Old Town Bay St. Louis
298 Easterbrook St, Bay St Louis, MS
Bay St Louis, MS
A small, easygoing beach town whose Old Town streets brim with galleries, cafes, and cottages, famous for its lively arts nights and its stubborn, welcoming charm.
Old Town Bay St. Louis is the heart of a small, artful beach town on the western end of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a walkable district of galleries, boutiques, cafes, and old cottages that rises just up from the sand. Where many coastal towns have surrendered their centers to sprawl, Bay St. Louis has kept a genuine, strollable downtown where people know one another and the pace is slow. It has drawn artists and makers for years, giving the district a creative, welcoming character.
The town is perhaps best known for Second Saturday, a monthly evening when Old Town fills with music, open studios, food, and crowds spilling into the streets, a celebration of the arts community that anchors the place. But even on an ordinary day the district rewards a wander, its shops and galleries tucked into historic buildings, the beach and harbor a few blocks away, and the friendly, unhurried spirit that has earned Bay St. Louis a reputation as one of the coast's most charming towns.
What Guests Love
- A truly walkable Old Town of galleries, shops, and cafes just up from the beach
- Second Saturday, the monthly evening when the arts district comes alive with music and open studios
- Old cottages and storefronts that give the town a real sense of place
- A quiet, sandy beach and harbor within a short stroll of the shops
Worth Knowing
- The town was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina and takes pride in how it rebuilt, so much of what you see is renewed
- It is an easygoing place best enjoyed on foot, so park once and wander
- The arts scene peaks on Second Saturday evenings, worth timing a visit around
- It sits an easy day trip from New Orleans, so it can be paired with a wider coast tour
Details
Bay St Louis, MS
Learn about Old Town Bay St. Louis
A town of artists
Bay St. Louis has long attracted artists, potters, painters, and craftspeople drawn to its light, its affordability, and its easygoing life by the water. Over the years their studios and galleries filled the storefronts of Old Town, giving the district a creative energy out of proportion to its size. Today a visitor can spend an afternoon moving from one gallery or shop to the next, browsing work by local makers and meeting the people who make it.
That artistic spirit comes to a head each month on Second Saturday, when the district throws open its doors for an evening of open studios, live music, food, and street life. The event has become a signature of the town and a magnet for visitors from across the coast and from New Orleans, and it captures the communal, homemade feel that sets Bay St. Louis apart.
The bay, the beach, and the harbor
The town takes its name and its setting from the Bay of St. Louis, the wide inlet where a river meets the Mississippi Sound, and from the beach that runs along its edge. Old Town sits just up from a quiet stretch of sand and a small-boat harbor, so a walk through the shops can easily end with a stroll along the water, a look at the fishing and pleasure boats, or a rest on the beach.
The waterfront gives the district its rhythm and its views, and the pier and harbor area are natural gathering places at sunset. Between the beach, the harbor, and the walkable streets, the whole of Old Town is easy to explore on foot, which is much of its appeal in an age of coastal highways and parking lots.
Katrina and the town that came back
Bay St. Louis sat near the center of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in August 2005, and the storm's catastrophic surge devastated the town, sweeping away homes, businesses, and much of the old waterfront. The recovery was long and hard, and it tested the community deeply, but the people of Bay St. Louis rebuilt with determination and a fierce attachment to their town's character.
Much of what a visitor sees today, the restored cottages, the revived Old Town shops, the renewed harbor and pier, is the fruit of that recovery. The town wears its comeback with pride, and its survival is part of what gives Old Town its warmth. Bay St. Louis is a place that chose to remain itself, and that choice is written into every rebuilt block.
The coast and its history
The Mississippi Gulf Coast lies in a region long inhabited by Indigenous peoples, among them the Biloxi and the Choctaw of the wider region, before French and Spanish colonists arrived along the shore. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians remains a federally recognized tribe in the state today, centered well to the north near Philadelphia. Bay St. Louis grew from these older layers into a summer retreat and fishing town, and its old cottages recall generations of coast life.
The town makes an easy base or stop on a wider tour of the coast, sitting an hour from New Orleans to the west and a short drive from the beaches, casinos, lighthouses, and museums that line the shore toward Biloxi and Ocean Springs to the east. Its walkable, artful Old Town is the kind of place travelers remember long after the trip.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Bay St. Louis
Bay St. Louis Beach and Pier
A few blocks from Old Town
A quiet stretch of sand along the Mississippi Sound with a pier and harbor, an easy walk from the shops.
Waveland
About 4 miles, a short drive
A neighboring beach town along the coast, with its own quiet shore and a hometown feel.
Stennis Space Center visitor area
About 15 miles, a short drive
A NASA rocket-engine test facility with a public visitor experience on the coast's western edge.
New Orleans
About 55 miles west, an hour's drive
The great Crescent City, an easy day trip for its food, music, and historic French Quarter.