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Visit New Orleans and immerse yourself in the sound of the crowd. The hustle and bustle of cheery people as they shuffle without a care through the delicately different French Quarter, stopping to peek into every restaurant and every bar.
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This is where America and the world comes to party...and goes home satisfied they did, and could do no more.
The seductive culture clash of French and Anglo ways of life that have fermented deep in the deep south...the heart of spicy Creole and Cajun cooking and even spicier Cajun (and zydeco) music have enriched New Orleans.
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| Bourbon Street |
Everyone's image of the city is of Bourbon Street nightlife, a frenzy amid the refined brick and wrought-iron buildings. Or of the outrageous processions during Mardi Gras. And you can't go far wrong with that, but it doesn't reveal the relaxed atmosphere, the friendliness and the sheer fun of a place where the mighty Mississippi prepares to meet the Gulf of Mexico.
They call New Orleans the Crescent City for the way it curves along a bend of the wide, muddy river and much of the action happens there. The city, surrounded by bayous and swamps, also sits on Lake Pontchartrain, a vast area of unspoilt beauty. Despite all the water, the city is around 5ft below sea level, needing the US's most powerful drainage system to keep visitors' feet dry.
Your first impression of New Orleans should be the French Quarter by night. Turn off the main Canal Street on to Bourbon, pop into outdoor bars, peek into stylish little hotels and stop to hear the evocative wail of New Orleans jazz. Restaurants abound, from simple local fare such as jambalaya and gumbo to seriously upmarket French takes on Creole cuisine. The party goes on late and, in some cases, until dawn. Return - or stay on - to wander the fresh streets and sip strong coffee and nibble the local doughnuts - beignets.
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| St. Louis Cathedral |
The heart of the French Quarter is Jackson Square, a lovely green park dominated by the fairytale architecture of St. Louis Cathedral. From there walk down tiny Pirate's Alley and Pere Antoine's Alley to get a real feel of the old days, although historic buildings are all around. But that's only one part of the city. Drift away into the Garden District and its mansion homes, and Uptown and Mid-City where music clubs and restaurants mingle with office tower blocks and big hotels.
To get an idea of town, ride the world's oldest operating streetcar. This is the place that inspired the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire. For more than 150 years it's been taking crowds down picturesque St. Charles Avenue, through the Garden District, past the universities and Audubon Park, home of Audubon Zoo. The 13 mile round trip costs $2 and takes a relaxing hour and a half. Another line runs along the Riverfront where you can browse in shops, have lunch or catch a steamboat for a river cruise. The Audubon Park is worth a stroll and the zoo, one of America's top five with its swamp habitat, is a great place to see local creatures up close. The Aquarium of the Americas, also one of the US's best, on the banks of the Mississippi, features much local life as well as much from outside.
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| The World's Oldest Operating Streetcar |
Voodoo is another New Orleans tradition, or maybe myth. Congo Square, now Louis Armstrong Square, used to be the centre of ceremonies. Find out more at the Historical Voodoo Museum, then look round St. Louis Ceremony No1 with its evocative raised stone mausoleums (featured in so many movies) to give yourself a quick thrill. If it's local music you want, endless places offer either cajun, the fiddle-led sounds of the French settlers, or zydeco, hot and fast accordion music, or, increasingly, a potent meeting of the two.
Often the local music crosses over into the rock clubs. Local jazz abounds in the French Quarter and often you don't even need to leave the street to watch and listen. Party time to end them all is Mardi Gras not, as most people think, a single carnival. It's a carnival season that starts on January 6, 12th Night, and carries on until 46 days before Easter, sometime between February 3 and March 9. The last day is Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday in French - and in the preceding 12 days there are more than 60 parades and hundreds of parties, dances and masked balls.
However, you only need to head out of the city to see how quickly civilisation disappears and the countryside again is king, where alligators float slowly by and egrets stare at you with disdain. A number of swamp tours are available, propeller-driven airboats taking you skimming across places that conjure visions of the movie Deliverance. In places the land has been conquered and plantation homes are still open to prove it.
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| The Docks |
Drive along the River Road, with regular views of the Mississippi and you get to the state capital, Baton Rouge. Go further and the highway seems like a constant bridge as it soars serenely above swampland until it reaches Lafayette, heart of Cajun country where the traditions of food and music are at their strongest.
But once you're in New Orleans you'll find it's a destination in itself, another world that draws you in to its lazy, passionate lifestyle.
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Atlanta
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, 90 miles south of Atlanta, is worth the scenic drive for exhibits on music legends from REM and Ray Charles, to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Little Richard.
Nashville
Stroll up Broadway to the university district...brewpubs such as Broadway Brewhouse and Blackstone Brewery, the Great Escape second hand record and comic store.
New Orleans
Try flamboyant local beers such as Dixie's Blackened Voodoo Lager or microbrewery Abita Springs' Purple Haze.
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