Vue Rooftop runs 14 floors above Canal Street, a Marriott-perched rooftop bar that trades French Quarter crowds for an open-air view of the New Orleans skyline.
The address is 1600 Canal Street, on the edge of the Central Business District where Canal runs toward Mid-City, and the bar sits on the 14th floor atop the dual SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites by Marriott. The pitch is the elevation. Few New Orleans rooftops get this high, and The Rooftop Guide files Vue among the city's go-to options for a skyline drink.
The view is the order of business. Tables along the rail look out over Canal Street and the downtown skyline, and the open-air deck catches the breeze that the street never does. The room is calmer and more polished than a Quarter bar, which is the trade: less character, more horizon.
The drinks list runs an approachable cocktail program built for the setting rather than a deep classics bar. A frozen or a spritz suits the deck on a warm evening, and the by-the-glass list covers a table that is not all cocktail drinkers. Pricing sits at hotel-rooftop levels, so the view carries part of the tab.
Vue opened as the Marriott property's rooftop draw and quickly became a fixture for visitors staying along Canal and locals after a view without leaving downtown. Its own site leans on the panorama and the open-air deck as the reason to ride the elevator up.
The crowd skews toward hotel guests and a downtown after-work set early, then fills with a going-out crowd later on weekends. Regulars on its Yelp and Google listings repeat the same two notes: come for the view and the sunset, and time it before the room hits its weekend peak.
Best time to go is golden hour, when the deck faces the sunset and the skyline lights come up. Per its hours the bar opens at 5pm most days and at noon on Friday. Who it is for: a visitor who wants the New Orleans skyline with a drink, an after-work group near Canal, and a couple chasing a sunset. Who should skip it: anyone after a characterful Quarter dive, since the appeal here is the elevation and the view.
Getting up there is half the appeal. The elevator ride to the 14th floor sets the tone, and the deck wraps enough of the building to give tables a choice of view, from the downtown towers to the long run of Canal Street toward the river. The indoor bar gives a fallback when a summer storm rolls through, which in New Orleans is a feature rather than an afterthought, and the deck reopens the moment the rain clears.
For more in the category, see our guide to the best rooftop bars in New Orleans, browse the full New Orleans bar guide, or compare it against our citywide rooftop bars roundup. It pairs well with the CBD's hotel bars for a downtown evening.
