This post is about exploring Frenchmen Street in New Orleans, a place just outside of the French Quarter and known for its music, food, and culture.
- Where is Frenchmen Street
- 12 Places for Live Music
- Neighborhood Tours
- New Orleans at Night
- Things to Do in New Orleans
WHERE IS FRENCHMEN STREET?
Frenchmen Street lies east of the French Quarter and runs parallel to the promenade Elysian Fields Ave.
It stretches all the way north from the university campus in the Gentilly neighborhood to the Mississippi in the south.
The trendy area that you want to explore at night is located in the Faubourg Marigny/Bywater neighborhood (map).
This is the part of the street with all the bars, restaurants or jazz clubs.
How to Get Here
Most people visit by walking from the French Quarter. It's only a 10-20 minute walk depending on where you are starting from.
Two streetcar lines have stops that are close to the ends of the part of Frenchmen Street that you should visit.
There is the French Market stop of the Riverfront Line (46)(47) and St. Claude's and Prager St. stop on the Rampart/St. Claude lines (49).
If you are new to the streetcars, then read our guide to using New Orleans' streetcars.
Fictional Home of Stella and Stanley Kowalski
FYI - Nearby Frenchmen Street is 632 Elysian Fields: This is the site of the fictional home of Stella and Stanley Kowalski in the play A Streetcar Named Desire.
If you want to explore the Creole neighborhood further, check out our self-guided Faubourg Marigny walking tour.
12 PLACES TO HEAR LIVE MUSIC
Here are some suggested places on Frenchmen Street that are worth exploring:
Igor’s Checkpoint Charlie
(bar, live music, laundromat), 501 Esplanade Ave
Located at the corner of Esplanade and Frenchmen Streets, Checkpoint Charlie is an offbeat jewel of the neighborhood.
Have a bite to eat, enjoy a cheap beer or cocktail, take in some Rockabilly or Classic rock, and even do a load of laundry.
Mona’s
(casual restaurant), 504 Frenchmen Street
Mona’s is a great place for cheap, casual Mediterranean fare, but one of its best features is the small grocery section.
Buy baklava, coffee, and spices from the Mediterranean and make people back home think you visited New Orleans by way of Lebanon.
The Maison
(live music, drinks, restaurant), 508 Frenchmen Street
Live music starts early at Maison—4 pm Sunday through Friday and 1 pm Saturdays.
Bands play traditional jazz during the dinner hours, but beginning at 10 pm, national touring funk, soul, and jazz bands rock the dance floor until the wee hours.
Three Muses
(Restaurant, bar, live music), 536 Frenchmen Street
Three Muses is one of the best places to grab globally inspired small plates, get a drink, and take in the music that makes New Orleans famous.
Local greats like Meschiya Lake, The Shotgun Jazz Band, and the Bailey Hinton Trio perform regularly. Restaurant reservations can be made online.
Praline Connection
(restaurant, pralines, and cookies), 542 Frenchmen Street
The Praline Connection has been serving Creole-influenced soul food on Frenchmen Street for decades.
The food is good, but the cookies and pralines are even better.
Be sure to stop in for a box to share with friends or family back home.
Dat Dog
(hot dogs, sausages, burgers), 601 Frenchmen Street
Colorful and family-friendly, Dat Dog’s Frenchmen Street location is an excellent choice for a custom artisan sausage, a drink, and some fries.
It boasts a beautiful balcony where patrons can sit and watch the melee below.
Apple Barrel
(Live music, bar), 609 Frenchmen Street
This bar is aptly named since it’s one of the less spacious music venues on Frenchmen Street. Still, the drinks are excellent, and the performances are nothing to sneeze at.
Make sure to bring cash for drinks and to throw in the bucket sitting on the stage.
Notable acts include Dre, Roger Bowie and the Midnight Visions, and Bon Bon Vivant.
Adolfo’s
(restaurant), 611 Frenchmen Street.
Just upstairs from the Apple Barrel, Adolfo’s Italian Restaurant with a Cajun-Creole style is more reasonably priced than many French Quarter restaurants, but the meals are low-priced, and they ONLY take cash.
Make sure to order the Ocean Sauce for your entrée, and enjoy one of New Orleans’ best-kept secrets.
Electric Ladyland
(Tattoo shop), 610 Frenchmen.
Get A Forever Souvenir. For more than 10 years, readers of the Gambit, New Orleans’ own entertainment weekly, have voted Electric Ladyland the best tattoo shop in town.
Employees are helpful and welcoming, the shop is clean and well-organized, and the body art just can’t be beaten.
d.b.a.
(live music, drinks), 618 Frenchmen Street.
Since it opened in 2000, d.b.a has been slinging suds, cocktails, and some of the best Jazz in New Orleans.
It’s the best place to see locally famous Jazzmen like John Boutte and Glen David Andrews, who perform at a weekly residency.
Snug Harbor
(live music, restaurant), 626 Frenchmen Street.
For more than 30 years, Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro has hosted live music every night. This is the best place to see performances by members of the famous Neville and Marsalis clans.
Be sure to check out the calendar online, but with two shows every night, you’re guaranteed a good time.
Notable acts include the Charmaine Neville Band, Delfaeyo Marsalis, and the Carl Allen Quintet.
+++Check out our guided Faubourg Marigny tour which starts nearby or our other guided walking tours of New Orleans!+++
