When you hear “Bourbon Street” what do you think of?   what images come to mind?

Bourbon Street is an historic, 13 block long street located in the famous French Quarter of New Orleans Louisiana.

At this time of year, the first week of February, New Orleans is in the midst of Carnival season with Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) just a week away.  You can feel the excitement building, especially on Bourbon Street.

What is your view of Bourbon Street?  Some observers say that Bourbon Street has an atmosphere of drinking and debauchery.

Based on my two evenings on Bourbon Street in the last few days, I would definitely agree with an “atmosphere of drinking” but I am not sure that I would agree with an “atmosphere of debauchery.”

Let me be more specific.  Let me outline what I saw and experienced.  Some good, and some not so good.

Drinking — everyone seems to have a cup in their hands as they walk up and down Bourbon Street.   You are allowed to carry open drink containers with you as you walk this street.  I believe that this is one of only nine places in the United States that allows open containers in the streets.  Bar after bar lines both sides of the street.

Music – New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz in America.  The oldest jazz club in New Orleans is Fritzel’s where I spent some time.  However, if you really want to listen to jazz in New Orleans, a better street is Frenchmen Street, not Bourbon Street.  Nowadays you really have to hunt for good jazz spots on Bourbon Street.

On the other hand, what is overwhelming on Bourbon Street is the volume, the noise, the throbbing of music as you walk down the street.  You don’t hear the great jazz spots.  What you do hear is the throbbing noise of hip hop and rap music.  And I mean throbbing.  And it never stops.  It is continuous.  It is almost as if one establishment is trying to be louder than the next.  It is deafening at times.

Food – some very good creole and cajun food restaurants.  A couple of seafood restaurants that I love. However, the good restaurants on Bourbon Street are the exception.   Most of the eating on Bourbon Street are short order pizza spots or bar food.

Smoking – many, many of the people walking up and down the street are smoking.  It seems like almost everyone is smoking.  This is exaggerated by the fact that to smoke many people step outside the bar they are patronizing to the sidewalk to have a smoke before returning inside.

Homeless and beggars – almost every block on Bourbon Street has a homeless person or two sitting in a doorway.  I found this a little disturbing on Bourbon Street.  Having said that, there are no tents, no obvious drug use, no wandering individuals with clear mental health issues.  There is no comparison between the homeless issue that we see on the streets of cities on the west coast and what I saw on Bourbon Street.  Having said that, the few beggars and homeless were disturbing.

Tarot card readers – almost every block of Bourbon Street has an individual who has set up a tarot card reading spot, encouraging walkers to stop and get a reading.  I have only had one tarot card reading in my life and it was in New Orleans some years ago in the French Quarter.

No cars – one of the nice things about Bourbon Street is that no cars are allowed after about 6pm.  The street is dedicated to walkers for the entire evening into the early hours of the morning.

Lights – neon lights are everywhere on the street.  To further brighten the street up, they have installed portable high powered search lights on every other block.

Noise – yes, the street is unbelievably noisy.  With music oozing out of every bar and establishment along the street, you can imagine the cacophony of sound that emerges.

Beads – purple, green and gold beads are everywhere.  People on the balconies that line the street throw beads down on the welcoming walkers.  Boobs-for-beads bartering takes place.  The more beads you have around your neck the more you are into the revelry.

The number of people – the number of people on the street and in and out of the multiple establishments varied tremendously depending upon what night of the week it was.  On a Tuesday night the number of people was not overwhelming.  Plenty of room to roam the street and plenty of opportunity to stick your head into each bar as you meander down the street.  However, on a Saturday night the crowds were unreal.  Hordes of people.  Just crazy busy.  At all hours of the night and early morning too.

Strip clubs – years ago Blaze Starr was the most well-known stripper in America.  Seeing her perform was an extraordinary experience.  That has changed dramatically.  Now there are “gentlemen’s clubs” which have pole and lap dancers, most of whom are totally covered with tattoos.

Souvenir shops – souvenir shops dot the street which unfortunately gives it a little bit of a honky tonk vibe.

Street music and break dancing – ad hoc, pick up street music and group break dancing can happen at any time on any block on the street.  Interesting to be sure, happening in a lot of major cities in the world, but clearly adds to the feeling of chaos.

Debauchery – To say that the atmosphere of debauchery exists on Bourbon Street is a little overstated, I would say.

Debauchery means according to Webster “extreme indulgence in bodily pleasures and especially sexual pleasures : behavior involving sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. that is often considered immoral”

As much as the street was not fun for me, as much as I was turned off by all the drinking and smoking, as much as I hated the crazy loud hip hop and rap music, as much as I sneered at the souvenir stores and fly by night pizza joints, I did not think I was looking at or experiencing debauchery.

Now, everyone is their own judge of what debauchery is.  For example, I did see a young 20 something girl flash her boobs in exchange for some beads right in the middle of the street.  But, frankly, I thought it was done in fun, just to say that they did it on Bourbon Street.  No harm. To me that was not debauchery, but rather an expression of fun, so that she could say “she did that” and move on.  Someone else might call that debauchery.

It is possible that further examples of debauchery were going on, but I just did not see it or recognize it.

It is one thing to create an atmosphere where debauchery thrives. It is another thing to create an atmosphere that has no redeeming value.

To find the classic New Orleans jazz club, you really have to hunt for them.  the rest of Bourbon Street, for me at least, has very little or almost no redeeming value.

I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but… what I saw and experienced was frankly not uplifting, nor fun.  I did not come away with the feeling that “Boy, I want to come back to Bourbon Street as soon as I can.”