Bourbon, Beignets, And Babes: A Queer Girl’s Guide To New Orleans

Baby, in New Orleans, anything goes. You can wear, sing, dance, eat, and flirt your way through town every single day. There is just one practical rule worth sharing with visitors: Don’t overdo it on day one. Louisiana’s largest city has so much to discover that if you’re too hungover—from strong drinks or notoriously rich Cajun food—it might curb your appetite for all the other delights.

Here in one of America’s oldest cities, free-spirited, flavorful fun comes in many forms. New Orleans was built on revelry and diversity, including bold LGBTQ+ community roots that run as deep as its centuries-old oak trees. Lesbians, gays, pans, transfolks, and all of our community’s sparkly rainbow stripes aren’t just embraced here, they’re celebrated. People here know that saying YES to variety is what makes the gumbo of New Orleans so tasty.

French Quarter Faves

Most travelers rightly visit the Crescent City to unwind and eat well. For queer women, add the spice of lesbian and female-led enterprises. You’ll find them in the French Quarter, in LGBTQ+ pockets like the Marigny and Bywater, and along busy Magazine Street. 

While NOLA has no permanent lesbian bars (sad, but not surprising), the good news is that there are plenty of mixed-crowd hotspots, queer-gal pop-up parties, and ever-friendly locals. 

As a world capital of gaiety, the French Quarter calls all the queers to its famous bars. Top among them is Lafitte’s, the country’s oldest continuously operating gay bar. (Not to be confused with nearby Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, a bar whose building dates back to 1732.) Opened in 1933 on the corner of Bourbon and Dumaine, both Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote used to frequent the bar. Today, the two-story landmark is open all day and night, with karaoke nights and other events, and a prime balcony where you can view Bourbon Street hijinks from above. 

Bourbon Pub & Parade is another go-to in the Quarter on St. Ann Street. You’ll find drink specials, drag shows, sing-along nights, DJs, and a busy second floor that draws plenty of ladies, especially for weekend soirées. One of the best is the sexy, queer-women dance party, Her Haus, which puts on themed events upstairs at Bourbon Pub & Parade and other spots around town monthly.

A block over on Dauphine Street, Good Friends is a local favorite for playing pool, watching big games, and daily happy hours. Good Friends and other queer Quarter bars are the home bases for Labor Day weekend’s Southern Decadence, the annual gay festival that’s part street fair, part bar crawl. Decadence is mostly gay-male centric, but it keeps expanding to embrace more queer women and trans folks. Plus, it bookends the city’s summer LGBTQ+ calendar, which kicks off with New Orleans Pride every June. 

On Rampart Street, duck into GrandPre’s, a cute bar with a great back courtyard, calling itself the “gay Cheers of New Orleans.” GrandPre’s and Toulouse Theatre—a performance space and bar that welcomes a wild variety of shows—have hosted GrrlSpot, a hot queer women’s party that occurs nearly every month. 

Pop over to Royal Street for powerful bloody marys and more at The Golden Lantern, a beloved dive since 1964 with daily specials, live music, and over-the-top drag shows. If you’re driven to dance, Oz on Bourbon Street kicks off nightly with special events, stand-up comedy, and drag shows that break into hot-n-sweaty DJ sets until the wee hours. (Most NOLA bars are open late, usually until 4 am in the Quarter. And FYI, some bars here are old-school and don’t accept credit cards, so bring cash.)

With four centuries of history, you’ll be astounded by the stories you’ll learn along a Unique NOLA Tours walk in the French Quarter or Garden District, or riding an e-bike through several neighborhoods with Free Wheelin’ Bike Tours. (The city’s tourism org, New Orleans & Co., lists bunches more local tour companies.) 

Don’t miss your chance to learn all about NOLA’s colorful LGBTQ+ history/herstory with Queer Underground Tours, a small business led by Quinn Bishop, an artist, Tarot reader, and delightful trans woman who knows volumes about this crazy city. No Secrets Tours also hosts an LGBTQ+ history tour in the Quarter three days a week. 

Enhance your NOLA education and get a great snapshot of local history at the recently opened Storyville Museum, which shares the tales of America’s “original Sin City” through impressive exhibits focused on the city’s early brothels, bars, and legendary music culture.

Marigny, Bywater, and Beyond

Most people consider the Marigny (“mare-en-nyee”) the New Orleans gayborhood. It begins a few blocks east of the Quarter and Frenchmen Street—which, side note, is a great strip for catching live music at bars like d.b.a and The Spotted Cat. 

Head to the corner of Chartres (“chart-ers”) and Marigny streets for drinks, darts, pool, and flirting at The Friendly Bar, a gay-centric dive favored by locals thirsty for shots and beers. A short walk away, playful vibes await at the AllWays Lounge & Cabaret, staging a variety of live madness, including big burlesque and occasional drag king shows.

Class things up a little with refined cocktails at the Elysian Bar, the tasteful bar (and restaurant) inside the lovely, woman-owned Peter & Paul Hotel. The boutique property is in a converted parochial school and convent, now hosting guests in its 71 individually styled rooms. 

Another Marigny lodging option is the Burgundy Bed & Breakfast, a gay-owned, four-room inn with a front porch (and a swing!), back courtyard, and hot tub—the perfect place to feel like a local and be within walking distance of all the neighborhood hotspots. 

The LGBTQ+ scene rolls into the neighboring Bywater, home to The Country Club, a gay-owned bistro and posh lounge with a courtyard pool open to guests for a $20 day-pass (Thursday is unofficial women’s night). The Country Club is something of an institution here, housed in a restored Creole home with a big porch, that puts on epic drag brunches every weekend.  

Delicious Alma Café is a block away, a modern Honduran restaurant helmed by Chef Melissa Araujo, a queer woman who’s lived most of her life in New Orleans. Araujo’s culinary star is on the rise, already snagging two James Beard semifinalist spots and racking up accolades for her new takes on Latin American dishes. Head to Alma’s sweet Bywater corner spot for daily breakfast and lunch or Friday dinner, and enjoy fresh ingredients, vegetarian options, aguas frescas, and smooth cocktails. In 2025, Araujo opened a second Alma location on N. Carrollton Avenue in Mid-City. Stay tuned to see what other plans this talented chef has in store.

While you’re in Bywater consider nabbing an appointment at Bandit Hair Company. The salon is a safe space for LGBTQ+ customers, with charming, talented barbers ready to polish your ’do or style a whole new look. 

A St. Charles Streetcar ride Uptown will bring you to QiQi, a neighborhood bar with a pool table, daily specials, trivia nights, and a big backyard. Snake & Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge is an essential late-night dive in Carrollton (so it’s big with the Tulane and Loyola University queers) with dirt-cheap drinks and a huge, leafy yard. Few places represent the crusty-yet-lovable New Orleans brand like this place.

Artful Lodging in the Warehouse District

Just west of the French Quarter is the Warehouse Arts District, a hub of art galleries, top museums—don’t miss the Ogden Museum of Southern Art—and some of the city’s standout restaurants and hotels. One of the cool boutique properties there is the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, where modern Caribbean-Creole restaurant Compére Lapin fills out its main floor. You may remember Chef Nina Compton as the runner-up from Top Chef Season 11, and now you can sample her amazing dishes firsthand here. 

Nearby you’ll find the always gay-friendly Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, with 235 stylish guest rooms, and the excellent King Brasserie & Bar, serving down-home French and Mediterranean fare that plays up local seafood. Do not miss cocktails at the hotel’s Peacock Room, one of the most memorable (and gay-staffed) lounges with sumptuous décor and splendid cocktails. It also hosts drag brunches and live music, and serves creative snacks (like curry cashews with bacon) and hearty main courses.

Elevated accommodations await at the Four Seasons New Orleans, occupying one of the city’s few high-rise buildings. Even if you’re not staying here, you can always sip drinks at the elegant Chandelier Bar (or head up to Chemin à la Mer to dine with a view overlooking the Mississippi River).

Get a dose of pizzazz with your stay at the Virgin Hotel New Orleans, another fab queer-friendly option hosting festive burlesque brunches, local pop-up shops, and other live entertainment at its Commons Club restaurant and cozy-chic lobby bar. It’s home to one of the few rooftop pools in town, and while the actual pool is small, the Pool Club is a wraparound lounge serving creative libations from head bartender Heather Blanchard.

There’s no easy way to summarize NOLA’s unique appeal to travelers. If it seems like there’s something for everybody, yes, there is. But everyone finds their favorite bits. Being there in the flesh is the only way to understand the slower tempo, the incomparable cuisine, the effortless authenticity. Magic is in the air, and it can be intoxicating. Pace yourself, Cajun-style.