New Orleans Vacations

The best months to travel to New Orleans are March, April, October and November when the air is scented with jasmine, and the sounds of jazz spill out on to the streets. These months also mark the height of festival season, including the French Quarter Festival (April), Jazz Fest (April/May), Voodoo Experience (October), and the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival (November).

During winter months, New Orleans is often infused with a damp cold and raked with ornery winds. And though temps sink below freezing two or three times each year, it doesn’t stop Saints tailgate parties (late fall) or Mardi Gras (February or March).

Then there's summer, when conditions are hot and damp. This is also peak hurricane season -- especially August and September.

Housed in the Royal Sonesta Hotel New Orleans, this Bourbon Street venue offers a sophisticated scene for live jazz and cocktails.

This park offers even more excitement in the heart of New Orleans. You'll find walking and biking trails, an antique carousel, the New Orleans Museum of Art, an amusement park, plus the world's largest collection of living oaks.

Satisfy your sweet tooth at Angelo Brocato's (ice cream) or Sucre (macaroons). Try po-boys at the Parkway Bakery, and Soul food at Praline Connection. Craving Latin? Head to Rio Mar.

Drink with the locals at this punk/dive bar in the French Quarter. Boasting a 1930s history and rockin' jukebox, the surprisingly friendly lounge also gets street cred from several vampire tours.

If you're pining for the Royal treatment, Le Salon in the Windsor Court Hotel hosts an elegant afternoon ensemble of tea, champagne cocktails, English tea sandwiches, classical music and more.

Forget the beads, learn the real history of the Creoles who created this legendary neighborhood. Stroll through Jackson Square, home to St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo and the Presbytere. Stop for a coffee at Café du Monde, then listen to New Orleans jazz at Preservation Hall.

Certainly in step with its bawdy reputation, there's still plenty of old-world charm here. Wander past glamorous hotels and the Old Absinthe House, then bring your appetite to Galatoire's Restaurant for authentic French Creole cuisine.

Visit the seriously eclectic American section of town, known for its Greek Revival and Italianate architecture. See marvelous, antique-filled homes come to life with tales from expert tour guides.

With plenty of bragging rights in tow (Chef Tory McPhail was named to the Culinary Institute of America's Hall of Fame), you'll zap your taste buds with Creole favorites like crawfish maque choux, crispy soft-shell crab, and grilled porterhouse of Colorado lamb.

One of the oldest cemeteries in New Orleans, the grounds date back to 1824.Wall vaults line the cemetery's perimeter, and noteworthy tombs include Gen. Harry T. Hays of the Confederate Army and the Brunies family, notable New Orleans jazz musicians.

Recognized by Congress as the country's official World War II museum, this presents the story of America's involvement through photographs, artifacts and film footage. See the famous Higgins landing craft, a Sherman tank, jeeps, half-tracks, and a fully restored C-47.

For a laidback exploration of the Central Business District (CBD), the Garden District and Uptown, board the streetcar at the corner of Carondelet and Canal streets (Stop No. 0).

One block from Bourbon Street, Royal Street is best known for its iron-lace balconies, art galleries, restaurants (Brennan's, the Court of Two Sisters) and elegant hotels. Although it stretches from Canal Street to Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, and the Lower 9th Ward, the most famous section is in the French Quarter when the blocks between St. Louis and St. Ann transforms mid-day into a current of street performers and jazz bands.

Get your live-music fix (and one-drink minimum) along this four-block stretch in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood. On any given night, you'll hear modern jazz, swinging traditional jazz, Latin American and rockabilly. Noteworthy clubs include D.B.A., Checkpoint Charlie's, Dragon's Den, the Spotted Cat and Sweet Lorraine's.

Bring youngsters to their kind of party. Meet zebras, bears, giraffes and penguins at the zoo, feed birds and cool off in the splash park. The Aquarium has stingray touch tanks, plus an IMAX Theatre.

Few cities know how to show tourists a good time quite like New Orleans. Mardi Gras is the grand dame of events in the Crescent City, followed by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, but the party atmosphere lingers year round, ensuring a great time on your New Orleans vacation. Hurricane Katrina famously flooded the city in 2005 and cast a somber spell for a while, but locals and visitors alike—volunteering remains a popular tourist activity—have helped to resurrect the Big Easy and make it more vibrant than ever. The French Quarter, with its balconies and Bourbon Street denizens, remains the center of tourist life for the city, but try to move beyond the booze and beads to appreciate the architecture, fun boutiques, and excellent music and food venues in the area, and all over the city, really. Wander, ride a trolley car or take a taxi to the city’s other neighborhoods for a feel of local NOLA life. Magazine Street is for shopping; the Warehouse District for art; the Garden District for strolls along mansion-lined streets; Carrollton in Uptown for a small town-within-a-town feel. It’s hard to find a bad meal in New Orleans, also famous for its food, whether it’s Creole, Cajun, gumbo, crawfish, po’boys, jambalaya, muffaletta sandwiches or beignets. Whatever your preference, wash it down with NOLA’s official cocktail, the sazerac, a local variation of an old-fashioned.

AOL Travel’s New Orleans Guide

AOL Travel's Best New Orleans Hotels