13 Best Bars in New Orleans, Louisiana

With its elegant, understated Caribbean decor, dim lighting, and low volumes, this rum house is a refreshing relief from the general chaos of the neighborhood. The friendly barkeeps love making "ProtoTiki Cocktails" (specialty rum drinks with modern twists), but there's a sophisticated list of Spanish wines to choose from as well. The space offers a large marble bar, charming courtyard out back, and small tables for intimate dining. Come for the cocktails and atmosphere, but don't miss out on the food: the menu combines Caribbean and southern culinary traditions, and the dishes are inventive and intensely flavorful.

One of New Orleans's most traditional drinking experiences, enjoy an Old Fashioned or a Sazerac here on the expansive front porch, shaded by centuries-old oak trees and overlooking the St. Charles Avenue streetcar route. Built in 1883 as a private home, the Columns has been the scene of TV ads, movies, and plenty of weddings. The interior scenes of Louis Malle's Pretty Baby were filmed here. The Victorian Lounge, with its restored period decor and a fireplace, has a decaying elegance that transports you to a previous era. There's a great happy hour, too, and a fantastic live jazz trio plays here most Monday nights.

This is a must-visit for any who love to submerge themselves in old-time elegance. Adjoining Arnaud's, the classic New Orleans Creole restaurant, this dark-wood bar is complete with leather-backed chairs and imposing columns. The bartenders work magic with their encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails and arsenal of ingredients. Be sure to venture upstairs to the free Germaine Wells Mardi Gras Museum, a slightly bizarre showcase for memorabilia and ball gowns worn by the original owner's daughter.

The view from this hip penthouse bar is unbeatable, but if you can't get a seat outside, curl up in a plush booth under the plated tin ceiling and enjoy the Tennessee Williams-inspired memorabilia filling the walls. Even the cocktails are served in antique glassware.

Napoleon House is a living shrine to what may be called the semiofficial New Orleans school of decor: faded grandeur. Chipped wall paint, diffused light, and a tiny courtyard with a trickling fountain and lush banana trees create a timeless escapist mood. The house specialty is a Pimm's Cup (here they top Pimm's No. 1 with lemonade and 7-Up). This vintage restaurant and watering hole has long been popular with writers, artists, and other free spirits.

This dim elegant bar is a perfect marriage of New Orleans cocktail culture past and present. Owners of Cure—the forefather of NOLA craft cocktail bars—transformed the former home of the 19th century Creole apothecary into a sophisticated spot to try expertly crafted classic drinks that would make the bitters inventor and his friends proud. The inner courtyard, which backs up to Court of Two Sisters, is one of the best in the Quarter.

An eclectic spot on North Rampart Street, this brick-walled room with private nooks and intimate corner booths looks like a cross between a dive and a lounge on the Riviera. The book-length drinks menu, with everything from pre-Prohibition classics to modern creations, practically recounts the history of the cocktail. The talented staff can turn out any of those offerings with aplomb.

A rather swanky lounge for the French Quarter, with leather chairs and dark paneling, covers cocktail history with an encyclopedic menu that starts with drinks from the mid-19th century, and boasts the largest selection of martinis in town. Tucked away from the street in the Prince Conti Hotel, it also hosts piano players and jazz combos nightly.

A mixed crowd enjoys an elegant retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city in this handsome 19th-century Bywater mansion. The interior restaurant, bar, and parlor rooms have a trippy Palm Springs vibe, with plenty of glitter and neon. The outdoor pool and deck bar hidden away behind lush vegetation and high walls is especially popular with the gay and bachelorette party crowd. Pool access requires a small fee, and towels and lockers are available. The drag brunch on weekends is wildly popular---reserve ahead.

No stranger to national accolades, including the coveted James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Bar Program, this pioneer of the revitalized Freret Corridor adds a touch of urban chic to an historic neighborhood. Cure was one of the city's first modern cocktail bars and they have the space to match: a converted fire station boasts 20-foot ceilings and a lovely patio. Knowledgeable bartenders use a breathtaking arsenal of liquor to push the boundaries of what a drink can be, paired with delicious small plates.

At the helm of this tavern's cocktail program is the legendary Chris Hannah, a veteran New Orleans bartender and James Beard Award (among many other awards) winner.  The seasonal menu showcases classics, like the city's oft forgotten Brandy Crusta and an amped-up Sazerac, along with inventions of rare spirits and fat-washed rums and vodkas, vermouth, and amari infused with local fruit—basically all the best bells and whistles in the biz. Pleasing small plates and a historic courtyard add to the allure, making this a true hidden gem.

One of the most famous bars in Louisiana, this Art Deco gem and slinger of fine libations has a pedigree that dates back to the mid-19th century. Drawn to the signature Sazerac cocktail and Ramos gin fizz, a famous and intriguing clientele has graced this hotel bar over the years, including Governor Huey P. Long, who in the 1930s built a 90-mile highway between New Orleans and the state capital, just so, many believe, he could get directly to the hotel lounge for his signature drink.

This neighborhood joint might be off the beaten path, but it's worth the trip for its unlikely combination of an innovative cocktail menu, tasty pop-up food concepts, and weekly events that range from vinyl record-fueled dance parties to Taylor Swift trivia to karaoke extravaganzas. Cocktail aficionados will come for some of the best in the city, but compared to other excellent cocktail bars, Twelve Mile Limit offers something a little more relaxed, and prices reflect that down-home vibe.