"The snap beans aren't salty " a New Orleans Travel Page by Tom_In_Madison

New Orlean is back to normal, whatever 'normal' is for this city. Music, food, and humidity were in great supply when I was there in June.

Very few tourist spots are not open, most of the damage wasn't even in those areas. French Quarter and surrounding area is above sea level. Don't hesitate to visit possibly the most charming place in the country.

Unlike pretty much all of the country east of the Mississippi River, Louisiana was under French rule, then Spanish rule, then French rule again--no English rule. Things are a bit different here because of that. Note the cemetaries with the deceased burried above ground--thank the Spanish for that. The houses on the blocks have their courtyards inside, again the Spanish. The French flavor, and the French street names are east of Canal St. When the US took over, they built on the other side of Canal St and the names have an English flavor, ie. St Charles Ave.

There is an abundance of music in the bars and streets, and usually free. If you appreciate the music, throw a few bucks in the tip bucket they have up front. For the better music, visit Frenchmen Street. Bourbon St has more of it, and the cover bands are everywhere. You can probably catch a brass band or jazz band on the sidewalks too, and they are much better than you would anticipate. I saw a brass band group of about 8 kids, probably around 8th-10th grade playing some amazing music on a sidewalk on Bourbon St.

Yes, a few bars are open 24 hours a day. Bourbon St (named after the House of Bourbon, the ruling party in France, not the drink) is what it is...like it or not, but at least one stroll down at night should be done--visit again or avoid it after that. There are some good restaurants there though, RedFish Grill to name one(try the chocolate bread pudding).