Bywater · New Orleans
The Bywater is the riverside neighborhood just downriver from the French Quarter and the Marigny. It is known for colorful cottages, converted warehouses, independent art and corner bars that have been pouring for decades. This guide walks it from a river walk at 8:30 in the morning to a nightcap at the end of the day.
Crescent Park runs 1.4 miles along the Mississippi on old port wharves. Behind it, cottages and converted warehouses fill the street grid.
Studio BE fills a 35,000-square-foot warehouse with murals. Euclid Records stocks vinyl on two floors. Dr. Bob paints the “Be Nice or Leave” signs himself.
Po-boys at Frady’s, praline bacon at Elizabeth’s, French cooking with Japanese influences at N7 and a Michelin-starred tasting menu at Saint-Germain.
Bacchanal’s backyard and Parleaux’s taproom come first. Vaughan’s Lounge, Saturn Bar and Markey’s close out the night.
Hours and menus change. Confirm before you go.
Bywater · 21 stops · 8:30 AM to last call
Morning · 8:30 AM
Start at the water.
01 · 8:30 AM
Crescent Park is a 1.4-mile riverfront park. It starts where the French Quarter and the Marigny meet and runs east through Bywater to Mazant Street.
It was built on old port wharves and railroad sidings, and the wharf sheds are still part of it. Cross the curved Piety Street bridge over the floodwall and the rail line to reach the wharf and the river.
02 · 8:30 AM
Elizabeth’s opened in 1998 as a casual neighborhood hangout. Its motto is “Real food, done real good,” and the cooking is Cajun and Creole.
Praline bacon and the duck waffle are its signature dishes. It serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, so you can come back later in the day.
03 · 8:30 AM
Chef Chaya Conrad opened it in 2017 with her husband, Alton Osborne. She runs the baking, and he looks after the atmosphere and the music.
Look for pastries, layered cakes like her Berry Chantilly, bagels, and king cakes both sweet and savory. Every January 6 the bakery has thrown a King’s Day block party.
04 · 8:30 AM
Satsuma serves breakfast, lunch and fresh-made juices. Its stated aim is a menu that is simple and fresh, made in a community-based setting.
This is the Dauphine Street location. A second Satsuma sits on Maple Street.
Midday · 11:30 AM
Look at something. Then eat something.
05 · 11:30 AM
Studio BE is a 35,000-square-foot warehouse of murals by artist Brandan “BMike” Odums. The work centers Black voices, artists and New Orleans, from wall-sized portraits of historical figures to everyday neighbors.
The building is uninsulated, so dress for the weather. Guided tours are booked through the studio’s website, which is also the place to check hours and tickets.
06 · 11:30 AM
Dr. Bob is a self-taught folk artist who builds paintings and assemblages from found objects. His Bywater studio sells finished pieces, including portraits of local legends like Louis Armstrong and Ernie K-Doe.
Then there are the “Be Nice or Leave” signs. The first one was meant to keep visitors from interrupting while he used power tools. When people kept stealing them, he started painting them himself.
07 · 11:30 AM
A two-level record shop in a hot-pink building, with a deep New Orleans jazz section next to soul, rock, hip-hop, reggae, gospel and country.
It opened in 2010 as a sister to the Euclid Records that Joe Schwab started in St. Louis in 1983. It hosts in-store shows.
08 · 11:30 AM
Order a Brooklyn-style pie or a slice at the counter. Pizza Delicious has been named to The Daily Meal’s list of the 101 best pizzas in America, and Food & Wine once called it the Bywater’s most buzzed-about food destination.
The menu also covers specialty pastas, salads and desserts.
09 · 11:30 AM
Next door is a German bistro, bakery and biergarten. The menu started with bratwurst grilled on fresh bread with traditional homemade toppings.
It has since grown to include the Drunk Pig, the King Brat and a NOLA Schnitzel. Tables sit outside under string lights.
10 · 11:30 AM
The building is more than a century old and was once an open-air fruit stand. In 1972 Joseph Frady bought the closing Flick’s Meat Market and turned it into a corner grocery.
A small kitchen came next. It now makes sixteen po-boys, serves breakfast all day and posts a daily hot lunch special. Monday is red beans and rice. Kirk Frady runs the store today.
Late afternoon · 3:30 PM
Find a table outside.
11 · 3:30 PM
Bacchanal is a wine shop with a big backyard. Pick a bottle inside, then take it out to the yard, where live music plays on weekends. Cheese plates are the classic order.
Weekdays it opens at 4, so this stop works best a little after 4:30. Wednesday has free tastings from 4 to 6. There are no reservations, and guests must be 21 or older.
12 · 3:30 PM
Parleaux is a Bywater microbrewery and taproom with no flagship beers. The lineup changes with every small batch.
Past pours include a raspberry-and-cherry-aged stout, a summer gose with ginger and coriander, and an altbier made with rooibos tea. Leashed dogs are welcome. Call ahead for hours.
13 · 3:30 PM
A white house with a pool, a poolside bar and an outdoor kitchen. Day passes and annual memberships cover the pool. It is 21 and over.
Drag brunch runs every Saturday and Sunday, and the shows fill up months ahead. The menu blends Italian-French and Creole-Southern cooking. Doors open at 10 on weekdays and 9:30 on weekends.
Evening · 6:30 PM
Pick one table.
14 · 6:30 PM
Paladar sits in the corner of a warehouse built in 1895 as a hosiery factory. Tall steel-framed windows, a mezzanine and counter seating beside the kitchen fill the room.
The kitchen turns out housemade pastas, pizza, Gulf seafood and seasonal produce. Dinner runs 5:30 to 9:30 every night.
15 · 6:30 PM
French cooking with Japanese influences, from filmmaker Aaron Walker and chef Yuki Yamaguchi. The name nods to Nationale 7, the highway Parisians drove south on holiday.
Look for the tall fence. Behind it are a garden, a covered patio and an indoor room, plus a wine list built on small European producers. Dinner is served nightly.
16 · 6:30 PM
Chefs Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith earned one Michelin Star here in the 2025 guide. An unassuming front opens to a bar, where the meal begins with a few small bites.
From there it moves to an intimate dining room and a tasting menu of petite courses, paired with natural wine. Michelin lists the price at its top tier.
Nightcap · 9:00 PM
End where the neighbors drink.
17 · 9:00 PM
A neighborhood dive bar that has been around for more than 60 years. The drinks are strong and cheap, and it takes cash only.
Thursday is the big night. Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet play late, and Kermit Ruffins held a Thursday residency here for nearly 20 years before it ended in 2013.
18 · 9:00 PM
BJ’s is a corner dive in the residential part of Bywater, with an L-shaped wooden bar, a pool table in an alcove and a wall of family photos by the door.
Punch once called its jukebox one of the funkiest in the city, and a stage in back sometimes hosts live music.
19 · 9:00 PM
An old-school corner bar that has become a neighborhood hangout, popular with pool players, neighbors and their dogs, plus the occasional DJ.
New Orleans & Company’s listing also mentions a good jukebox, Wednesday bingo and Taco Tuesdays.
20 · 9:00 PM
Joe Markey turned this corner at Royal and Louisa into a bar in 1947, and the Markey family still runs it. Roy Markey Jr. has been the owner since 1992.
Inside you will find shuffleboard, pool, darts and fifteen televisions. Monday is trivia night, and locals come in to watch the Saints.
21 · 9:00 PM
O’Neil Broyard opened the Saturn Bar in 1960 and tended it himself until 2005. The walls carry paintings by his friend Mike Frolich, a retired diver, many of them from the 1960s.
His family reopened the bar after Hurricane Katrina and cleared out much of the clutter. The back room now hosts local bands and touring acts, so check the calendar for tonight.
Photos come from the sources named in each caption. Photographers are not credited and most are undated. The Saint-Germain image is an illustration. Dr. Bob’s stop uses a type plate instead of a photo. Hours, menus and ownership change, so confirm before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); the base map is tinted for this page.
