New Orleans travel guide

New Orleans' flame will never be put out.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has frightened visitors away from this culturally dynamic southern city, but New Orleans has already returned in all of its glory. The only hurricanes worth mentioning now are the twenty-six-ounce drinks at Pat O'Brien's bar. The Vieux Carré means "old square" in French, but everybody calls it the French Quarter, which is as vibrant as ever. New hotels and restaurants are popping up everywhere. Horse-drawn carriages ride through the streets. Even the fortune tellers have returned. Drunken revelry and public nudity dominate Bourbon Street as they always have, especially during the revitalized Mardi Gras celebrations, and the pulsating sounds of jazz and the Delta blues fills the cobblestone streets. Legendary eateries like Antoine's have reopened, and the smells of Creole cuisine fill the air in the form of gumbos and jambalayas, while beignets and chicory coffee are once again found at the Café du Monde. Take the St. Charles streetcar to Harrah's Casino or the Aquarium of the Americas, then hop on out to the Garden District to tour the stately mansions and lush gardens that have long attracted the southern elite. Further afield, venture into the bayou for tours via fan boat to the croc-filled swampland of the Mississippi delta.