Gay Guide
Listing and event details can change quickly. Please verify with the venue directly before visiting. Lavender Atlas is not responsible for third-party accuracy.
About LGBTQ+ New Orleans
On 24 June 1973 someone poured lighter fluid down the stairwell of the UpStairs Lounge, a second-floor bar in the French Quarter, and set it alight. Thirty-two people died. It was the deadliest attack on LGBTQ+ people in the United States until Pulse in 2016, and what followed was its own kind of wound: churches refused to hold funerals, an Episcopal bishop rebuked the one clergyman who did hold a prayer service, and some of the dead went unclaimed by their own families. The city spent decades not discussing it. That has changed, and the anniversary is now marked properly.
The French Quarter scene turns on one corner, where Bourbon Street meets St Ann. Bourbon Pub Parade and Oz face each other across it and never really stop. A block up, Cafe Lafitte in Exile traces back to 1933 and took its odd name in 1953, when the owners lost their lease and moved the bar down the street rather than lose the crowd; it claims to be the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the country. Good Friends, the Golden Lantern, Corner Pocket, The Crossing and the Silver Fox fill in the surrounding blocks.
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The Marigny, just downriver, is where locals go when the Quarter gets to be too much. The Phoenix and Mag's 940 sit opposite each other on Elysian Fields, with Big Daddy's, The Friendly Bar and the AllWays Lounge on St Claude nearby, and the Country Club further out for its pool.
Southern Decadence takes Labor Day weekend and effectively becomes a second Mardi Gras. The real Carnival has its own queer lineage: the Krewe of Yuga was raided by police in 1962, and the Krewe of Petronius, founded the year before, is the one that survived and still holds its ball each season.
Most of the lodging here is guesthouses rather than hotels, largely in the Quarter and the Marigny. Bars are not required to close, summer is genuinely punishing, and the city assumes you know both.
Upcoming Events
Conveniently located on the edge of the French Quarter. Full grand New Orleans style breakfast, period rooms furnished in antiques and luxury linens. All rooms have private baths.
Welcome to the Blue60 Guesthouse. Gay owned and operated, the Blue60 is the ideal accommodation for LGBT+ travelers. Our 5 uniquely decorated suites include private outdoor entrances and patio with hot tub.
Sunburst Inn features a historic home with a private entrance leading to a beautiful double parlor living room/bedroom suite with adjacent private bath. Sleeps up to four.
A cozy b&b in the Big Easy, in walking distance to French Quarter and gay and lesbian bars/venues. Featured amenities: parlor, courtyard, whirlpool. Clothing optional in sunbathing area.
Located in New Orleans historic Faubourg Marigny just two blocks from the French Quarter and four blocks from Frenchman Street. Within easy walking distance of many sites, restaurants, bars, and music.
The Pierre Coulon House is an excellent example of New Orleans Creole architecture. Just a short walk to the French Quarter, with lots of cafes, bars and restaurants just blocks away.
La Dauphine is a quiet, small New Orleans gay B&B with a 3-night minimum. 3 guest rooms in a 100+ year-old Victorian camelback shotgun house. Free WiFi. Superb location: walk to French Quarter.
A premier dance club on Bourbon Street known for its balcony views; go-go dancers; and late-night drag performances.
The oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States; a historic anchor of the French Quarter.
One of New Orleans' most iconic gay bars, anchoring the corner of Bourbon and St Ann for decades. The Bourbon Pub downstairs keeps the dance floor going around the clock while the Parade upstairs hosts DJs, drag shows, and themed nights.
New Orleans independent bookstore on Frenchmen Street with LGBTQ+ literature, art books, and community-focused events.
New Orleans Bywater LGBTQ+-popular restaurant and clothing-optional pool/courtyard.
New Orleans French Quarter long-running gay neighborhood bar with showtune nights.
LGBTQ+ bar in New Orleans with a local queer crowd and regular social nightlife activity.
New Orleans French Quarter long-running LGBTQ+ bar, host of the Southern Decadence kickoff.
New Orleans French Quarter historic LGBTQ+-popular guesthouse.
A laid-back gay sports bar in the French Quarter with pool tables, a friendly staff, and a mixed crowd. Corner Pocket is a neighborhood standby for locals away from the louder Bourbon Street scene.
A leather and cruise bar in the Marigny anchoring New Orleans' leather community since the 1970s. The Phoenix offers a darkroom, back patio, and regular leather/kink events, drawing a loyal local crowd alongside visiting leather men.
French Quarter leather and bear gay bar at 740 Burgundy Street, formerly known as Rawhide 2010, with daily happy hours, karaoke, pool tables, and a famously seedy come-as-you-are atmosphere.
A beloved New Orleans cabaret and bar at the edge of the Marigny, featuring live performances, drag shows, comedy, and indie acts most nights of the week. AllWays draws a mixed, queer-friendly crowd with some of the city's most eclectic and intimate entertainment.
A cozy gay bar on St Louis Street in the French Quarter, a quieter alternative to the Bourbon Street strip. The Crossing has a neighborhood pub feel with a pool table and a mixed crowd of locals and visitors.
The historic French Quarter is the heart of New Orleans' LGBTQ+ nightlife, with a dense concentration of gay bars and clubs along Bourbon Street between St Ann and Dumaine. The neighbourhood has been openly queer-welcoming for decades, anchored by iconic spots like Oz and the Bourbon Pub.
A down-to-earth gay bar on Elysian Fields Avenue in the Marigny, with a pool table, video poker, and a regular crowd of locals. Mag's 940 is a no-frills neighborhood bar a short walk from the French Quarter's busier scene.
Boutique cottage-style lodging in the French Quarter, popular with LGBTQ+ travelers seeking privacy and central access.
A Louisiana organization providing safe, affordable housing and support for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
A statewide organization supporting transgender and allied communities across Louisiana through social support, education, and advocacy.