Things to Do in New Orleans

Frenchmen Street music crawl

Three blocks past the Quarter's neon, Frenchmen Street spills trumpet riffs onto the pavement. Duck into the Spotted Cat where the floorboards bounce under horn-heavy trad jazz, or catch funk brass at d.b.a. until your shirt sticks to your back from sweat and spilled Abita.

Crescent City Farmers Market

On Tuesday mornings in downtown's Warehouse District, farmers fan satsuma oranges and still-damp oysters over crushed ice. You'll hear the pop of kettle corn and catch smoky whiffs of pepper-coated andouille fresh from the smoker.

Bywater color walk

Past the railroad tracks, shotgun houses glow lavender, lime, and sunset orange. The air smells of roasted coffee from the old Folgers plant while murals peel under salty breezes off the Industrial Canal.

Bayou St. John kayak float

Slide onto the dark water near City Park and you'll hear only cicadas and the drip off your paddle. Spanish moss brushes your shoulders while mid-century cottages watch from grassy banks.

Backstreet Cultural Museum

Inside a former funeral home on Claiborne Avenue, sequined Mardi Gras Indian suits shimmer under fluorescent light while taped chants rumble from a tinny speaker. The smell of old feathers and pine floor polish clings to exhibits of Social Aid & Pleasure Club suits.

French Quarter - courtyard guesthouses echo with 3 a.m. brass, balconied rooms overlook tarot readers

Marigny - rainbow-shotgun B&Bs steps from Frenchmen jazz, expect faint trumpet through shutters

Garden District - oak-lined streets, magazine mansions, streetcar rattle lulls you to sleep

CBD/Warehouse - converted coffee silos, rooftop pools, walkable to WWII museum

Bywater - artist lofts, river breezes, fewer sirens but longer walk to Quarter

Mid-City - shotgun rentals near Bayou St. John, locals' bars, streetcar to downtown in 20