The 1718 colonial core on the river, six by thirteen blocks of wrought-iron balconies. Antoine's, Arnaud's, Galatoire's, Cafe du Monde and Acme Oyster all live here.
Galatoire's in New Orleans is the 1905 white-tile French Creole room on Bourbon Street, where regulars hold the same Friday lunch tables and tip the captain.
Signature: Shrimp remoulade, Trout amandine
Order: The shrimp remoulade to start, then trout amandine. Order souffle potatoes alongside.
Tip: The downstairs room is walk-in only and no reservations; Friday lunch starts at 11:30 and runs into the evening.
Antoine's in New Orleans is the 1840 St Louis Street dining room, the oldest family-run restaurant in the United States and the birthplace of Oysters.
Signature: Oysters Rockefeller, Pommes de terre souffles
Order: Oysters Rockefeller, invented here in 1899. Then the souffleed potatoes.
Tip: Skip the main dining room for the Hermes Bar on Bienville, the kitchen runs the same menu and the room is unstuffy.
Arnaud's in New Orleans is the 1918 French Creole room on Bienville Street from Arnaud Cazenave, with mosaic-tile floors, the French 75 Bar next door.
Signature: Shrimp Arnaud, Souffle potatoes
Order: Shrimp Arnaud, the house remoulade. Then redfish with Hollandaise.
Tip: The French 75 Bar serves the canonical version of its namesake drink and seats walk-ups; no jacket required there.
Bayona in New Orleans is Susan Spicer's 1990 Creole cottage on Dauphine Street, a courtyard fine-dining room with the smoked duck PB&J that has anchored.
Signature: Smoked duck PB&J, Pepper-jelly glazed shrimp
Order: The smoked duck breast PB&J, the menu's longest-running dish.
Tip: Lunch is the better-value seating; book the back courtyard if the weather is kind that afternoon.
GW Fins in New Orleans is Tenney Flynn's Bienville Street fine-dining seafood room, with a daily-changing menu sourced from the Gulf and the docks.
Signature: Scalibut, Sizzling oysters
Order: Whatever runs as the daily catch. Then the warm biscuits, which arrive without prompting.
Tip: Reservations are easier on weeknights; bar dining serves the same menu with shorter waits.
Coop's Place in New Orleans is the Decatur Street Cajun dive open since 1983, with rabbit and sausage jambalaya, fried chicken and a Chicken Tchoupitoulas.
Signature: Rabbit and sausage jambalaya, Chicken Tchoupitoulas
Order: The rabbit and sausage jambalaya. Add the Chicken Tchoupitoulas if you have appetite.
Tip: Cash-friendly dive bar atmosphere; the kitchen runs late and pairs with Abita on tap.
Acme Oyster House in New Orleans is the 1910 Iberville Street oyster bar between Bourbon and Royal, with char-grilled oysters and a shucker counter rebuilt.
Signature: Char-grilled oysters, Oysters on the half shell
Order: A dozen char-grilled oysters with garlic butter and Parmesan.
Tip: Walk-in only and a queue is the norm; aim for 11:00 open or after 21:00 for shortest waits.
Felix's in New Orleans is the Iberville Street oyster bar opposite Acme, founded 1948, with a long shucker counter, oysters Bienville and a quieter room.
Signature: Oysters Bienville, Char-grilled oysters
Order: Half a dozen char-grilled and half a dozen raw on the half shell.
Tip: Less queue than Acme across the street; the kitchen is open until 23:00 most nights.
Preservation Hall on St Peter Street has run traditional New Orleans jazz nightly since 1961, with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band leading short.
Tip: Three sets a night, around 17:00, 20:00 and 21:00. Tickets via the box office sell out; the $50 reserved seats save you from standing-room.
BMC at the corner of Decatur and Esplanade is the upstairs balcony jazz room that runs live music every night, half a block from the Frenchmen Street strip.
Tip: Two sets most nights, no cover. Climb to the wraparound balcony for the breeze and the second-line view down Esplanade.
French 75 at Arnaud's has poured the city's defining gin-and-champagne cocktail since 1918, a wood-panelled side room behind the dining hall with a small bar.
Tip: Walk in for the bar; reservations for the dining room only. Order the French 75 with a side of soufflé potatoes.
Jewel of the South, by Chris Hannah and partner John Stubbs, runs the renovated 1830s Creole cottage as a World's 50 Best cocktail room with a stocked back.
Tip: Reserve via Resy; the garden tables sit two and four. The Brandy Crusta is the order, served at the front bar.
Cane & Table on Decatur runs a rum-forward tropical cocktail menu inside a worn 1830s shopfront, with a courtyard out back and a small late-evening kitchen.
Tip: Open 17:00-22:00 nightly. Sunday dinner is the easier walk-in; weekend nights book the back courtyard via Resy.
The Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone opened in 1949 as the city's first rotating bar. The merry-go-round counter turns once every fifteen minutes.
Tip: Stools at the carousel itself rarely free up; arrive at 16:00 if you want one. The Vieux Carre cocktail was invented here in 1937.
Café Lafitte in Exile at Bourbon and Dumaine has run continuously since 1933, the bar that opened after Café Lafitte was evicted from 941 Bourbon.
Tip: Open 24 hours. The Sunday Napoleon House drag brunch carries on across the bar; Tea Dance Sunday afternoons are the institutional draw.
Bourbon Pub & Parade at Bourbon and St Ann is the corner gay bar with the open-balcony downstairs pub and the upstairs Parade dance floor, drag and DJ shows.
Tip: Downstairs open 12:00 onwards; the Parade dance floor opens at 21:00 weekends. Cover for some weekend nights, none for the pub.
Oz on Bourbon Street, opened in 1993 across from Bourbon Pub, runs the big-floor gay dance club with dancers on the platforms, a drag cast and a long balcony.
Tip: Open seven nights, 12:00-04:00 Thursday to Sunday. Drag shows nightly; weekend cover charged at the door.
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop at Bourbon and St Philip is the candlelit 1772 cottage commonly cited as the oldest standing structure used as a bar in the United.
Tip: Open until 03:00 most nights. Order the purple Voodoo Daiquiri; cash and card both work but the line in the back is faster.
Erin Rose on Conti, half a block off Bourbon, is the locals' Irish pub with frozen Irish coffees out front and Killer PoBoys serving sandwiches from the back.
Tip: Open 21 hours a day. The frozen Irish coffee is the order; cash bar runs faster than card on Saturday nights.
Molly's at the Market on Decatur is the journalist and bartender pub at the river end of the Quarter, open 10:00-03:00 with a frozen Irish coffee that rivals.
Tip: The bar runs until 03:00 every night. Order the frozen Irish coffee at the counter; the front window seats people-watch the Decatur foot traffic.