Frenchmen Street Is Where New Orleans Actually Lives at Night

Bourbon Street is for the cruise crowd. Frenchmen Street — three blocks in the Marigny — is the music corridor locals never left. The Spotted Cat packs a six-piece into a tiny room every night; you stand, you sweat, you don't leave until the set ends. d.b.a. two doors down books the serious brass and Latin acts. Bamboula's usually has a dance floor going by ten.

No cover at most rooms, one-drink minimum is the rule, tip the band. Walk the street between sets — there's always somebody playing under the balconies of Washington Square and the frozen daiquiris at 13 Monaghan will put you back on your feet.

Three AM is when the real energy shows up on weekends. If you're leaving at midnight, you're leaving before the show starts.