48 Hours of Drinking in New Orleans

Arnaud's French 75 Bar draws a steady local crowd in French Quarter. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening Drop bags. Find a hotel-adjacent bar within a five-minute walk. Order something simple to anchor yourself to the city.

Alto Rooftop at Ace Hotel draws a steady local crowd in Warehouse District. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the eveni The polished room you'd take a first date to. Sit at the bar. Talk to the bartender. Stay one drink — you're scouting, not committing.

Bacchanal Wine sits on Poland Avenue in Bywater, in a shotgun double that was originally a neighbourhood grocery store. The front room sells wine by the bottle Walk into the city's drinking quarter (the heart of the night, not the tourist version). Two drinks, two rooms. Pace yourself — Saturday is the long day.

Bar Marilou draws a steady local crowd in Warehouse District. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Sunset. Find a rooftop. Order whatever the house specials around sundown. Take photos but don't lose 90 minutes to your phone.

Bar Tonique is the French Quarter neighbourhood cocktail bar that's been pulling industry crowds since 2008 — a tight programme of classic NOLA-style drinks plu Eat somewhere with serious bartending built in. The right room is one you order both your dinner and your nightcap from.

Barrel Proof occupies an unassuming corner of Magazine Street that gives almost nothing away from the outside. Push open the heavy door and you enter a dim, woo The bar that made you book the trip. The pre-research one. Reservation-only ideally. Stay until last call.

Beachbum Berry's Latitude 29 draws a steady local crowd in French Quarter. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the e Mary, Mimosa, or whatever low-ABV house play the room runs. Eat. Pay. Walk.

Blue Nile draws a steady local crowd in Faubourg Marigny. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Find the hotel bar at your departure airport equivalent — somewhere quiet, low-volume, well-staffed. End the trip on a martini and a clean conversation.