Preservation Hall
4.7(5.2K)google
4.4(949)yelp
JazzLive MusicHistory
Overview
Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. Preservation Hall receives roughly 180,000 visitors per year.
Practical Info
Suggested Duration1-1.5 hours
Best TimePhenomenal year-round, but highly recommending booking tickets for the earliest evening show slot (typically 5:00 PM or 6:15 PM). As the ultimate world sanctuary for traditional New Orleans Jazz, this historic hall operates with zero air conditioning or microphonic amplification. The early set avoids late-night rowdy crowds.
Getting ThereLocated at 726 St. Peter Street deep inside the French Quarter, just steps off Bourbon Street. Parking is completely non-existent. Take the St. Charles Streetcar to Canal St terminal, or the Riverfront Streetcar to Dumaine St station, and walk 3 blocks inland (about 5 minutes) to find the historic wooden door and its legendary queue line.
Travel Tips
- The venue has zero modern HVAC, relies heavily on bench or standing-only general admission, and features absolutely no public customer restrooms.
- Advanced online booking for reserved seats is critical; general admission walk-ups require standing in rustic alley queues for over 1.5 hours pre-show.
Photo Tips
Photo Rules
- A strict 100% no-recording rule is enforced; illuminating smartphones or aiming lenses results in immediate, unrefunded physical ejection by security.
Reviews
Positive
- The holy grail of traditional New Orleans jazz! Listening to master musicians play live inside this intimate, historic room gives you absolute goosebumps.
- The show is pure and untamed; photography and video are strictly banned, and there is no acoustic amplification, relying entirely on raw, unamplified brass resonance.
- Perfectly situated in the French Quarter core with multiple nightly sets; the 45-minute show packs dense classic charts and contagious banter for endless applause.
- Booking advance seated tickets online is seamless, securing front-row benches to watch the musicians' fingers fly and catch every facial expression for a premium view.
Heads up
- Preserving a rustic 18th-century layout, the interior is tiny and cramped; standard general admission has no seats, forcing you to stand packed tightly for 45 minutes.
- The historic shack lacks modern A/C entirely, relying on a few lazy ceiling fans; under NOLA's humid summer nights, it gets brutally hot, sticky, and sweaty.
- They do not sell alcohol, drinks, or snacks, and there are zero public restrooms inside; leaving mid-show to find a bathroom downtown forfeits re-entry.
- General admission ticket holders must line up on the street sidewalk at least 45 minutes early without awnings, leaving you exposed to blistering sun or heavy rain.