The Columns Hotel is actually a hotel, but it does have a bar, and since I didn't stay there, that's what I'm reviewing it as. This is a great spot to try if you've never been to New Orleans, because it is located on lush St. Charles Avenue and is a big white columned structure, similar to those plantation homes dripping with willows and other greenery. The inside is vast, with high ceilings and creaky wooden floors. It has a great old-fashioned feel with couches and carpeting in some rooms, and modern-day bar tables and booths in others. The bar itself is perfectly serviceable, and on the cool evenings, you can take your drink out to a table on the patio and enjoy the breeze. This is a great, low-key place to hang out, especially after too many nights on noisy, crowded Bourbon Street. The best way to get up there is by cab or car, but the St. Charles streetcar line runs past it as well.