Your first stop in New Orleans should always be the French Quarter. Although established by the French in 1718, the city was under Spanish rule longer and its distinctive look of lacy iron balconies and lush courtyards is their legacy. Bourbon Street is the most famous name in the French Quarter, where you’ll find both the sublime and the ridiculous. Galatoire’s (No.209, LA 70116, +15045252021, www.galatoires.com), one of New Orleans’s oldest and most beloved restaurants, is there along with sleazy strip clubs and great old bars such as Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (No.941, LA 70116, +15045230066), along with dozens of touristy bars and strip joints. It’s the best and worst of both worlds.

Royal Street runs parallel to Bourbon but is another world entirely, with antique shops and art galleries. Chartres Street is a block away with more boutiques, antiques and art but tends to be a bit quirkier and not quite as pricey. The center of it all is Jackson Square, facing the Mississippi River. Musicians, artists, mimes, tarot card readers and entertainers set up in front of St Louis Cathedral on the square daily, creating a lively street scene. Across Decatur Street from Jackson Square, Café du Monde (800 Decatur Street, at Jackson Square, LA 70116, +15045812914, www.cafedumonde.com) (see Top 5) is a New Orleans must-do. Watch the city go by as you have beignets (square fried doughnuts) and café au lait.

The second most famous street in New Orleans is St Charles Avenue, a wide boulevard of showy houses and graceful old oak trees. It developed after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase as Americans flooded into the French city. A ride on the St Charles Streetcar (runs from Canal Street to Claiborne Avenue, +15048277802, www.regionaltransit.org) (see Top 5) is a perfect way to tour the Garden District. A few blocks away, Magazine Street is the other defining avenue of Uptown, lined top to bottom with inexpensive cafés, funky shops, vintage clothing and friendly bars. While St Charles and Magazine never converge, both lead you to Audubon Park and Zoo. The beautiful park is a favorite with walkers, joggers and picnickers, and the Audubon Zoo (6500 Magazine Street, LA 70118, +15045814629, www.auduboninstitute.org) is one of America’s best. Along with gorillas, bears and other exotic animals, there’s a recreated Louisiana swamp eco-system, complete with alligators.

Heading the other way from the French Quarter, Mid City is a pretty 19th-century residential neighborhood with some hidden gems. The New Orleans Museum of Art (City Park, One Collins Diboll Circle, LA 70119, +15044882631, www.noma.org) is tucked into the sprawling City Park on the banks of picturesque Bayou St John. The museum has changing exhibits, a good photography collection and a handful of old masters. Its sculpture garden holds 50 works by 20th-century artists such as Henry Moore, Fernando Botero, Louise Bourgeois and Isamu Noguchi. City Park (Wisner Avenues, +15044824888, LA 70119, www.neworleanscitypark.com) has a botanical garden, a tiny amusement park and vast playing fields. Not far away, the Fairgrounds Racetrack (1751 Gentilly Boulevard, LA 70119, +15049445515, www.fgno.com), is another magical place, home to thoroughbred racing from November to March and to the fabulous Jazz Fest in April and May.

Downtown, the Central Business District and Warehouse District overlap at Lee Circle where an intriguing museum district has developed. The D Day Museum (945 Magazine Street, LA 70130, +15045276012, www.ddaymuseum.org), devoted to World War II, is phenomenally popular. Almost next door is the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (925 Camp Street, LA 70130, +15045399600, www.ogdenmuseum.org), opened in 2003. The museum’s fresh and energetic approach to regional art emphasizes its strong collections of outsider art and photography. Also in the neighborhood are the Confederate Museum (929 Camp Street, LA 70130, +15045234522, www.confederatemuseum.com), with an impressive array of Civil War artifacts, the Louisiana Children’s’ Museum (420 Julia Street, LA 70130, +15045231357, www.lcm.org), crammed with interactive exhibits and educational activities, and the Contemporary Arts Centre (900 Camp Street, at St Joseph Street, LA 70130, +15045283805, www.cacno.org) the city’s focal point for new visual art and cutting-edge theatre.