Overview

New Orleans should come with a warning label. Not about hurricanes, but about the city's seductive powers, and the never lefts: the people who came for Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, or a convention, fell prey to the city's magic, and never left. They danced in Frenchmen Street clubs. They kissed in the French Quarter, ate beignets at Café du Monde. Then they ignored their tickets home. They came for a vacation and never left. You, too, should go, see, hear, and taste for yourself. Just don't blame us if one day you discover that you, too, never left.

Check out the artists, fortune tellers, and street performers in the French Quarter's Jackson Square. Stroll the tranquil walkway along the Mississippi River toward Audubon Aquarium. City Park, an oasis of towering mossy Spanish oaks, offers Storyland Amusement Park and the Museum of Art. Nearby are the picturesque, above-ground cemeteries. Gift hunt for Mardi Gras trinkets, voodoo dolls, or fleur-de-lis jewelry at the French Market. Across town, art fans browse the galleries along Julia Street in the Warehouse District.

The birthplace of jazz still swings hard. There's old-time tradition at Preservation Hall, while Rebirth Brass Band rocks the Maple Leaf. Get your Bourbon Street revelry on with a Hurricane at Pat O'Brien's and a set at Irvin Mayfield's stylish Jazz Playhouse. A Frenchmen Street club crawl must include d.b.a. and the Spotted Cat, and it's a quick cab ride to famed Tipitina's or the backyard repose of Bacchanal. Enjoy rich, flavorful Creole fare like baked oysters Rockefeller and rum-infused bananas Foster. Spicy Cajun is represented by gumbo, a muscular stew combining seafood, poultry, or sausage, and freshly shucked Gulf oysters. Po' boy sandwiches and turtle soup will round out your taste of New Orleans.