Walk Tour Downtown New Orleans | Bourbon Street - USA

#neworleans #walktour #bourbonstreet
In New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, downtown has historically referred to neighborhoods along the Mississippi River, downriver (roughly northeast) from Canal Street – including the French Quarter, Tremé, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, the 9th Ward, and other neighborhoods. Contrary to the common usage of the term downtown in other cities, this historic application of the term excluded the New Orleans Central Business District. The term continues to be employed as it has been historically, although many younger people and migrants from other parts of the country will use "downtown" as it is used elsewhere; that is, to mean the Central Business District/Warehouse District area.

Bourbon Street (French: Rue Bourbon, Spanish: Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs.

With 17.74 million visitors in 2017 alone, New Orleans depends on Bourbon Street as a main tourist attraction.Tourist numbers have been growing yearly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the city has successfully rebuilt its tourist base. For millions of visitors each year, Bourbon Street provides a rich insight into New Orleans' past.

Largely quiet during the day, Bourbon Street comes alive at night – particularly during the French Quarter's many festivals. Most famous of these is the annual Mardi Gras celebration, when the streets teem with thousands of people. Local open container laws allow drinking alcoholic beverages on the Quarter's streets. Popular drinks include the hurricane cocktail, the resurrection cocktail, the hand grenade and the so-called "huge-ass beers" – a large plastic cup of draft beer marketed to tourists at a low price.

The most heavily visited section of Bourbon Street is "upper Bourbon Street" toward Canal Street, an eight-block section of visitor attractions including bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and strip clubs. In the 21st century, Bourbon Street is the home of New Orleans Musical Legends Park, a free, outdoor venue for live jazz performances. The park has sculptures and other tributes to the city's legendary music personalities. Also home to Larry Flynts' Iconic flagship Hustler Club.

Most of the bars are located in the central section of Bourbon. Popular spots include Pat O'Brien's, Johnny White's, the Famous Door, Spirits on Bourbon, Channing Tatum's Saints and Sinners, Razzoo and The Cat's Meow.Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo is located on the corner of St. Ann Street.
The most renowned restaurant on Bourbon Street is Galatoire's; it represents traditional New Orleans dining and has a dress code. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and the Old Absinthe House are two of the many casual eateries. Also notable is the locals’ hangout, the Bourbon House.
"Lower Bourbon Street" (lower being a reference to downriver, or downstream Mississippi River), from the intersection of St. Ann Street, caters to New Orleans' thriving gay community. Featuring such establishments as Oz and the city's largest gay nightclub, the Bourbon Pub, St. Ann Street has been referred to as "the Velvet Line"] or "the Lavender Line," the edge or approximate boundary of the French Quarter's gay community. Cafe-Lafitte-in-Exile is the oldest gay bar in the nation. The intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann Streets is also the center of the Labor Day weekend event Southern Decadence, commonly referred to as the Gay Mardi Gras, which attracts upwards of 100,000 participants