LGBTQ+ Bars in New Orleans, Louisiana

Best Gay Bars in New Orleans for Fun & Nightlife

The line between gay and straight bars is a blurry one in New Orleans, a place where diversity is a given and differences of perspective are celebrated in festivals like Southern Decadence. Even Easter has a gay parade. There are lively dance clubs, as well as neighborhood Cheers-style watering holes. There are gay and gay-friendly bars all over town, but the most famous are on the French Quarter’s “Lavender Line,” a stretch of St Ann Street that bisects Bourbon – including Café Lafitte’s in Exile, legendary as the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States.

Justen Williams, New Orleans & Co.

Though New Orleans has no lesbian bars, all of the gay bars below will welcome you. There are a few lesbian pop-ups, like Her Haus and Grrl Spot, which operate loosely on a monthly basis. At Palm&Pine, check out The Soiled Dove: PopUp Lesbian Bar every third Thursday at 10 p.m. See our Queer Woman's Guide to New Orleans here.

For a more sit-down experience, enjoy dining at queer-owned American Townhouse and Alma Cafe. For a list of queer-owned businesses, see here.