Hotel at a Glance: Olivier House Hotel

Since 1836, this award-winning New Orleans Hotel has welcomed guests to the heart of the French Quarter. Its elegant interior, furnished with mahogany accents and period decor, reflects its rich history. Guests can sip tea in overstuffed chairs near the lobby, or step out into the courtyard to lounge amid warm southern breezes.

• Recent recognition: TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence in 2014
• Elegant guest rooms feature antique furnishings; select units have balconies with views of the courtyard or the Quarter.
• Make a splash in the outdoor pool.
• Sit in the shade in the outdoor courtyards, where treetops sway in the warm Louisiana wind, and vines creep up the hotel’s exterior.
• Bring your pet: Fido can stay in select rooms for an additional fee.

New Orleans’s French Quarter: Let the Good Times Roll

“Stop thinking of New Orleans as the worst-organized city in the United States,” writes author Dan Baum in Nine Lives, his post-Katrina book. “Start thinking of it as the best-organized city in the Caribbean.” Some folks think there is something distinctly foreign about New Orleans, a place where people’s priorities seem inclined toward enjoying life and relishing the moment at hand. Nothing says it better than the town’s unofficial Cajun creed: “Laissez les bons temp rouler,” or “Let the good times roll.”

Historical buildings with intricate wrought-iron balconies line the narrow streets of New Orleans’s French Quarter. Here, street musicians often fill the air with jazz music, their trombones and tubas swinging back and forth. Just off the Jackson Square park and near the towering St. Louis Cathedral, the legendary Café Du Monde serves beignets under heaping piles of powdered sugar, as well as cups of iced or steaming café au lait.

And then there’s Bourbon Street, where neon lights advertise frozen cocktails and gaudy strip clubs and crowds gather along 13 city blocks. The nearby Frenchmen Street, just north of the Quarter, provides a slightly less touristy taste of New Orleans nightlife. Some of the city’s most popular live jazz and blues bars dominate this historic two-block district, with each venue hosting world-class musicians nearly every night of the week. Jazz fills the air at the Spotted Cat Music Club, where a sign warns that both drinks and drunks are barred from the piano—but like all rules in New Orleans, it’s one that’s bound to get bent from time to time.

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