The most European of American cities, New Orleans has the feel of a rowdy and vibrant 1860s seaport town, where street entertainers abound, mystical voodoo shops flourish, and music, art and dining are revered aspects of the city's lifestyle.
Residents urge visitors to look up when walking the streets, both uptown and downtown.
The ornate architecture is dazzling. One ride on the grand old streetcars, built in 1923-24 with exposed ceiling light bulbs and wooden seats, recalls an era that New Orleans is preserving. Visitors can discover more than 50 historic locations in the Quarter, eight museums, innumerable tree-lined parks and old churches. The Vieux Carre is a heady concoction of Paris, Trinidad and the Caribbean spiced with a touch of other cultures including, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Central American and African, yet it remains purely American. Bourbon Street and the French Quarter are unique to the world and rising to the occasion, young visitors add to the atmosphere of the adult playground with a dress code beyond Mr. Blackwell's worst nightmare.