Queer travel expert Jack Kenworthy turns 250+ city adventures into your guide for safe, vibrant, and inclusively fabulous global journeys.
New Orleans doesn’t flirt with queerness — it devours it. For over 300 years this swamp-born temptress has been shaking beads, pounding drums, and pulling us into her sweaty embrace. She isn’t polite, she isn’t discreet, and she sure as hell isn’t vanilla. This is a city that thrives on lust, thrives on art, thrives on contradiction. It’s a playground where the holy and the hedonistic grind against each other in rhythm, and somehow it all makes perfect sense.
From the moment you arrive, the city seduces you. Brass bands blare in the daylight, drag queens strut past tarot readers, and leather daddies lean against 18th-century brick walls as if they’ve been waiting for you. Powdered sugar dusts your lips at dawn, bourbon stains your shirt by midnight, and in between? You’ll find a mess of sex, sweat, sequins, and strangers who feel like family.
Bourbon Street is the artery that never sleeps, but queers know where the real pulse is. Head to Oz for drag shows that crackle with camp, then stumble into Rawhide where the beats are dirty, the rooms are darker, and the shadows are alive with possibility. Phoenix is waiting too, a leather bar where sweat is the cover charge. And remember — this is New Orleans, so you’re never trapped in one spot. Cocktails are portable here, baby. Every plastic cup is a passport, every street a runway, every doorway a chance encounter.
The festivals alone would make this the gayest city in the South. Southern Decadence, Gay Easter, Halloween — these aren’t weekends, they’re rituals. Imagine thousands of bodies in the streets, dancing, sweating, screaming, blessing lust as holy. Glitter becomes sacrament, harnesses become vestments, and drag queens become high priestesses. It’s Pride without apology, Mardi Gras without limits, and everyone is invited to worship at the altar of excess.
But beyond the booze and the beads, there’s something deeper: history. Queer writers, poets, activists, and musicians found shelter here when the rest of the world shut its doors. Tennessee Williams scrawled his plays in these sultry streets, and countless others carved out a queer culture that survives in every saxophone riff and every barstool confession. That tension between survival and spectacle — between dignity and debauchery — is what makes New Orleans not just another party town, but a queer sanctuary.
Because this city isn’t just about indulgence. It’s about permission. Permission to be bigger, louder, dirtier, freer. Permission to kiss in the street, to sweat in the club, to slip into a dark room and forget what time it is. Permission to laugh too loudly, cry too easily, and love whoever’s hand you grab at 4 a.m. And permission is intoxicating. Once you taste it, you’ll never forget it.
Slow and sticky, kinky and chaotic, musically possessed and spiritually rebellious — Gay New Orleans isn’t just a destination, it’s a transformation. You’ll come for the drag, the bars, the festivals, and the food. But you’ll stay because the city rewrites you, body and soul, into someone bolder. Someone freer. Someone who knows, deep down, that sin was never meant to be shameful — it was meant to sparkle.
Are you relocating? This guide will help travelers discover the queerer side of the city. However, if you are lucky enough to be considering a move here, we recommend reading our article about moving to LGBT New Orleans or getting in touch with a local gay realtor. They can happily give you no-obligation advice and all the information you’ll ever need to know about your new city.
And if you then want their help to find your dream home, you are guaranteed fair, equal, and honest representation. No surprises or awkward conversations are necessary!
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Gay Things To Do In New Orleans
Being gay doesn’t define what attractions you’ll want to see in New Orleans. Sure, the nightlife and drag are fabulous, but by day most queer travelers are after the same thrills as anyone else: history that feels alive, food that makes you weak in the knees, architecture that whispers secrets, and neighborhoods that pulse with their own swagger. Luckily, New Orleans delivers all of that in spades.
What sets the city apart is how safe and accepting it feels. Walk hand in hand down Royal Street, steal a kiss in Jackson Square, or strut into a jazz brunch in full sequins — no one bats an eye. This is a city built on performance, rebellion, and resilience, so your queerness isn’t a sideshow; it’s part of the main act. New Orleans blends the intimacy of a small town with the energy of a metropolis, creating a one-of-a-kind mix that pulls you in and dares you to stay longer.
Every block offers something: hidden courtyards shaded by banana trees, brass bands that make sidewalks vibrate, and restaurants that redefine indulgence. Add in a thriving arts community, colorful neighborhoods like the Marigny and Bywater, and festivals that seem to pop up every week of the year, and you’ll quickly realize the city doesn’t do “boring.” It can’t.
Now, about logistics. Car hire in New Orleans is indeed an affordable option, and if you’re the type who likes detours to plantations, swamps, or Gulf Coast beaches, having your own wheels makes sense. But in the thick of the city? Skip it. Parking is a nightmare, streets can be confusing, and honestly, you’ll want your hands free for a frozen daiquiri rather than a steering wheel. Public transit works well for hopping neighborhoods, and rideshare apps are everywhere. Plus, drink-driving here isn’t just uncool — it’s unsafe and aggressively policed. Treat yourself, let someone else do the driving, and soak in the city stress-free.
The truth is, our most cherished memories here weren’t tied to a rental car. They were tasting our way through gumbo and po’ boys, getting lost in side streets until we stumbled upon a courtyard bar, or dancing shoulder-to-shoulder with queer family until dawn. Festivals like Southern Decadence, Halloween, and Mardi Gras turn entire weekends into carnivals, while everyday moments — watching a brass band take over a corner or chatting with an artist at the Frenchmen Art Market — can be just as magical.
If you’re restless and need a full itinerary, don’t worry. New Orleans has you covered with a ridiculous list of daytime adventures. Some are historic and haunting, others indulgent and delicious, all infused with the city’s signature flair. Below you’ll find our favorites: a mix of must-sees, guilty pleasures, and only-in-New-Orleans experiences that will keep you busy long after the hangover fades.
Top Things To Do In New Orleans
Forget spooky season — New Orleans’ cemeteries are year-round stages of drama. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest and most iconic, a labyrinth of above-ground tombs that look like marble dollhouses built for the afterlife. The reason they’re above ground? Swamp soil. Bodies don’t stay buried here, so crypts became architecture, rising like monuments in miniature.
A licensed guide is required to enter, but trust me — the stories are worth it. You’ll wander past cracked angels and family vaults that date back centuries, and pause at the most famous site of all: the tomb of Marie Laveau, the legendary Voodoo Queen. People still leave offerings — beads, coins, lipstick marks — hoping her spirit lends a favor. The cemetery has appeared in Hollywood films like Easy Rider and Interview with the Vampire, but nothing compares to standing among the silence yourself. It’s gothic, queer, and camp all at once.
Think of this as your golden wristband for the city. The New Orleans Power Pass offers skip-the-line access and free entry to dozens of attractions: Audubon Zoo, the Children’s Museum, historic walking tours, and even the Haunted History Walk. It’s perfect for restless travelers who want to pack the itinerary without bleeding cash at every door.
Passes can be bought for one, two, or three days depending on how much energy you’ve got left after Bourbon Street. It’s less about being glamorous and more about being efficient — a kind of drag-queen quick-change into everything New Orleans has to offer. For queer travelers who like to do it all (swamps in the morning, cocktails in the afternoon, jazz at night), this pass is the backstage pass to the city’s greatest hits.
Steamboat Natchez Jazz Dinner Cruise
If ever a boat deserved its own runway, it’s the Steamboat Natchez. This paddle-wheeled beauty still churns up and down the Mississippi like it’s 1870, all white railings and red paddle blades, a floating slice of Americana. By day, you can ride her for the skyline views, but the real magic comes at night when she transforms into a jazz-filled dinner cruise.
Picture it: Creole-inspired cuisine, cocktails clinking, and a live jazz band underscoring the whole night. As the city lights shimmer on the river, you stroll the deck with friends, lovers, or that mysterious stranger you met at Oz the night before. It’s romantic, it’s kitschy, and it’s gloriously camp. Think Titanic — but everyone survives, and you’re tipsy on Sazeracs.
Mardi Gras World Behind-the-Scenes Tour
Mardi Gras is more than beads and balconies — it’s a year-long industry of artistry and excess. At Mardi Gras World, you step behind the sequined curtain to see where the magic happens. Giant floats loom like sleeping giants, papier-mâché heads stare at you with exaggerated grins, and glitter clings to everything.
Guides walk you through the history of Mardi Gras, from its French Catholic roots to today’s queer-inflected parades, and you’ll even get to try on costumes for your own Instagram moment. The real treat? Sampling a slice of King Cake, the seasonal pastry that’s basically Pride flag in pastry form — gaudy, colorful, and delicious. It’s equal parts museum, workshop, and fever dream.
The National WWII Museum Ticket New Orleans
Yes, it’s heavy. But the National WWII Museum is one of the highest-ranked museums in the U.S., and it sits right here in New Orleans. Sprawling exhibits take you from D-Day beaches to Pacific jungles, blending artifacts with 4D films that shake your seat and rattle your heart. You’ll leave sobered but also stunned at the scale.
For queer travelers, there’s something resonant in visiting a place that honors resilience and struggle. This city is all about survival with flair, and the museum reminds you how grit and humanity paved the way for the parties we throw today. It’s a reminder: liberation is precious, and it didn’t come easy.
Cajun Country Swamp Boat and Plantations Adventure
This is the New Orleans equivalent of a double feature: a deep dive into Cajun country followed by a stroll through Southern Gothic history. You’ll board a small swamp boat with no more than 14 souls — intimate enough to hear the guide’s Cajun drawl and to spot the flick of an alligator’s tail without feeling lost in a crowd. The bayou is alive with pelicans, herons, and the occasional prehistoric reptile breaking the surface like a scene from a gay Jurassic Park.
Afterwards, it’s on to the plantations. Oak Alley is all grand oak trees in military formation, a postcard of antebellum architecture that’s breathtaking and unsettling in equal measure. Laura Plantation tells a more complicated Creole story, rich with personal histories that pull you into the realities behind the facades. Want more adrenaline than contemplation? Upgrade to a high-speed airboat that skims across the swamp like drag queens on rollerblades — loud, fast, and unforgettable.
You can’t leave New Orleans without cooking class bragging rights. Held in a converted 19th-century molasses warehouse, this isn’t a dry lecture — it’s dinner theatre with a whisk. A local chef (equal parts entertainer and culinary historian) will teach you how to make gumbo, jambalaya, and pralines while weaving in stories about Creole traditions and family recipes.
The best part? You don’t just watch, you eat. Bowls of gumbo appear, jambalaya gets ladled out, pralines melt in your mouth. Beer and iced tea keep the chatter flowing, and soon strangers feel like family. It’s messy, it’s joyful, and it’s the tastiest souvenir you can take home — no beads required.
New Orleans Original Craft Cocktail Walking Tour
Forget bar hopping — this is bar history with a buzz. The cocktail walking tour escorts you through legendary watering holes where drinks were invented, secrets were spilled, and hangovers were perfected. A guide spins stories of scandal and spirits while bartenders stir up classics like the Sazerac, the Ramos Gin Fizz, and the Pimm’s Cup.
Every stop has its lore: brothels that became bars, cures for yellow fever that morphed into cocktails, politicians who legislated by day and drank by night. You’ll learn why New Orleans is the cocktail capital of America, and by the third round you’ll stop caring if the ghost stories are true. This isn’t just drinking — it’s cultural immersion with a very happy ending.
If you think a swamp tour is tranquil, strap in for the airboat — the drag race of Louisiana wetlands. With a fan roaring behind you, you’ll skim over cypress roots and marshland at a speed that makes your sunglasses feel insecure. It’s loud, it’s windy, and it’s utterly exhilarating.
Guides keep it lively, pointing out gators sunning themselves, egrets taking flight, and moss-draped trees that look like nature’s own drag costumes. The tour often winds near Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, named for a 19th-century pirate who’d probably approve of the high-octane fun. Kids love it, adults live for it, and thrill-seekers get to tick “airboat ride” off the bucket list with a satisfied grin.
Cemetery, Voodoo, and French Quarter Walking Tour
New Orleans doesn’t just flirt with the supernatural — it marries it. This tour blends history and legend, walking you through the French Quarter and into St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, where Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau still gets lipstick tributes on her tomb. Guides weave together tales of colonial past, Catholic tradition, and Creole mysticism, reminding you that in New Orleans, the veil between worlds is thin and often fabulous.
Daylight tours keep it more mystical than terrifying, perfect for those who want goosebumps without nightmares. You’ll leave with a deeper sense of how this city treats death not as an end, but as part of the pageantry of life. And yes, you’ll probably start Googling “voodoo dolls” before dinner.
The Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone
Every great city has one bar that’s more than a bar — it’s a rite of passage. In New Orleans, that’s the Carousel Bar, tucked inside the legendary Hotel Monteleone. The name isn’t a metaphor. The entire circular bar actually rotates, slowly spinning like a carnival ride for grown-ups. Order a cocktail and by the time you’ve finished gossiping about last night’s escapades, you’ve made a full revolution, catching every angle of the room without ever leaving your seat.
It opened in 1949 and has been spinning ever since, drawing everyone from Hemingway to Tennessee Williams to queer pilgrims who come for the kitsch and stay for the martinis. The cocktails are classics — a French 75, a Sazerac, a Vieux Carré (which was actually invented at the Monteleone). But the real intoxication is the atmosphere: chandeliers, chatter, and the low-level thrill of being gently twirled in public.
Arrive early if you want a seat, especially during Southern Decadence when the Carousel becomes queer central. It’s both elegant and camp, the kind of place where you can sip champagne in a sequined harness and no one blinks. For many, the Carousel isn’t just a pre-party stop; it’s the prelude to falling in love with New Orleans itself.
This isn’t a museum; it’s a private audience. The ICONS Museum offers appointment-only tours through a dazzling collection of portraits and sculptures that celebrate figures who shaped culture. The artist himself leads you through, offering intimate insights that make the experience feel like stepping into someone’s imagination.
It’s elegant, it’s rare, and it’s Instagram catnip — especially for travelers who like their art served with exclusivity. Think less “crowded gallery” and more “secret salon,” where every piece stares back at you with intent. For a city that thrives on performance, this is art as encounter, not just observation.
Jazz was born here, and this museum is its cathedral. Housed in the Old U.S. Mint, the collection spans instruments once played by legends (Louis Armstrong’s cornet is here), rare recordings, ticket stubs, and posters that chart jazz’s rise from smoky clubs to world domination.
But this isn’t a static shrine. The museum often hosts live performances, making the space vibrate with the very music it preserves. Stand in front of Armstrong’s horn while a saxophone wails in the courtyard and you’ll feel the through-line of history — raw, rebellious, and improvisational, just like the city itself.
Gay Events In New Orleans
Gay Mardi Gras (February)
Gay Mardi Gras in New Orleans isn’t just a party — it’s a slow-burning drag spectacle, a ritual of feathers and leather, where every heel click echoes centuries of resistance. When February rolls around and the air still tastes cold, the queer community ignites.
Carnival season begins weeks before Shrove Tuesday. Glitter falls early. Costumes begin to take shape. Balls, parades, pageantry—they spread out, stretch out, and demand your attention. Petronius, founded in 1961, stands as the grand dame of them all. She was born from scandal (hello, Yuga’s raid in the early ’60s) and transformed into one of the most enduring pillars of queer New Orleans ceremony.
Then there are the others: Amon-Ra in its Egyptian dreams, Armeinius with its mythic names and fearless costuming, Lords of Leather gracing the season with kink and ritual masks, Krewe of Mwindo pushing for inclusion where old rules once shut doors.
Balls are not optional. They’re thematic theater: handmade gowns with feathers that could double as wings, headpieces carried like crowns, royalty presented with pride. These are shows—tableaux vivants where drag, drag dramatica, and drag poetry converge. Armeinius ball themes are legendary; Petronius often revisits history, avoidance, and identity.
Other marquee moments:
- Fat Monday Luncheon — a Sunday-ish ritual before Mardi Gras, full of crowns, gossip, drag, and more glitter than a costume shop.
- Bourbon Street Awards — Carnival’s ultimate costume contest on Mardi Gras morning. Best drag, best leather, best desperateness rewarded.
If Gay Mardi Gras were a religion, its sacraments would be sequins, its saints would be drag queens, its sermons would be balls, and its congregations would walk proud in code, in costume, in community.
Jazz Fest (April)
Every spring, New Orleans throws itself headfirst into a whirlwind of sound and soul known as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — though locals and seasoned travelers just call it Jazz Fest. Centered at the Fair Grounds Race Course, this annual extravaganza is more than a music festival: it’s a sweaty, joyous collision of cultures, cuisines, and communities that shows off the very essence of Louisiana. Officially, the gates open and the stages fire up for two long weekends. Unofficially, the spirit of Jazz Fest spills out into the city itself, flooding nightclubs, neighborhood bars, and back-alley dancefloors — queer, straight, and everything in between — with after-hours parties that stretch until dawn.
And make no mistake: this is no one-note show. While it proudly carries “jazz” in the name, the lineup is a sprawling buffet of sound. You’ll hear gritty Delta blues, sweat-slicked R&B, and gospel choirs lifting their voices like stained glass made flesh. Cajun fiddles duel with zydeco accordions, Afro-Caribbean rhythms meet brass bands on parade, and country pickers swap sets with rock guitarists and hip-hop poets. Folk, Latin, rap, bluegrass — if it has roots in Louisiana’s soil or has tangled with the city’s tangled heritage, it’s here. And yes, there’s jazz — both traditional and contemporary — threaded through it all like the heartbeat of the festival.
What makes Jazz Fest unforgettable is the way it mixes scale with intimacy. Tens of thousands might cram into the Fair Grounds, yet every tent feels like its own world: a gospel revival here, a sweaty zydeco stomp there, a jazz solo that makes you close your eyes and forget time exists. Add in food stalls serving crawfish bread, jambalaya, po’ boys, and pralines, and you’ve got a full sensory feast. It’s not just music you’re consuming — it’s the whole messy, marvelous identity of New Orleans, one bite and one beat at a time.
For queer travelers, Jazz Fest is a revelation. It’s the city’s second-biggest party after Mardi Gras, and it carries the same spirit of openness, mischief, and liberation. You’ll find drag queens swaying to brass bands, couples in harnesses dancing barefoot in the mud, and chosen families spread out on blankets, sharing beers and gossip while the music roars. Straight or gay, local or visitor, everyone’s part of the same congregation here: a congregation that worships joy itself.
In short, Jazz Fest is New Orleans at its most alive — expansive, eclectic, unashamedly loud, and forever inviting you to stay just one more song.
New Orleans Pride (June)
Every June, New Orleans dresses in rainbow regalia and throws open its arms for New Orleans Pride Weekend — the largest LGBTQ+ festival in Louisiana. It’s not just a party; it’s a mobilization of love, justice, art, and fashion. Over the course of a three-day weekend, you’ll find 40+ official events, panels, drag stages, block parties, live performances, and celebration in nearly every corner of the city.
Attendance numbers are a bit fluid — estimates put many of the crowds in the tens of thousands, though exact parade numbers aren’t always reliably published. The scale is massive: from families, activists, artists, queers of all stripes, allies, tourists — everyone shows up. The Parade itself is a vibrant river of color, glitter, floats, performers, and people who refuse to shrink.
What makes Pride here different is how integrated it is: it’s about fun and advocacy. Expect seminars and workshops discussing queer Southern living, public health, identity, and community visibility, mixed with afternoon drag shows, rainbow street fairs, and brunches where people wear their best looks and their loudest hearts. Pride in New Orleans isn’t just a photo-op; it’s a statement.
Pack your boldest outfits, feather boas, shimmering harnesses — whatever makes you sparkle. Pride weekend is affirmation with sequins, loudspeakers, glitter bombs, and joy so fierce it’ll sting when you come down.
Southern Decadence (August)
If Mardi Gras is queen, then Southern Decadence is the untamed sibling who never learned to behave. Held every Labor Day weekend, this is New Orleans’s official queer bacchanalia: six days of parties, pools, parades, bars, costumes, leather, drag, skin, sweat, laughter, and abandon.
Attendance is huge. Recent estimates put it at over 250,000 revelers. Some sources say more than that. Hotels sell out, the French Quarter fills up, tourists and locals collide in glitter-smeared bliss. Streets are shut down, stages raised, costumes exceedingly proud. It’s the kind of weekend where you arrive with plans and leave with stories so wild even you might doubt they happened.
What you must expect: drag shows from dusk to dawn, themed pool parties, free concerts on Bourbon or St. Ann, wild lingerie/leather/float couture, a parade through the Quarter (usually Sunday), vendors hawking everything from body paint to feather boas, crowds that strut, sweat, tumble. Decadence doesn’t taper off quickly. For many, Tuesday (after Labor Day) is optional — because hearts are full, bodies tired, but euphoria still humming.
If you’ve never done Southern Decadence, come ready. Come loud. Come skin-light. Come knowing you’ll not merely observe: you’ll become part of the spectacle.
Halloween Weekend (October)
October gives New Orleans one more chance to glow in flamboyant terror with Halloween New Orleans (HNO), a queer circuit-party weekend built on costumes, dance, and memento mori vibes. It’s been around for decades (42 years as of 2025) and combines fundraising, artistry, performance, and queer revelry.
What to expect: multiple nights of themed costume parties (often on Thursday or Friday), a main Saturday night blow-out where everyone goes all out with masks, sequins, makeup, horror chic, fantasy, steam, glam, and gore. Then there’s Sunday brunches, a French Quarter second line parade sometimes, tea dances or riverboat parties, and a general blurring of the sacred & profane. By Monday early morning, the costume is still in your hair and the glitter still in your teeth.
HNO also gives back — it’s a major charity weekend supporting Project Lazarus. So your sequins do good. The vibe is dramatic, erotic, stylish, dark, but giving. A little haunt, a little carnival, a lot of queer love.
Gay-Friendly and Gay Hotels in New Orleans
New Orleans isn’t just gay-friendly—it’s downright queer-flirtatious. This is a city where glitter is a valid daytime accessory, drag queens are civic treasures, and bartenders will hand you a cocktail stronger than your last relationship. Here, nearly every hotel can be considered welcoming to LGBTQ+ travelers, not just because it’s trendy marketing but because New Orleans itself thrives on diversity, sensuality, and excess.
You won’t find an exclusively gay hotel in town, but that’s not a drawback—it’s a flex. The whole city is your playground, and the hospitality scene knows how to court the pink dollar with Pride packages, queer-knowledgeable staff, and a warm embrace that extends well beyond Bourbon Street. Some properties stand out for their fabulous service, killer locations, and reputation as go-to hubs for queer travelers who’d rather sleep surrounded by like-minded people than under a bland beige comforter.
Where you stay matters: being in or near the French Quarter keeps you close to the action (and stumbling distance from Oz or Café Lafitte in Exile), but if you crave a quieter night’s sleep—or at least fewer sequins in your sheets—venturing a little further out can save money without sacrificing charm. Either way, book early. Queers plan, darling, and the best hotels fill up faster than a drag brunch after bottomless mimosas.
So whether you’re after boutique chic, historical grandeur, or a hostel where you’ll leave with five new best friends and at least one crush, New Orleans has a pillow with your name on it—and probably some glitter already in the sheets.
If New Orleans is a stage, then Hotel Monteleone is the chandelier—gleaming, timeless, and impossible to ignore. This is not just a hotel; it’s an icon that has seduced writers, artists, and queer travelers for more than a century. Family-owned since 1886 and perched on elegant Royal Street, Monteleone gives you front-row access to the French Quarter while providing a glamorous sanctuary to retreat to when the glitter becomes too much.
The rooms here are unapologetically indulgent. Expect polished marble, soft lighting, and a color palette that whispers sophistication instead of screaming for attention. Deluxe doubles feel plush without being stuffy, while suites—with sweeping city views, ornate furnishings, and space to host a few “friends you just met”. The beds are wrapped in crisp linens that practically beg for champagne breakfasts (or lazy afternoons with the blackout curtains drawn).
Step outside and you’re immediately in the heart of the French Quarter—Royal Street’s antique shops, art galleries, and wrought-iron balconies on one side, Bourbon Street’s neon chaos and queer nightlife on the other. It’s the sweet spot: you can dance until 5 a.m. at Oz or sip cocktails at Café Lafitte in Exile, then stumble home in minutes. The best part? Once you’re back inside, the chaos melts away, leaving only calm and luxury.
Inside Monteleone, food is not an afterthought—it’s a full production. The Carousel Bar is legendary, a rotating masterpiece where cocktails and conversations blur into a dizzying delight. Order a Vieux Carré (invented right here in 1938) or something cheeky and seasonal, then let the carousel spin you into your evening. For dining, the hotel’s restaurant elevates New Orleans classics into polished art. Think crawfish and lobster dishes that arrive like couture gowns—over-the-top, perfectly tailored, and unforgettable.
The rooftop pool is pure fantasy: a glittering oasis above the Quarter, surrounded by loungers and skyline views. It’s where you’ll wash off last night’s sins, flirt with strangers over frozen daiquiris, or just float lazily while plotting your next round of decadence. Add in a well-equipped fitness center (for those rare moments when you want to earn your beignets) and a spa service menu that pampers every hangover into submission, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for recovery and rebirth.
Finally, the service. Monteleone’s staff know how to play both sides: refined enough to make you feel like royalty, but relaxed enough not to bat an eye if you sashay in at dawn covered in glitter. Southern hospitality is baked into every interaction—they’ll remember your name, your drink order, and probably your drag persona if you let them.
Hotel Monteleone isn’t just where you sleep—it’s where you live your New Orleans fantasy. It spins with you, feeds you, indulges you, and makes you feel like the city itself has taken you into its arms. If you’re going to do New Orleans in style—and especially if you’re here for Pride, Southern Decadence, or just your own private carnival—there’s no better stage than this.
A boutique hotel in New Orleans that happens to be the most distinctive and most photographed of the small inns of the French Quarter. Brilliantly glowing crystal chandeliers reflected in lovely antique mirrors greet you from a bygone era as you enter the lush quiet of the grand entrance hall lobby.
Antique furnishings, beautifully set off by the high vaulted sleeping room ceilings, set the mood of quiet comfort found during your stay at this wonderfully gay-friendly accommodation.
The rosette scrolls, cherubs, and medallions are relics of Louisiana sugar plantation home craftsmanship. Stained-glass windows, fireplaces, oriental rugs, and canopy beds are among the many amenities.
Located on Royal Street, a jewel of elegance, dignity, and culture, a different alternative to the raucous bright lights of Bourbon Street and ensures you will have a night of uninterrupted sleep.
Once a high-society ballroom and later a convent, the Bourbon Orleans Hotel has centuries of stories to tell. Push past the lively scene of Bourbon Street and walk into a hushed haven of gilded details, Belle Epoque-style, polished marble, and a warm welcome that is pure Louisiana. A place to rest and recharge after a day of dining, drinking, and discovering.
Bourbon Orleans guestrooms and suites are peaceful retreats that quiet the Big Easy’s round-the-clock thrills. Many rooms offer views of the grand St. Louis Cathedral, Orleans Street or Bourbon Street. There is also a contemporary Creole restaurant, a happening bar offering live music most nights, a gym a heated outdoor saltwater pool in a quiet courtyard.
Boutique New Orleans guest rooms and spacious multi-room suites with a gay-popular bar downstairs that frequently has drag shows. Very affordable with an incredible location.
Moxy New Orleans Downtown/French Quarter Area ☆☆☆
Jazz up your stay in this newly opened boutique in New Orleans hotel. Cocktails at check-in? They’ve got you. A Lobby bar that’s open 24 hours a day to keep the party going throughout the night? You better believe it. Incredibly fast, free Wi-Fi for planning your adventures?
Obviously, Moxy is a boutique hotel concept reimagined for fun-hunting Millenials, and we have previously loved stays with them in Osaka, Phoenix and Frankfurt. Each location is unique, but here you will find expansive rooms, Smart TVs, premier Muk bath amenities, and relaxing rainfall showers. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, what more could you want?
A brand-new hostel in the heart of New Orleans! With first-class dorms featuring ample storage, light, and charging for each traveler, a spectacular interior mezzanine, an expansive kitchen and dining room, and spacious common areas, HI New Orleans will wow hostel newbies and veterans alike.
Meet other travelers over the café’s unique fusion cuisine or join a tour led by a local volunteer to discover the city beyond the beads and masks. Close to all the action, this New Orleans Hostel is exceptionally gay-friendly and an ideal place to stay if traveling solo and on a budget.
Gay Nightlife in New Orleans
It wouldn’t be a proper night in the Big Easy if you didn’t make at least three bad decisions—and lucky for you, Gay New Orleans is built for that exact purpose. The city is a playground of sin dressed up in sequins, with enough bars, clubs, and dens of delicious debauchery to keep even the most insatiable queers satisfied.
This isn’t just about sipping a polite cocktail while discussing Tennessee Williams (though, by all means, do that too). Here you’ll find filthy dive bars that reek of good stories, full-scale nightclubs flying in international DJs, leather dungeons dripping with sweat and shadows, and drag cabarets where gender is a toy and performance is kink incarnate.
The action centers in the French Quarter, with the “Lavender Line” on St. Ann Street acting as your glitter-stained runway. Here, queer spaces practically tumble over one another—meaning bar-hopping is not just encouraged but inevitable. Toss your cocktail in a plastic cup (NOLA law, darling) and keep strutting; it’s totally legal, and your next mistake is only ever a block away.
Some bars close “late,” others never close at all. The night bends around you, deciding whether you’ll end up in a drag queen’s arms, a leather daddy’s harness, or simply on the floor of Oz at 7 a.m. And while it’s true that most venues in this city are gay-friendly, the ones we love most are the places that openly worship at the altar of queer joy—where the crowd is sweaty, diverse, and deliciously unfiltered.
Bottom line: whatever your vice—glitter, gospel house, rough trade, or just a sloppy good time—Gay New Orleans doesn’t judge. It provides.
Gay Nightlife in New Orleans
Nestled in the Marigny, The AllWays is less a bar and more a queer cabaret temple. One night it’s drag queens lip-syncing to punk ballads, the next it’s erotic poetry, burlesque, or a performance art piece that’ll leave you screaming “what did I just watch?” (in the best way).
Cocktails are cheap, the vibe is messy-glam, and the stage has no rules—exactly how queer nightlife should be. It’s one of those places you go for “a drink” and stumble out hours later with smeared glitter, a new lover, and at least one story you can’t tell your mother.
This isn’t just a bar; it’s an institution. For over four decades, Bourbon Pub & Parade has been the beating glitter-covered heart of Bourbon Street’s queer chaos. Expect drag queens working their wigs off, a wrap-around balcony that doubles as your runway, and music that’ll have you grinding until the sun makes you regret your choices.
Multiple zones, strong pours, and a crowd that’s always ready to go from zero to debauchery—if you haven’t lost a shoe here, you haven’t really done New Orleans.
Imagine a queer time capsule that never closed its doors. Café Lafitte in Exile has been open 24/7 since 1933, which means more queer history has been written on its barstools than in most textbooks. Two floors, icy A/C (a blessing in swampy NOLA), outdoor seating, and bartenders who pour without judgment.
Grab a drink, soak in the ghosts of Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote, and feel the weight of being in the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the U.S.—then promptly shed that weight on the dancefloor upstairs.
Tiny, chic, and lethal with mojitos, Napoleon’s Itch is where cocktail culture and queer culture meet in a sweaty French Quarter embrace. Known for their signature fresh-fruit mojitos and never a cover charge, it’s the sort of bar you “pop into” and somehow end up closing down.
Clean bathrooms (a rarity on Bourbon), sharp service, and the annual Bourbon Street Extravaganza, which turns the block into a massive queer concert. Think small space, big impact.
By day: chill neighborhood gay bar. By night: a carnival of flesh. Come 9 p.m., the go-go boys climb onto the wrap-around bar and suddenly the air is sweat, dollar bills, and neon. Thursdays serve up Retro 80s/90s, Fridays crown “New Meat Night” where dancers compete for cash and attention, and the rest of the week is a blur of grinding bodies and cheap booze.
Strictly no phones/photos—what happens at Corner Pocket stays in Corner Pocket, and probably on your thighs.
The first steampunk-themed gay bar in America, and yes, it’s as wild as it sounds. Picture gear-shaped tables, glowing brass lamps, and bathrooms that look like Jules Verne built them for cruising. It’s camp meets kink, with a Victorian sci-fi vibe and a queer clientele that leans just as creative.
A bar that proves queer nightlife doesn’t need to look the same everywhere—it can be leather, lace, or lace-covered gears.
Tucked off Bourbon, Golden Lantern is all brick walls, strong drinks, and a “don’t underestimate me” vibe. Famous for cheap beer, drag shows that pack a punch, and margaritas that can floor even the boldest leather daddy.
It’s cash-only, so bring bills, but what you get is pure New Orleans: sweaty, charming, and just a bit rough around the edges.
The name says it all—this is where you go when you want to be hugged by community, cheap drinks, and a vibe that’s low-key but never boring. Beloved by locals, with eclectic patrons and a legendary Tuesday happy hour that gets half the city talking.
A place to start your night, end your night, or find your chosen family mid-night.
Part dive, part performance space, part “where the hell did my shirt go”—Mag’s 940 has long been a queer favorite. Drag shows, karaoke nights, and a stage that feels like it was made for messy brilliance keep things lively. The bar itself is relaxed—cheap drinks, friendly locals, and just enough chaos to remind you you’re in New Orleans. It’s not about polish here, it’s about presence. If you want something unpretentious, sweaty, and queer through and through, Mag’s will welcome you with open arms and probably a shot you didn’t ask for.
Two levels, endless charm. Downstairs is mahogany, brass, and gargoyles—New Orleans gothic in bar form. Upstairs, the Queen’s Head Pub is all Victorian elegance, chandeliers, and karaoke nights that spiral from “cute” to “chaotic” real fast.
Piano sets on Saturdays give it a touch of class, while happy hours make it one of the busiest spots in the Quarter. Come for the décor, stay for the crowd, leave with lipstick stains in places you don’t remember being kissed.
GrandPre’s
If Cheers was gay and Southern, it would be GrandPre’s. Known as “Cheers for Queers,” it’s where bartenders know your name and your drink, and conversation is as easy as the pours are strong. Casual, genuine, and packed with charm, it’s less about the scene and more about the people you’ll meet—proof that not every great gay bar needs a glitter cannon to make magic.
The name might undersell it—this isn’t poor, it’s rich in queer energy. Poor Boys Bar is part dive, part community center, part “did that really just happen?” kind of hangout. Expect karaoke that gets gloriously out of hand, theme nights that pull in everyone from baby gays to leather daddies, and a bartending crew that makes every pour feel like an inside joke. It’s scrappy, it’s welcoming, and it proves that queer nightlife doesn’t need glitz to sparkle—it just needs good people and strong drinks.
The Big Easy’s big gay cathedral of chaos. Two stories of drag shows, go-go dancers, pounding beats, and a balcony where you can make eye contact with strangers who will later become lovers. Open 24/7, Oz doesn’t care if you’re sober, hungover, or somewhere in between—you will dance, you will scream, and you will sweat out every bad decision from the night before while making new ones on the spot.
Expensive drinks, sure, but the spectacle is priceless.
Black-owned, vibrant, and buzzing with bounce beats and diva anthems. Page Bar draws a mostly young, Black queer crowd and is less about the dancefloor and more about the drinks (which are strong enough to strip your soul). Welcoming, warm, and energetic, it’s a space where community pulses as much as the music.
Queer dive? Yes. Art bar? Also yes. Dance floor that sometimes feels like an underground rave? Triple yes. QiQi is an Uptown haunt that’s rough around the edges in all the right ways—cheap drinks, eclectic programming, drag pop-ups, and techno nights that go later than your self-respect would like.
The crowd is deliciously mixed—genderqueer cuties, artsy lesbians, boys in mesh, and everyone else who refuses to be boxed in. QiQi is a playground for those who want their queer spaces messy, loud, and a little bit lawless.
Leather. Bears. Fetish. Repeat. Phoenix Bar is open 24/7 and proud of it, a no-frills spot where the drinks are poured like you actually matter. Upstairs, the Eagle Bar hosts midnight “Mass,” which is just an excuse to pour free shots and absolve you of your sins so you can go out and commit more.
A leather shop on site, a cruisy crowd, and enough sweat to water Bourbon Street—Phoenix is as raw and glorious as queer bars get.
Once the ultimate leather/Levi bar, Rawhide has reinvented itself as more of a dance bar—but the shadows still whisper stories of its cruisy past. Today you’ll find disco balls, pool tables, and a steady stream of queers ready to flirt, sweat, and down strong pours. The filth has been polished, but the energy remains—less dungeon, more dive, but still a place where anything could happen if you lean into it.
Other Gay-Popular Venues In New Orleans
Still kicking since 1939, Buffa’s Bar & Restaurant sits on the border of the French Quarter and Marigny, holding space for locals, queer folks, wanderers, and live-music lovers. It’s open 24/7 at the front bar, with a Back Room hosting live performances nearly every night — jazz, trad, Americana, even Bloody Mary bingo brunches. The architecture is warm and lived in; the bartenders know your name soon after your first drink. If you want a place where food, strong drinks, music, and neighborhood charm collide in one sweaty, soulful hug, Buffa’s delivers.
Carousel Bar & Lounge @ Hotel Monteleone
The Carousel Bar is pure queer theatre disguised as a cocktail lounge. Since 1949, it has been spinning its way into NOLA legend as the city’s first and only rotating bar. With just 25 carousel seats, each one painted and carved like a decadent carnival relic, you’ll find yourself turning slowly around the room while sipping a Vieux Carré (which was invented here, darling). The pace is just slow enough to feel like you’re drifting through time — which, in New Orleans, you might well be.
The atmosphere strikes a perfect balance between whimsy and sophistication: glittering lights, mirrors that flirt with your reflection, and bartenders who know their history as well as they know their liquor. By mid-evening, it’s buzzing with a mix of locals, travelers, and queer wanderers chasing both cocktails and a sense of cinematic glamour. Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote once haunted these very stools — today, it’s still the place where writers, dreamers, and tipsy queers perch to feel part of the story.
Whether you’re pre-gaming for a wild night on Bourbon or winding down after Southern Decadence, the Carousel is a rite of passage. It’s campy without kitsch, classy without snobbery, and endlessly photogenic. In short: sit, sip, spin, and let the Big Easy revolve around you.
Hidden in the laid-back Bywater neighborhood, The Country Club is less a “club” and more a queer fantasy garden come to life. From the street, it looks like a genteel 19th-century Italianate home — inside, it’s a riot of lush décor, great food, and the kind of hospitality that makes everyone feel like family.
The restaurant and bar deliver polished Creole-Southern cuisine with a contemporary twist, but weekends are all about their famous drag brunch. Two seatings, wall-to-wall wigs, mimosas that flow like confetti, and performances that have guests living, laughing, and screaming “yas!” before noon. If you don’t book ahead, good luck — this is one of the hottest tickets in queer New Orleans.
Out back lies the crown jewel: a pool deck that feels like a tropical daydream, complete with bar service, cabanas, and more than a little cheeky energy. Sunbathing here is equal parts relaxation and performance art — speedos, cocktails, and laughter ripple through the air as strangers become fast friends. The rainbow flag isn’t just a symbol here; it’s a promise that this is your space.
The Country Club is where elegance collides with camp, where locals and visitors mingle poolside, and where every cocktail feels like an invitation to stay just a little longer. Come for the brunch, stay for the pool, and leave with stories you’ll never tell your mother.
Cruising and Gay Bathhouses In New Orleans
New Orleans might be a popular LGBT holiday destination, but if you are looking for some steam, anonymous fun – you might be a little disappointed. The famous gay bathhouse, Club New Orleans, has recently closed – and the other bathhouse here, Flex, closed a few years earlier.
Sadly, this is a common trend seen in North America, from Santa Cruz and San Fran to Hawaii, Memphis, and more. In North America, very few bathhouse scenes are thriving outside of Montreal, Quebec, and Fort Lauderdale. A sign of the changing times, we suppose.
Still – nothing is going to stop the gays from having fun, and, as you would expect, the gay cruising apps are particularly busy. You will find plenty of tourists from all over the US and the world looking to engage in little holiday shenanigans. Just have your hotel sorted if you want to be able to host.
Other than that, we recommend trying the cruisy gay bars we covered earlier.
Gay Map Of New Orleans
Finding it hard to envisage where everything is in New Orleans? Hopefully, this queer-centric map helps where we have marked all the bars, clubs, parties, hotels, saunas, massages and more will help you stay in the spot best suited to you!