New Orleans: Drunk History Walking Tour

New Orleans’ French Quarter gets more entertaining when its dark past is paired with a drink in hand. This two-hour walk covers voodoo, ghosts, vampires, and burial customs, while guides such as Coty, Kody, Donna, and Ashli bring plenty of humor and odd facts to the streets.

I like the mix of real places and theatrical storytelling, especially the stop near the property linked with Marie Laveau and the visit to one of the city’s most haunted houses. I also like that drinking is optional, not the price of admission. The drawback is that the tour can become less useful if you expect a sober, academic history lesson or try to stop for a drink at every bar along the route.

Key Things to Know

• Marie Laveau’s New Orleans: Learn how voodoo came to the city, hear about its most famous practitioner, and see places tied to ceremonies and payment for her work.
• A walking tour with bar stops: Drinks are not included, but you can pause at selected French Quarter bars and carry a drink as you walk where permitted.
• History with a spooky edge: Expect stories about above-ground vaults, ghosts, vampires, fires, crime, and unusual local customs.
• The guide makes the difference: Coty is praised for funny, detailed storytelling, while Kody, Donna, and Ashli are also named as engaging guides in past tours.
• Arrive ready to walk: The meeting point is outside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar at 941 Bourbon Street. Comfortable shoes matter.
• Best for adults who like variety: This suits drinkers, history fans, paranormal enthusiasts, and anyone who prefers a lively story to a formal lecture.

Starting Outside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

The tour begins on the sidewalk in front of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, at 941 Bourbon Street. Do not go inside looking for the tour staff. Meet your guide at the gate of the courtyard attached to the bar, since the bar’s bartenders are not connected with the tour.

This detail matters. Bourbon Street can be loud and crowded, especially at night, and a few minutes spent finding the correct gate is better than arriving after the group has left. You must check in before departure and cannot join at another stop.

The setting is fitting. Lafitte’s is one of the French Quarter’s best-known old bars, and starting outside a place associated with pirates and local legends puts you in the right mood. Still, treat the meeting point as a landmark, not as part of the ticket. Your tour fee covers the guide and walking tour, not drinks.

A French Quarter Walk Built Around Stories

The route takes you through the Vieux Carre, the historic core of New Orleans. You will see the famous St. Louis Cathedral, locations connected with the Louisiana Purchase, and other buildings whose importance is easy to miss when you are simply wandering Bourbon Street.

The strength of this tour is its storytelling style. You are not only shown a building and given a date. You hear about the people linked with it, the crimes and customs that shaped the city, and the legends that still cling to certain addresses. Guides have been praised for answering questions, adding unusual facts, and making even familiar stories feel fresh.

Coty, also spelled Cody in some accounts, is the guide name most often associated with this experience. Past groups have valued his humor, local detail, and habit of sharing apparently useless facts that turn out to be surprisingly interesting. Kody, Donna, and Ashli have also led tours, each with a lively and personal approach.

That means your exact experience depends partly on the person holding the lantern, story, or paranormal equipment. The format is consistent, but the delivery is personal. If you prefer a quiet guide who follows a strict script, this may feel loose. If you like questions, jokes, and stories that wander in unexpected directions, that looseness works in your favor.

Why New Orleans Uses Above-Ground Vaults

One of the most useful parts of the walk explains the city’s burial customs. New Orleans is famous for above-ground tombs and vaults, and the tour connects these structures with local conditions and traditional practice.

You will hear about burial rituals and why the dead were placed above ground rather than in ordinary underground graves. This gives you more than a spooky photo opportunity. It helps explain how New Orleans developed customs that look unusual to visitors but make sense in the city’s cultural and physical setting.

The presentation is not purely solemn. The tour’s tone often moves from serious history to dark humor, which is part of its appeal and also something to consider. If you want a focused cemetery lecture, a dedicated cemetery tour would be a better match. Here, the vaults are one important chapter in a wider night of stories.

Voodoo, Marie Laveau, and Places of Ceremony

The voodoo section is central to the experience. Your guide explains how the practice came to New Orleans and introduces Marie Laveau, often described as the city’s voodoo queen.

You will visit property associated with Laveau, said to have been given to her as payment for her magic, and see places where ceremonies were held. The value here is the link between belief, neighborhood, and individual people. Voodoo is not treated only as a spooky prop. It becomes part of the city’s cultural story, shaped by people whose traditions crossed the Atlantic and took root in New Orleans.

You should still expect legend as well as documented history. This is a tour about ghosts, vampires, voodoo, and dark tales, so the guide may present disputed stories alongside established events. That is not a flaw if you understand the format. Think of it as a walking performance built around local history, folklore, and questions that may never have a neat answer.

The best guides handle that balance by making clear what is known, what is believed, and what has grown through retelling. Past participants especially valued guides who could answer questions rather than simply recite a script.

Ghosts, Vampires, and the Most Haunted House

The paranormal section takes you to places where ghosts and vampires are said to linger. You will hear about the locations where these figures supposedly appear and visit a house considered one of the most haunted in the city.

The tour also uses paranormal equipment at times. A past participant specifically appreciated having a detector to use during the walk, which adds a hands-on element to the storytelling. There is a $250 charge for lost or damaged paranormal equipment, so handle anything provided by the guide with care.

The haunted-house stop gives the tour its strongest theatrical moment. You are not entering every building on the route, and this is not a private investigation. Instead, you stand near significant locations while your guide explains the stories attached to them.

I like this approach because it keeps the group moving through the real French Quarter rather than confining the experience to one attraction. The tradeoff is that paranormal evidence remains a matter of belief. Come for atmosphere, local tales, and a bit of suspense, not a guaranteed encounter with the dead.

Pirates, Prostitutes, Felons, and the City’s Rougher Past

The tour also asks how pirates, prostitutes, and convicted felons fit into the founding and development of New Orleans. This gives the walk a rougher edge than a simple architectural tour.

You will hear about figures and events that do not always appear in a standard daytime introduction to the city. Stories of crime, romance, fires, punishment, and survival help explain why the French Quarter has such a layered reputation.

The guide’s personality matters most here. Ashli was praised in earlier tours for connecting old stories with modern life and keeping the whole group involved. Coty has been singled out for mixing detailed facts with humor and for taking questions seriously. That style makes the less familiar parts of New Orleans easier to remember.

The tone can be cheeky. This is called Drunk History for a reason, even though the walking tour itself does not require you to drink. If your group includes people who enjoy playful storytelling about adult subjects, the tone should fit. For young children or anyone looking for a formal treatment of crime and religion, choose carefully.

Historic Bars and Optional Drinks

The route passes many bars, and the group may stop at one or two. You can go inside, buy a drink, and return to the sidewalk with the group. Drinks are not included in the $28 price, so budget extra if you want to participate.

This setup is practical. You are not forced to pay for a package of drinks you may not want, and you can choose what to order. The bar stops also show how the French Quarter’s nightlife and history overlap. Guides may explain the background of the bars themselves, rather than using them only as places to refill.

Do not assume you should order at every stop. One past participant put it plainly: if you bought a drink at each place, you might not finish the tour. New Orleans drinks can be strong, and walking on uneven streets after several rounds is not a smart plan.

The guide waits outside while adults go inside to get refills when needed. That arrangement is useful for groups with mixed drinking habits, although participants must follow the guide’s directions and keep up with the walk. The tour operator can refuse service to anyone who is already intoxicated, with no refund if extreme intoxication causes removal from the tour.

How Much Walking and How Much History

The tour lasts two hours, which is long enough to cover several parts of the French Quarter without turning into an all-night commitment. You will spend the time outdoors, moving between landmarks and story stops.

Wear comfortable shoes. Bourbon Street and nearby French Quarter streets can be hard on your feet, and the tour involves enough walking that flimsy footwear can spoil the evening. You should also arrive a few minutes early, since late arrivals cannot join at another point.

The route seems designed to avoid simply following large groups from one famous stop to another. A past participant appreciated moving in the opposite direction from many other walking tours, which made the experience feel less like a parade. Routes can change, so treat this as a possible advantage rather than a promise.

The tour is listed as wheelchair accessible, but the historic French Quarter has old streets and crowded sidewalks. If you need specific access details, ask the provider before booking rather than assuming every section will be equally easy.

Is $28 a Fair Price?

At $28 per person, this is a reasonable price for a two-hour guided walk if you value a live storyteller and want several themes in one outing. You are paying for the guide, the route, and the interpretation of places you could technically visit on your own.

The price does not cover drinks, food, transportation, or entry to separate attractions. That keeps the starting cost low, but your final spend depends on how much you order at the bar stops.

The value is strongest for a first visit to New Orleans, when you want an introduction to the French Quarter that covers history, voodoo, architecture, nightlife, and folklore in one evening. It is also a good choice for a repeat visitor who has walked these streets before and wants the stories behind buildings that are easy to pass without noticing.

For someone who wants a strictly documented history tour, the value is less clear. Some stories concern ghosts, vampires, and voodoo legends, and the guide may deliberately play with the line between fact and folklore. That is part of the fun, but it is not the same as a museum lecture.

Who Will Enjoy This Most

I would choose this tour for an adult group that wants to laugh, walk, and learn without taking the evening too seriously. It fits a birthday, a first night in town, or a group that wants a gentle introduction to the French Quarter before exploring on its own.

Solo participants can also feel comfortable with a guided night walk. One solo participant valued having a guide and group while exploring the French Quarter after dark. A private group option is available if you want the stories kept within your own party.

The tour is a good match for:

• Adults who enjoy optional bar stops
• People interested in ghost stories and paranormal lore
• History fans who like unusual facts and colorful personalities
• First-time visitors who want several French Quarter themes in one walk
• Repeat visitors looking for overlooked buildings and local stories
• Groups that prefer a funny, conversational guide

I would skip it if you dislike nighttime walking, adult humor, folklore, or buying your own drinks. You should also avoid arriving already drunk. The operator may refuse service, and there is no refund in that situation.

Booking Details Worth Knowing

Tours are conducted in English, and private groups are available. The standard booking terms allow cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time for a full refund, while no refund applies once a participant is removed for intoxication or misses the required check-in.

The operator may cancel if too few people book, sometimes contacting you within the hour before departure and offering another tour or a full refund. Bad weather can also lead to rescheduling. Keep your phone available on the day, but do not expect the guide to use a phone during the walk, since guides avoid doing so out of respect for the group.

Video recording is not allowed. Bring comfortable shoes, keep personal items secure, and remember that the operator is not responsible for lost belongings or injuries.

Should You Book the Drunk History Walking Tour?

Book it if you want the French Quarter presented as a funny, eerie collection of people, buildings, beliefs, and bad decisions. The combination of Marie Laveau, above-ground vaults, haunted houses, pirate lore, and optional bar stops gives you a broad introduction in two hours.

Coty has been especially praised for humor, unusual facts, and answering questions, though the guide may be Coty, Kody, Donna, Ashli, or another member of the team. The tour’s quality depends heavily on that personal storytelling, so expect a lively experience rather than a fixed classroom lesson.

At $28, it is a fair buy for adults who want history with a spooky side and the freedom to purchase drinks only if they choose. Wear good shoes, arrive early at the correct gate outside Lafitte’s, and pace yourself. The best version of this tour leaves you with a better sense of New Orleans, not just a blurry memory of Bourbon Street.

FAQ

Where does the tour meet?

The tour 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.

Does the tour meet inside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar?

No. Meet outside on the sidewalk. The bar’s bartenders do not work for the tour and cannot provide tour information.

How long does the tour last?

The walking tour lasts two hours.

Are drinks included in the price?

No. The $28 price includes the guide and walking tour only. You pay separately for any drinks.

Do I have to drink to join the tour?

No. Drinking is optional, so you can take part for the history, ghost stories, voodoo material, and walking route without buying alcohol.

What places and subjects does the tour cover?

The tour covers French Quarter landmarks, St. Louis Cathedral, the Louisiana Purchase site, burial customs, above-ground vaults, voodoo, Marie Laveau, ghosts, vampires, pirates, prostitutes, convicted felons, haunted locations, and historic bars.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

The activity is listed as wheelchair accessible.

What language is the tour conducted in?

The tour is conducted in English.

Can I book a private group?

Yes. A private group option is available.

Can I cancel for a refund?

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. No refund is issued if you are removed because of extreme intoxication or fail to check in before departure.