It can be all too easy to forget that easy-living New Orleans has its roots entrenched in the Deep South; anyone who needs reminding should take a look at the Confederate Museum , 929 Camp St at Lee Circle. A gloomy Romanesque Revival hulk, designed in 1891 as a place for Confederate veterans to display their mementos, this so-called "Battle Abbey of the South" is a relic from a bygone age. Inside the church-like hall, glass cases are filled with swords, mess-kits, uniforms and helmets. The sepia photos - of the wealthy, muddy antebellum city, and sad-eyed youths awkward in uniform - are undeniably affecting, and there remains a funereal air about the place, with its bittersweet remembrances of long-lost generals and their forgotten families.

Next door, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; free), you can get tasters of the eclectic collection, which runs the gamut from rare eighteenth-century watercolors to contemporary photography in its temporary residence at 603 Julia St, but this represents just a drop in the ocean compared to what will be in the purpose-built five-story gallery.

                      

French Quarter
The heartbreakingly beautiful French Quarter is where New Orleans began in 1718. Today, battered and bohemian, decaying and vibrant, it's the spiritual core of the city, its fanciful cast-iron balconies, hidden courtyards and time-stained stucco buildings exerting a haunting fascination that has long caught the imagination of artists and writers. Official tours are useful for orientation, but it's most fun simply to wander - and you'll need a couple of days at least to do it justice, absorbing the jumble of sounds, sights and smells. Early morning, in the pearly light from the river, is a good time to explore, as sleepy locals wake themselves up with strong coffee in the neighborhood patisseries, shops crank open their shutters and all-night revelers stumble home.

The Quarter is laid out in a grid, unchanged since 1721. At just thirteen blocks wide - smaller than you might expect - it's easily walkable, bounded by the Mississippi River, Rampart Street, Canal Street and Esplanade Avenue, and centering on lively Jackson Square . Rather than French, the famed architecture is predominantly Spanish colonial, with a strong Caribbean influence. Most of the buildings date from the late eighteenth century, after much of the old city had been devastated by fires in 1788 and 1794. Commercial activity - shops, galleries, restaurants, bars - is concentrated in the blocks between Decatur and Bourbon. Beyond Bourbon, up towards Rampart Street, and in the Lower Quarter, downriver from Jackson Square, things become more peaceful - quiet, predominantly residential neighborhoods where the Quarter's gay community lives side by side with elegant dowagers and scruffy artist.

Best of New Orleans

Jackson Square
The heart of the French Quarter, where you can enjoy some of the world's best brass band and jazz music for free.

Sunset over the Mississippi
Settle yourself down on a wooden bench and watch the sky turn violet over one of the world's greatest rivers.

                      

Uglesich's
The best seafood in the world dished up in a down-home New Orleans shack.

Napolean House
This gorgeous old bar is just the place to pass a steamy New Orleans night.

                      

The Cabildo
The Cabildo, in the heart of the French Quarter, is one of the finest state museums you'll find, with lively, compelling exhibits on all aspects of the city's rich history.

Oysters
Whether fresh fried and piled high in giant po-boys at the Acme , or downed raw in one briny slurp at Casamento's , New Orleans' oysters are a culinary treat.

Ride a Streetcar
The streetcar named Desire no longer runs, but the city's other vintage streetcars offer superb, open-air rides through New Orleans' most elegant districts.

Voodoo
With stops at boutiques selling dolls and potions, voodoo tours are a bit campy, but rest assured that the mysterious religion is still practiced by many in New Orleans today.

Mardi Gras
Crazy, colorful, debauched and historic - this is the carnival to end them all.

                     

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New Orleans Guide