In July, typical afternoon highs at Bourbon Street run around 90°F (hot). Mid-afternoon sun stands about 63° high, and the sun is up from 6:09 AM to 8:02 PM. Expect long stretches in open sun, with shade pockets near structures.
See live sun & real shadows here →| January | 57°F |
| February | 68°F |
| March | 73°F |
| April | 80°F |
| May | 83°F |
| June | 88°F |
| July | 90°F |
| August | 89°F |
| September | 89°F |
| October | 81°F |
| November | 73°F |
| December | 66°F |
Expect long stretches in open sun, with shade pockets near structures. See real building shadows over satellite imagery for any time of day: https://isthereshade.com/?anywhere&at=29.9584,-90.0654
Around 8:02 PM local time in mid-July (it shifts through the year). Sunrise is about 6:09 AM.
Bourbon Street · New Orleans, LA. Data: exact sun position; climate normals from historical weather; live forecast on the interactive view.
Bourbon Street is a narrow French Quarter corridor, and in the New Orleans summer that narrowness is both a blessing and a test. The line of old buildings, balconies, and galleries that hems the street in also throws shade across the pavement for much of the day, but the heat and humidity here are among the most intense of any landmark, so knowing when and where that shade falls really matters.
The climate is the thing to respect. July afternoon highs average about 90°F, near the top of the year alongside August at 89°F and September at 89°F, with June close behind at 88°F. Layer New Orleans's famous humidity on top and a midday walk down an open street becomes a slog. This is a place where planning around the sun pays off in comfort.
In July the sun rises around 6:09 AM and sets near 8:02 PM. Bourbon Street's energy is nocturnal by reputation, and that lines up with the kinder part of the day for heat. At 3 PM the sun stands about 63 degrees up, to the west-southwest, beating down the length of the street when the shade is at its thinnest and the humidity at its heaviest.
Morning and evening are the friendlier windows. Early on, the air is cooler and one side of the street sits in deep building shadow; by evening, as the sun drops west, the shadows stretch across the pavement and the temperature eases off its afternoon peak. If you are walking the Quarter in daylight, aim for the first hours after sunrise or the last hours before the 8:02 PM sunset.
As a tight historic corridor, Bourbon Street's shade is all about which buildings the sun is behind. Through the morning, one side of the street lies in the shadow of the buildings opposite; as the sun climbs and swings west-southwest in the afternoon, that shaded side flips. The old galleries and balconies overhanging the sidewalk add welcome cover too, shading the walk beneath them for stretches of the day. The move is to keep to whichever side puts the buildings between you and the sun, in the afternoon, the side the sun is coming from.
To check which side will be shaded at the hour you plan to walk, the satellite shadow view shows how the buildings cast shadow across the street for your date and time.
On a 90-degree, humid July afternoon, treat this like the hot-weather outing it is. The humidity is the trap: sweat does not evaporate well, so you overheat faster than the temperature alone suggests. Drink water steadily before you feel thirsty, step into an air-conditioned bar or shop to reset, and use the balcony overhangs and shaded side of the street rather than crossing into the sun. A hat and sunscreen help, but timing and shade do most of the work.
Winter and the shoulder seasons are far more comfortable, with afternoons in the 70s and even 80°F in April that make walking the Quarter easy at any hour. From June through September, though, save Bourbon Street for the cooler ends of the day and let the French Quarter's buildings shade your walk.