New Orleans has a very laid back attitude when it comes to sex. You are very unlikely to experience any discrimination on your visit.

Gays and straights share Bourbons Street, home of most city’ gay bars and clubs. Gay visitors tend to gravitate past St. Peter street on the northern end. You can carry drinks into the street, but only in plastic cups, not in glass or cans. Most bars never close, and all are now 21-plus only.

The district of Marigny in the French Quarter is also a popular spot, offering a more relaxed vibe. It is easy to reach by going up Chartres, and get back on Royal.

Louis Armstrong International Airport is 11 miles from the French Quarter. Most hotels offer a courtesy shuttle. Taxis are plentiful. There is also an Airport Shuttle (USD 24 approx) and the Express Bus.

Those traveling by train arrive at the Central Business District, a short taxi ride away from the French Quarter.

Getting around gay New Orleans is easy. The city is made for walking. The French Quarter is just 14 blocks from beginning to end and Marigny is a short stroll away.

The Street cars will take you to most of the tourists spots, They are a fun way to explore the city. For something different, Take the Canal Street Ferry and enjoy a crossing on the Mississippi river with great views of downtown.

The French Quarter

Known to locals as “The Quarter”, the French Quarter or the Vieux Carre, is the beating heart of gay New Orleans. Most first timers spend much of their time in this district. The area is bordered by the Rampart, Esplanade, Canal and the Mississippi River.

Visitors to The Quarter can enjoy a unique mix of Spanish, French and Creole architecture as well as the ubiquitous cast-iron balconies from which gay boys dance and dangle every night of the week!

Marigny

Marigny is just a short trip northeast of the French Quarter. This district is famous for its 19th century quaint Creole cottages. The scene here is quite relaxed, more “grown-up” some would say, when compared to the raucous of Bourbon Street. The busiest gay bars and restaurants are centred along Frenchman Street and Elysian Fields.

The Garden District

The Garden district is home to the city’s stunning old mansions and is just south of the French Quarter. It is a lovey area to wander where you can enjoy the unique homes and old-world architecture of New Orleans.

New Orleans blurs the line when it comes to what is a gay or straight bar. This is after all a place where diversity is celebrated as can be seen in festivals such as Southern Decadence. Even Easter has a gay parade.

Most of the famous gay bars are on the French Quarter’s “Lavender Line,” a stretch of St Ann Street that bisects Bourbon.

• The Allways Lounge is an alternative theater & bar putting on plays, burlesque shows & indie music concerts in funky digs.disco, Boys on Parade home to Sunday Tea Dances and drag shows.
• Cafe Lafitte in Exile is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States. The bar is home to the Sunday Trash Disco, regular karaoke nights and daily happy hours. The Cafe is the most entertaining gay corner during Carnival famous for its beads flung from the balconies, and what boys will do to earn them!
• Corner Pocket is a divey gay pub known for scantily clad men dancing on the bar each night from 9pm. Home to such parties as Wet Jocky Shorts, New Meat amateur strip and Barry Bareass Dancer of the Week.
• Cutter’s bar is located in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood bar. It is well known hunting ground for bears, big buffets, sports event specials, live talent shows and eclectic monthly art exhibits.
• Golden Lantern is a cash-only gay bar offering draft beer, cocktails & drag shows in a snug, brick-lined space. Famous as the bar where the Southern Decadence Parade begins each Sunday before Labor Day. Home to well-loved bartenders and drag shows.
• Good Friends is a Gay bar with a laid-back vibe, mahogany bar & a Victorian-styled upstairs with a balcony. Head upstairs to the Queens Head Pub with wrap-around balcony – famous for “Separator” milk-based frozen libations.
• GrandPre’s is a fun gay bar attracting a mixed crowd famous for its many shows including the Queerlesque drag burlesque shows.
• Mags 940 is a Gay Bar located in the Marigny that also doubles as a bed and breakfast. With live performances, creative cocktails, Mardi Gras Krewe royalty and guests from neighboring B&B, weekend shows.
• Napoleon’s Itch is rollicking gay nightspot known for signature drinks & its annual Bourbon Street Extravaganza. It hosts a famous male dance show, live concert and street party during Southern Decadence.

Dance

• Oz New Orleans is a 2-story, 24/7 gay dance club with DJs, drag shows, go-go dancers & a balcony for people-watching. . Fun all year with hot crowds, weekend male strippers, amateur strip-offs, burlesque, comedy cabaret and drag shows.
• Bourbon Pub & Parade is a 24/7 gay bar with 2 floors, a balcony & nonstop dance-club music keeping the party going. Upstairs you will find the Parade.

Cruise

• The Phoenix Bar is a gay bar catering to the leather crowd provides a no-frills 24/7 hangout with a pool table. Renegade Bears’ is held on the 3rd Friday as well as monthly beer busts on the back patio. Upstairs Eagle is a touch-and-feel cruise bar and their COK store sells leather attire, kink, latex gear, underwear, lubes and more.
• Rawhide 2010 is a down-to-earth gay leather bar with daily happy hours, pool & adult videos on TV. It is one of the top leather bars in the US and home to Saturday Night Leather, blackout parties; open 24-hours every day.