There is nowhere in the US quite like New Orleans.

This unique city sits at a sort of space-time intersection that mixes up elements of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and of course, North America. Each neighborhood offers something special.

You can dine on Vietnamese food married to Southern grits in the shadow of a giant Latin American grocery store for dinner, find your soul at a jazz show that feels like it slipped out of the early 20th century for dessert, and have a nightcap of punk rock next to a mural steeped in the contemporary Civil Rights movement. If you’re ready to sup off life’s giant menu, the Crescent City will provide, and if you come with the right attitude, it might let you in on some off-menu secrets. These are some of our favorite neighborhoods to base yourself and explore.

Get local insight on destinations all over the world with our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox. Marigny is home to colorful historic houses as well as many new entertainment hot spots © Fotoluminate LLC / Shutterstock

The Marigny and Bywater

Best for music and the arts 

It is no secret locally that Faubourg Marigny — better known as the Marigny (“faubourg” means suburb or neighborhood) — and Bywater have arguably undergone the most rapid changes of any part of the city since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The old stuff like the candy-colored Creole cottages and shotgun houses are still here, and they’ve now been joined by quirky new spots such as the not-a-country-club Country Club, a queer-friendly bar with a heated pool hidden by a tropical garden. And of course what’s still here is the music that brings

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