listing & hours →

Latitude 29

321 N. Peters StreetTiki barBeachbum Berry's flagship

The rum break, from the man who wrote the tiki canon.

The roomJeff Beachbum Berry, the historian who recovered the lost recipes of mid-century tiki, runs Latitude 29 inside the Bienville House. It is the rum reset the crawl needs, with exacting classics and Berry's own originals poured to book-accurate specs.

Order thisA Mai Tai or the Latitude 29 Formula. Open afternoons into night; closed Mondays.

Full listing & hours →

Napoleon House

500 Chartres StreetHistoric bar and cafeSince the 1790s building

Faded plaster, opera on the speakers, and the definitive Pimm's Cup.

The roomIn a building dating to the 1790s, Napoleon House pours the city's most famous Pimm's Cup in a courtyard-cooled room that has barely changed in generations. It is the right last stop, low-lit and unhurried, with a warm muffuletta if you need one.

Order thisA Pimm's Cup, and a muffuletta to close the night. Open daily until late evening.

Full listing & hours →

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