New Orleans: Drunk History Walking Tour

The most memorable part of this tour is the way it mixes dark New Orleans history with the city’s drinking culture. In two hours, you walk the French Quarter, hear about voodoo and above-ground burial vaults, and visit places tied to ghosts, vampires, pirates, prostitutes, and convicted felons.

I like the lively storytelling, especially when guides such as Coty, Cody, Ashli, and Donna turn obscure facts into funny, easy-to-follow tales. I also like that the bar stops are optional, so you can enjoy the history without trying to keep pace with a drink in hand. The main drawback is that drinks cost extra, and the tour may feel more theatrical than scholarly if you want a strictly sourced account of New Orleans history.

Key points to know before you book

• Marie Laveau and voodoo: Visit places linked to New Orleans’ famous voodoo queen and learn how voodoo came to the city.
• A walking tour with a drinking option: The route passes many French Quarter bars, but you pay for your own drinks and can choose whether to stop.
• A strong guide makes the difference: Coty and Cody receive especially high praise for humor, odd facts, and clear storytelling, while Ashli and Donna are also named as engaging guides.
• Ghosts with historical context: The tour links paranormal stories to real buildings, old residents, fires, love affairs, and the city’s darker past.
• Exact meeting point matters: Meet on the sidewalk at the courtyard gate beside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, not inside the bar.
• Good for adults who like variety: It suits drinkers, history fans, paranormal enthusiasts, and anyone who prefers a relaxed night walk to a formal lecture.

Walking into the French Quarter after dark

The tour begins at 941 Bourbon Street, on the sidewalk at the gate of the courtyard attached to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar. This detail matters. You do not meet inside the bar, and the bar staff do not run the tour or provide tour information.

Arrive a few minutes early. Everyone must check in before departure, and you cannot join the group at another point later. That is a small rule, but it can save you a frantic search on Bourbon Street, where several bars and tour groups can look alike.

From the start, expect the French Quarter to provide the setting. You walk through the Vieux Carre while the guide points out landmarks and buildings connected to New Orleans’ past. The tour includes the St. Louis Cathedral, the site associated with the signing of the Louisiana Purchase, and other historic locations.

I like this format because the history is attached to actual streets and buildings. You are not sitting in a room hearing a list of dates. The guide gives you a reason to look up, turn around, and notice the old properties around you.

The route is still a walking tour, not a bar crawl with a few facts added on. Wear comfortable shoes. The tour lasts about two hours, and the guide keeps moving between stops. Bring enough energy for a steady walk, especially if you plan to stop for drinks.

The dark side of New Orleans history

The name tells you what kind of evening this is. The stories focus on the less polished side of New Orleans: crime, death, unusual customs, scandal, voodoo, and unexplained events.

You hear what pirates, prostitutes, and convicted felons have to do with the city’s beginnings. The tour also covers old fires, sinister residents, love stories, and the lives attached to famous French Quarter buildings. The result is broad rather than narrowly focused. You get a slice of New Orleans history, not a full chronology of Louisiana.

That broad approach is one of the tour’s strengths. A single stop may lead from architecture to burial customs, then from burial customs to a ghost story. Guides such as Coty and Cody are praised for filling the walk with useless facts that turn out to be memorable and useful once you see the places connected to them.

The tradeoff is that the tour uses humor and dramatic storytelling. If you want every claim carefully separated into proven fact, local tradition, and supernatural tale, ask questions as you go. The guides are there to entertain as well as inform, and the tone is casual rather than academic.

That does not make the stories worthless. New Orleans history is full of competing versions, legends, and family stories. The useful thing is to enjoy the tale, notice the setting, and keep in mind that a ghost story is not presented in the same way as a documented event.

Above-ground vaults and burial customs

One of the tour’s most useful subjects is the traditional burial practice associated with New Orleans. You learn why many tombs and vaults are above ground and how local burial rituals developed.

This is more than a quick photo stop. Above-ground tombs are one of the details that makes New Orleans look different from many American cities, and the tour gives you cultural context for something you might otherwise pass without understanding.

The guide explains the rituals and the reasons behind the vaults. Listen closely here, because this section offers a good balance to the more sensational material. It shows how the city’s environment, customs, and beliefs shaped daily life.

The tour does not turn into a formal cemetery visit based on the information provided. Instead, burial customs are part of the larger French Quarter walk. If this is the subject you care about most, ask the guide follow-up questions while the group is together.

Marie Laveau, voodoo, and the city’s spiritual traditions

The voodoo portion centers on Marie Laveau, the woman widely associated with New Orleans’ voodoo tradition. You visit property connected to her and hear how it was given to her as payment for her magic. The route also includes places where voodoo ceremonies were held.

This is a good part of the tour for anyone who wants more than the usual ghost story. Voodoo is often reduced to movie clichés, while New Orleans’ spiritual traditions have a much more complicated place in the city’s culture. The guide explains how voodoo came to New Orleans and links the subject to specific locations.

Expect a mix of history, belief, legend, and local storytelling. The guide’s job is not simply to recite dates. It is to show how the city remembers people such as Marie Laveau and how those memories continue to shape the French Quarter.

I especially like this stop because it gives the tour a cultural center. Ghosts and vampires provide the evening’s hooks, but the discussion of voodoo helps explain why New Orleans has such a strong reputation for spiritual folklore in the first place.

Ghosts, vampires, and the city’s most haunted house

The paranormal part of the walk includes reports of vampires and ghosts that are said to remain in the French Quarter. You hear where the most predictable spirits supposedly lurk and visit a house described as the city’s most haunted.

One of the places has also been associated by visitors with American Horror Story, which gives the stop extra appeal for fans of the show. The focus, however, is on the location’s stories and reputation rather than on television trivia alone.

The guide may use paranormal equipment during the tour. That adds a hands-on element, but you should know that the operator charges $250 for lost or damaged paranormal equipment. Treat any equipment carefully and follow the guide’s instructions.

This section works best if you enjoy atmosphere and storytelling rather than demanding proof of the supernatural. The French Quarter at night does much of the work: old buildings, narrow streets, dim corners, and a long record of dramatic human behavior. You get a fun ghost walk, but you should not book it expecting a scientific investigation.

Video recording is not allowed. The guides also do not use their phones during the tour, which helps keep their attention on the group. You can listen, ask questions, and take in the surroundings without watching a guide read from a screen.

Historic bars and optional drinks

The tour passes dozens of bars, and the group may stop at one or two historic French Quarter establishments. The guide gives you time to refill your cup, but drinks are not included in the $28 price.

This is where the tour’s name becomes practical. You can buy a drink and carry it during the walk where permitted, or skip the alcohol altogether. The drinking is optional, so the experience can work for someone who wants the history and atmosphere without drinking at every stop.

Do not assume that the tour stops at every bar along the route. That would make it difficult to finish the walk in two hours, and the number of stops can vary. One drink at each place would quickly become too much for many people, especially in warm weather.

I see the bar element as a social bonus, not the main value of the tour. You are paying for the guide and the walking experience. Budget separately for drinks, and pace yourself. The supplier can refuse service to anyone who is already intoxicated, and there is no refund if someone is removed because of extreme intoxication.

If a minor is part of a private group or family booking, the guide waits outside while adults go inside to get refills. That makes the drinking stops more manageable for mixed-age groups, though the overall subject matter is clearly aimed at adults.

Why the guide matters so much

The strongest part of this experience is the guide’s personality. Coty and Cody are repeatedly singled out for humor, quick answers, odd facts, and an ability to keep a group involved. Ashli is praised for energy, warmth, and strong command of local stories, while Donna is described as offering a distinctive mix of facts and tales.

Guide quality matters more here than on a simple landmark walk. The route itself is concentrated in the French Quarter, so the difference between a forgettable evening and a memorable one comes from how the guide connects the buildings, people, legends, and jokes.

You may get a small group, and private group bookings are available. On some departures, a very small turnout has created an almost private experience. That can be excellent if you enjoy asking questions and shaping the discussion, though the atmosphere will depend on who else books that time.

The guide does not use a phone during the walk. That is useful because questions get answered in the moment, and the group is not left waiting while someone checks a screen.

Is $28 a fair price?

At $28 per person, the tour offers a reasonable value if you want a guided night walk with local stories and the option to add a drink. The price includes the guide and walking tour, but not beverages.

Compare it with the cost of paying for a separate ghost walk, history tour, and an evening of bar stops. This experience combines all three themes in a compact two-hour format. It is not the deepest possible treatment of any one subject, but it gives you a useful first look at the French Quarter’s dark stories.

The value is strongest for first-time visitors and for people who like variety. If you have visited New Orleans many times, the guide may still point out buildings or locations you have passed without noticing, but the experience depends more on storytelling than on access to places normally closed to the public.

Private groups are available if you want more control over the mood and questions. For a standard booking, keep your expectations realistic: you are joining a guided walking group, not hiring a private historian.

Who should book this French Quarter walk?

I would choose this tour if you like your history served with jokes, ghosts, and a possible cocktail. It suits adults who want to see the French Quarter at night while learning about voodoo, burial customs, old crimes, and local legends.

It is also a good choice for a solo visitor who wants a scheduled evening activity. The walk keeps you with a group and gives you a clear route through the French Quarter, while the guide provides conversation and structure.

History fans should book if they enjoy stories about unusual people and places. Paranormal fans should book if they are happy to treat ghosts and vampires as folklore and entertainment. Drinkers should book if they understand that the alcohol is optional and extra.

I would choose a different tour if you want a quiet, formal history lecture, a serious cemetery study, or a tour built around extensive time inside historic buildings. This one is informal, story-driven, and deliberately playful.

The tour is wheelchair accessible, though the supplied information does not describe the exact route surface or any access details at individual stops. Ask the operator about your specific needs before booking. Comfortable shoes are essential for everyone.

Booking, timing, and practical cautions

The tour lasts two hours and runs in English. Check the available departure times when booking, then arrive early at the exact Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar meeting point.

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure, with a full refund under that policy. The operator also offers reserve-now, pay-later booking. After the cancellation window, do not count on a refund, and no refund is issued if you are removed for extreme intoxication.

A departure can be canceled if too few people book. In that case, the operator contacts you in the hour before departure and offers an alternative tour or a full refund. Tours can also be rescheduled because of bad weather.

Keep valuables secure. The operator is not responsible for lost or stolen items or injuries, and video recording is not permitted. These rules are easy to follow and help keep the walk focused on the guide and the group.

Should you book the Drunk History Walking Tour?

Book it if you want an entertaining French Quarter introduction that combines real places, dark stories, voodoo traditions, ghost lore, and optional drinks. The $28 price is fair for two hours, especially when the guide is one of the strong storytellers associated with the tour, such as Coty, Cody, Ashli, or Donna.

Skip it if you want a tightly academic account or a serious paranormal investigation. For most people who like history with a sense of humor, though, this is a smart early-evening choice. You get your bearings in the Vieux Carre, learn why the city’s old customs matter, and leave with a list of bars and stories to explore on your own.

FAQ

Where does the New Orleans Drunk History Walking Tour meet?

Meet on the sidewalk at the gate of the courtyard attached to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar at 941 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70116. Do not go inside the bar to check in.

How long does the tour last?

The walking tour lasts two hours. Check the available departure times when booking.

Are drinks included in the $28 price?

No. The price includes the tour guide and walking tour, but drinks are not included. You can choose to stop at bars and buy drinks, or skip the alcohol.

Is the tour available in languages other than English?

No. The tour is conducted in English.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes, you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. The operator also offers reserve-now, pay-later booking.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the activity is listed as wheelchair accessible. Ask the operator about your specific access needs at the stops before booking.