New Orleans's reputation for colorful, high-octane libations—Hurricanes, Hand Grenades, Screaming Blue Orgasms—often overshadows one of the city's more civilized traditions: a long, leisurely cocktail sipped at a historic barroom. The 25-foot cypress bar at Tujague's is a quick trip back to 1856, when the French Quarter saloon first opened its doors. Order a whiskey-based Sazerac, a classic cousin of the Old Fashioned, and appreciate the towering ceilings and old-world vibe (823 Decatur St.; 504-525-8676; www.tujagues.com). A few blocks away, the Napoleon House serves up its signature highball, the refreshing gin-based Pimm's Cup, in your choice of open-air venue. The intimate front room faces street traffic, for people-watching, while the shaded courtyard provides a suitably gracious alfresco experience (500 Chartres St.; 504-524-9752; www.napoleonhouse.com).

The locals don't always understand it, but just about every visitor gets drawn into the neon-lit vortex of Bourbon Street. Whether you're looking to relive college-day glories around the piano bar at Pat O'Brien's (718 St. Peter St.; 504-525-4823; www.patobriens.com) or you're lured in by the bands at the Famous Door (339 Bourbon St.; 504-598-4334), this after-dark pedestrian zone provides all the frozen hooch and sensory overload that the law allows (and toting alcohol on the street is legal). If you go, know one thing: Beads outside of Mardi Gras season are best left to socially challenged conventioneers.

If you're staying near the Quarter, take the classic St. Charles Avenue streetcar uptown and enjoy a cocktail and the view from this classic Garden District veranda. The indoor bar—all dark wood, with plenty of canoodling nooks—sometimes gets packed with a college-age and younger set on weekend nights, so plan off-peak sipping or a morning-shift Bloody Mary.

Open Mondays through Thursdays 3 pm to midnight, Fridays 3 pm to 2 am, Saturdays noon to 2 am, and Sundays noon to midnight.

Great beer, live music, and a deep list of premium spirits make this storefront bar a hipster destination (it's an outpost of the New York City joint, after all). Most evenings, half of the dark cypress space is sealed off until bands take the tiny rear stage. For a fish-eye view of passing street traffic, jockey for a front booth by the aquariumlike wraparound windows.

Open daily; hours vary.

Don't worry about "checking local listings": The music in this up-and-coming entertainment zone in the Faubourg Marigny district (just beyond the French Quarter) practically washes through the streets on weekend nights. Jazz hounds make a beeline for pianist Ellis Marsalis's home in the city, Snug Harbor (626 Frenchmen St.; 504-949-0696), while the salsa and world music crowds congregate at Café Brasil (2100 Chartres St.; no phone). Blues trickles through the doors of the Spotted Cat (623 Frenchmen St.; 504-943-3887) and the dingy Apple Barrel (609 Frenchmen St.; 504-949-9399). Before you settle in for a show, take a quick walk and sample the sounds, then choose one that fits the night's mood.

Say what you want about this ubiquitous chain nightclub—the sound is always good, and clear sight lines provide universally great views. Big-ticket national acts from Steel Pulse to TV on the Radio share billing with local favorites on the main stage; a smaller companion club, the Parish, hosts more intimate shows.

Open only on show nights; call ahead for schedule.

It sounds like an old vaudeville joke, but the Rock 'n' Bowl combines two high-volume pursuits—live music and equally lively bowling—into one huge vintage recreational space. Depending on the night, the dance floor is packed with hundreds of bopping swing kids or twirling zydeco dancers or free-form ass-shaking R&B fans. Between songs, performer patter is punctuated by rolling balls and crashing pins.

Opens Tuesdays through Saturdays at 5 pm.

The term eclectic doesn't even begin to define this vibrant hipster club in the French Quarter. Depending on the night, you can catch new-school burlesque revivals, local heavy-metal bands, '80s-themed dance parties, or any manner of alternative theater performances. Even when the main concert room—a cross between a speakeasy and an opera house, with chandeliers hanging from the 25-foot ceiling and small candlelit booths lining the walls—sits dark, the front bar is a quirkily appealing place for cocktails. Its aesthetic is an over-the-top mix of goth and historic saloon, with frosted-glass windows, fringed satin curtains, and a series of black velvet paintings.

Open only on show nights; call ahead for schedule.