From Cocktails to Jazz

Your cocktails and jazz tour begins in Jackson Square where you’ll find many of the best bars of the French Quarter are only a stone’s throw away. Don’t expect to spend much time on Bourbon Street though. While it has its place in New Orleans nightlife, you will be going beyond the tourist trail to show you what really makes New Orleans’ cocktail culture unique.

For your first cocktail stop, you will travel back to the 1700s and visit a bar that used to entertain some of the most eccentric characters in New Orleans history. Here, you will taste a famous drink of the city and learn how it has influenced New Orleans drinking culture today.

You will then visit one of your guide’s favorite bars and taste a drink so good you’ll forget there’s alcohol in it.

Next up, you will sample the ‘official cocktail of New Orleans’: the Sazerac. One of the first cocktails ever invented, it’s definitely tasty enough to stand the test of time.

Your final cocktail stop will be at one of the classiest establishments in town to try one of the city’s most esteemed drinks, the Ramos Gin Fizz. After your first sip, you’ll truly understand why New Orleans has been called, “the cradle of civilized drinking.”

There will be an opportunity to rest your feet or grab a bite to eat before the jazz portion of the tour begins. Your guide can recommend some good eats, depending on your preferences. Then you’ll head over to the historic and beautiful Louis Armstrong Park in the Tremé neighborhood.

Within the park, your guide will talk about the historical origins of jazz and discuss one of the jazz greats, Armstrong himself.

From here, you will make your way to the popular Marigny neighborhood, a hip nightlife area that’s home to the famous Frenchmen Street, where you’ll find the largest concentration of live music venues in the city. Being with a local, you’ll have access to the best options, depending on the day of the week, time, and band schedules. And to top it off, you will receive a beer on us at one of the stops. You’re very welcome to purchase additional beverages as and when you want them.

You will also be on the lookout for impromptu street performances, which always make the night special. And if the timing and mood are right, you will get behind the scenes with one of the bands in between sets.

If (well, let’s be honest, when!), at the end of the tour you're still craving more, your guide will point out other great locations in the area for dinner, drinks, and of course, more great music!