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BOURBON STREET
Bourbon Street is a street running the length of the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, the best known section of which is "Upper Bourbon Street", an 8 block section almost entirely devoted to catering to tourisim.
Bourbon Street begins at Canal Street (across Canal is Carondelet Street in the New Orleans Central Business District). The straight street continues downriver, southwest to northeast a few blocks from and roughly paralleling the Mississippi River, and comes to its terminus at Pauger Street in the Faubourg Marigny. (In the 19th century, Pauger was named as a continuation of Bourbon Street.) Bourbon Street was named in honor of the House of Bourbon, the ruling party in France at the time of the city's founding.
The street is home to many bars, restaurants, strip clubs, as well as t-shirt and souvenir shops. The upper end of Bourbon Street towards Canal Street is home to many of the French Quarter's strip clubs. These include Rick's Caberet, Temptations, and Larry Flynt's Barely Legal Club. Towards the central section of Bourbon Street one can find many famous bars including Johnny White's, Pat O'Briens, The Famous Door, Razoo and The Cat's Meow. The section of Bourbon Street from the intersection of St. Anne Street proceeding several blocks northeast caters to New Orleans' thriving gay community, featuring such clubs as The Bourbon Pub and Oz. From Dumaine Street to Pauger, Bourbon Street is largely residential with scattered businesses still catering to locals.
Though largely quiet during the day, Bourbon Street comes alive at night, particularly during the French Quarter's many festivals. Most popular among these is the annual Mardi Gras celebration, when Bourbon Street teems with hundreds of thousands of tourists. There are no open container laws in the French Quarter and the streets are packed with tourists drinking Hurricanes, Hand Grenades and Big Ass Beers - a large plastic cup of draft beer marketed to tourists at a low price. Other festivals and events focusing on Bourbon Street include French Quarter Fest and Southern Decadence. The tourist section of Bourbon Street is almost completely avoided by locals unless they work there, with the exception of Galatoire's Restaurant, the sole remaining business from when this commercial area catered to locals. Ladoes have also been known to show their breasts at night for beads.
See also
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