Lafitte's

The Best Bars on New Orleans’s Bourbon Street | Eater New Orleans

"Café Lafitte in Exile’s claim to fame is that it is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the country — though it likely wouldn’t have been called such in the 1930s when it was first founded. It gets its name because it originally occupied the space home to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, moving to its current location in the ’50s, hence the “exile.” Said to be haunted by luminaries like Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, downstairs has a welcoming bar with cheap drinks and views of Bourbon Street ideal for people-watching, and the upstairs bar with a wraparound balcony hosts weekly events, including karaoke and dance parties." - Beth D’Addono