Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Review

Probably the most photographed building in the Quarter after St. Louis Cathedral, this 18th-century cottage was, according to legend, once a blacksmith shop that served as a front for the eponymous pirate's less legitimate business ventures. Today, it's a popular and atmospheric piano bar with a rustic, candlelit interior and a small outdoor patio that has banana trees and a sculpture by the late Enrique Alferez (whose work also decorates City Park). Despite the addition of a few flat-screen TVs, a drink here just after sundown, when the place is lit only by candles, lets you slip back in time for an hour or so.