New Orleans: Drunk History Walking Tour

History gets a little rowdy here. This two-hour walk through the French Quarter mixes voodoo, vampires, ghosts, and dark New Orleans stories with stops at old bars where you can buy a drink. I like the guide-led storytelling, which keeps the tour lively, and I like that the drinking is optional rather than forced. The main drawback is that drinks cost extra, and the pace may feel less focused if you want a straight history tour.

Guide Coty receives especially strong praise for his humor, local knowledge, and knack for odd facts. Guides named Cody, Ashli, Ashley, Donna, and Kody have also led this experience, so the exact personality and storytelling style can vary. You will walk on uneven city streets at night, so comfortable shoes matter more than a costume or a brave face.

Key points to know before you go

• The meeting point is on Bourbon Street: Meet on the sidewalk at the courtyard gate beside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, 941 Bourbon Street. Do not wait inside the bar.
• Drinking is optional: You can stop for drinks, but the cost is not included in the $28 tour price.
• The stories go beyond ghosts: Expect burial customs, voodoo, the Louisiana Purchase, pirates, prostitutes, convicted felons, and the darker side of the French Quarter.
• Marie Laveau is a major part of the tour: You visit a property connected with the famous voodoo queen and hear about ceremony sites.
• It is a walking tour first: The group covers a good deal of ground in two hours, with bar stops woven into the route.
• Come sober enough to participate: The operator can refuse service to anyone who is too intoxicated, without a refund.

Starting beside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar

The tour begins at 941 Bourbon Street, outside the famous Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar. Look for your guide on the sidewalk at the gate of the courtyard attached to the bar. This detail matters because the bar staff do not run the tour and cannot check you in or answer questions about it.

Arrive a few minutes early. You must check in before departure, and you cannot join the group later at another stop. That is a small but important point in the French Quarter, where it is easy to lose track of time, wander into a bar, and assume you can catch up.

The starting place sets the tone. You are already on Bourbon Street, surrounded by old buildings, bars, crowds, and plenty of New Orleans theatricality. From there, the guide leads the group into the Vieux Carré, the historic French Quarter, where nearly every block offers a story about power, crime, religion, romance, or death.

What the two-hour walk actually covers

This is not a formal lecture with long stops inside museums. It is a moving talk, with the guide using streets, buildings, courtyards, and landmarks as prompts. You listen while walking, then pause at places tied to the story.

The route includes the location associated with the signing of the Louisiana Purchase and the St. Louis Cathedral. These landmarks give the tour a useful base in documented New Orleans history before the stories turn toward the supernatural. You get a sense of how the city’s major public events sit beside tales of murder, scandal, ritual, and unexplained sightings.

The guide also points out places connected with pirates, prostitutes, and convicted felons. That mix helps explain why New Orleans history rarely fits into a neat civic story. The city’s past includes trade and politics, but also people living outside respectable society and shaping the city in ways that official history often leaves out.

I would not book this expecting a complete survey of New Orleans. Two hours is enough for a lively introduction to the French Quarter, not a full course in Louisiana history. The strength is the variety. One moment concerns architecture or burial customs, and the next moves into a ghost report or a strange local legend.

Above-ground tombs and New Orleans burial customs

One of the most useful historical subjects is the city’s traditional burial practice. You learn why many New Orleans tombs are above ground rather than buried below street level.

The explanation gives the tour more substance than a simple ghost walk. Burial rituals connect the city’s environment, customs, religion, and ideas about death. The above-ground vaults are not just spooky scenery for photographs. They are part of how New Orleans families and communities handled the dead.

This section should appeal to you if you like cultural history as much as paranormal stories. It also gives context for the city’s famous cemeteries, where architecture and ritual are closely linked. The guide presents the subject in an accessible way, with the dark humor that runs through the whole experience.

Voodoo, Marie Laveau, and the city’s spiritual past

Voodoo receives serious attention during the walk. The guide explains how the practice came to New Orleans and introduces Marie Laveau, the city’s best-known voodoo queen.

You visit property connected with Laveau, described as payment for her magical work, and see locations associated with voodoo ceremonies. These stops turn a name many people know from popular culture into a story rooted in a particular city and neighborhood.

The tour’s treatment of voodoo is one reason it works better than a simple haunted-pub crawl. You are not only hearing about ghosts in old buildings. You are also hearing about belief, ritual, reputation, and the way New Orleans has remembered powerful women and spiritual figures.

Still, the experience uses a playful tone. If you want an academic treatment of voodoo or a carefully sourced religious history, this will probably feel too light. If you want a memorable introduction that connects places with stories, it fits well.

Ghosts, vampires, and the most haunted house

The paranormal material includes reports of vampires and ghosts said to remain around the French Quarter. You hear where the most predictable spirits supposedly lurk and visit a house described as the most haunted in the city.

One stop is connected with the house seen in American Horror Story, a detail that adds a modern pop-culture hook to the older tales. The tour also uses paranormal equipment at times, according to the experience details and past accounts. That equipment is part of the entertainment, not proof that every story is factual.

That distinction is worth keeping in mind. The guide presents legends, reports, and local lore alongside historical events. You can enjoy the suspense without treating every vampire story as a verified event. The fun comes from seeing the places and hearing how New Orleans has built its reputation as a city where the past refuses to stay quiet.

The stories are not all frightening. The best moments mix the eerie with the funny, so the mood stays social instead of grim. If you dislike ghost stories or prefer a quiet architectural walk, this tour may feel too theatrical.

The bar stops, and how the drinking works

The French Quarter puts a bar at almost every turn, so the tour uses that setting well. You stop at one or two historic and friendly bars, and you may buy a drink before continuing. Drinks are not included in the $28 price.

The bar visits add context because the guide discusses the history of the places, rather than using them only as drink breaks. You get a chance to refill your cup, hear another story, and see how nightlife fits into the French Quarter’s identity.

You do not need to drink to enjoy the tour. Past experiences describe the drinking as optional, and the history and stories continue for everyone. That makes the tour workable for a mixed group, as long as the drinkers understand that they are paying separately.

There is also a practical limit. One drink at every possible stop would make it hard to finish the walk, especially in New Orleans heat or humidity. The sensible approach is to choose one drink you actually want, pace yourself, and treat the bars as part of the route rather than the whole purpose.

The operator can refuse service to anyone who is extremely intoxicated. There is no refund if you are asked to leave for that reason. In plain terms, this is a drinking-themed tour, not permission to arrive drunk.

Why the guides matter so much

The guide is the biggest variable in this experience, and also its main strength. Coty is praised repeatedly for funny storytelling, unusual facts, and his ability to answer questions. Several accounts describe him as especially good at making familiar stories feel fresh.

A useful example is the comment that one story appeared on another walking tour but was told better here. That suggests the appeal is not only the subject matter. Delivery matters. A tired ghost story can fall flat, while a sharp guide can make an old tale feel lively.

Coty also appears to have a personal style built around useless facts that turn out to be quite interesting. He has been praised for discussing historical women of New Orleans, answering detailed questions, and taking photos when asked. Other guides, including Donna and Ashli, are described as funny, energetic, and able to keep a group involved.

You should allow for variation. The guide you receive may not be Coty, and a two-hour walking tour depends heavily on the person leading it. The strong pattern is a friendly, informal style rather than a scripted speech. Guides do not use their phones during the tour, which helps keep attention on the group.

Who will get the most from this tour

I would choose this tour for a first visit to New Orleans if you want an entertaining introduction to the French Quarter at night. It gives you major landmarks, local legends, voodoo stories, burial customs, and nightlife in one compact outing.

It is also a good fit for:

• Adults who enjoy ghost stories and unusual history
• Couples or friends who want a social evening walk
• History fans who prefer stories to dates and lectures
• Paranormal enthusiasts who understand that some material is legend
• Solo visitors who want a planned group activity in the French Quarter
• Private groups looking for a more personal format

The tour can also work for someone who does not drink. The bars are optional, and you can focus on the walk and storytelling. If minors are part of a group, the guide waits outside while adults go inside to get refills, according to the tour information.

I would be more cautious about booking it for young children, people who cannot walk comfortably for two hours, or anyone seeking a formal, source-heavy presentation. The subject matter includes dark stories, crime, death, prostitution, and supernatural claims.

Price, pace, and practical value

At $28 per person, the price is reasonable for a two-hour guided walk in the French Quarter, especially because the tour combines several themes rather than covering only ghosts or only bars. You also get a live English-speaking guide and access to a route that is easier to appreciate with local context.

Your real cost depends on drinks. Since the bars are not included, a low-cost outing and a bar-heavy evening are two different budgets. I like the setup because it lets you control spending, but you should not assume the $28 covers anything you order along the way.

The tour is listed as wheelchair accessible, and private groups are available. You should still consider the practical demands of a city walking route and confirm any specific mobility needs when booking. Wear comfortable shoes, arrive early, and keep personal items secure. The operator is not responsible for lost or stolen belongings or injuries.

Video recording is not allowed. Also note the unusual warning about paranormal equipment: a $250 fee may apply if it is lost or damaged. The guide is expected to manage the equipment, but you should handle anything provided during the tour with care.

Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later. After that window, the stated terms are strict, with no refund for intoxication-related removal. Tours can also be rescheduled for bad weather or canceled if there are not enough participants, in which case an alternative tour or full refund is offered.

The best way to prepare

Wear shoes you can walk in for two hours. Bourbon Street and the surrounding French Quarter are lively, so leave a little time to find the courtyard gate and check in.

Arrive sober enough to listen and walk. The guide does not use a phone during the tour, so do not expect to call the guide for help after departure. Since you cannot join at another location, missing the start can end the experience before it begins.

Keep your expectations flexible. The route may lean more toward ghost stories with one guide and more toward historical oddities with another. That variety is part of the charm, but it means the experience is shaped by personality as much as by the planned subjects.

Should you book the New Orleans Drunk History Walking Tour?

Book it if you want a funny, informal French Quarter walk with optional drinks, especially if ghosts, voodoo, burial customs, and strange local characters sound better than a standard history lecture.

Skip it if you want every claim documented, dislike nightlife, or need a quiet tour with long indoor stops. At $28, it offers good value for an entertaining two-hour introduction, but remember to budget separately for drinks and arrive on time at the Bourbon Street meeting point.

For many visitors, this works best early in a New Orleans stay. You get your bearings in the French Quarter, learn the stories behind places you will pass again, and finish with a better sense of why the city’s history feels so wonderfully strange.

FAQ

How long is the New Orleans Drunk History Walking Tour?

The tour lasts two hours.

How much does the tour cost?

The price is $28 per person.

Where does the tour meet?

It meets 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 I meet the guide inside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar?

No. Meet outside on the sidewalk. The bar staff are not affiliated with the tour and do not provide tour information.

Are drinks included in the tour price?

No. Drinks are not included, and you pay separately for anything you order at the bar stops.

Is drinking required?

No. Drinking is optional, so you can take part in the walking tour and stories without ordering alcohol.

What language is the tour offered in?

The live tour guide speaks English.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the experience is listed as wheelchair accessible.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.