The big easy beckons: it's more than just music and Mardi Gras. New Orleans stimulates your senses and enlivens your spirit.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: Special Section: ARMA 2002 New Orleans: special section - New Orleans, Louisiana

When in New Orleans, you may hear locals say, "Laissez les bons temps fouler!" (Let the good times roll!)

Definitely take the phrase to heart. The Big Easy is all about good times, and everything from Cajun cuisine to blues music is served up with a relaxed, live-and-let-live attitude.

In 1718, Jean-Baptiste le Moyne discovered the location that would become the Crescent City. Today, New Orleans remains an interesting combination of Spanish and French cultures, making it a truly unique American city. It blends mystery with history and offers visitors a glimpse of the Old South and Europe at once.

It's a city that's both refined and raucous. Here, you can step back in time and stroll through centuries-old cemeteries and pre-Civil War plantations. Ride a streetcar or relax in a sidewalk cafe and soak up the ambiance of Spanish architecture and moss-draped oak trees. If you want to "kick it up a notch" you can hang out in the infamous French Quarter hotspots and nightclubs along Bourbon Street. At almost any hour of the night, you can eat, drink, and listen to live blues and jazz music.

With everything from alligators to Zydeco, New Orleans has something for everyone. Whether it's your first or thirty-first visit, you'll definitely want to leave your work behind to play in the Big Easy.

Queen of the Mississippi

New Orleans' streetcar system is more than 150 years old--the oldest continuously operating streetcars in the world. Streetcars were once the city's only form of public transportation and, at S1.25 for a round-trip excursion, still serve as a fun, inexpensive way to get around. The best way to introduce yourself to the city is to hop on a streetcar and tour New Orleans' distinct neighborhoods.

In the French Quarter, also called the Vieux Carre, you'll find Jackson Square, the oldest part of town, and Bourbon Street. The French Quarter features some of the most unique architecture in the world. Down its narrow streets, you'll see rows of two- and three-story French- and Spanish-inspired structures and townhouses with courtyards, carriageways, and decorative cast-iron balconies. One of the most photographed (and visited) attractions in New Orleans is the St. Louis Cathedral. Located in the French Quarter, facing Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, it stands as the oldest continually operating church in the United States. With its stained glass windows, frescoes and murals, it's also one of the loveliest.

You can see the sights along the riverfront by riding the "Ladies in Red," vintage streetcars painted red and gold. This 1.9-mile line connects the cultural and commercial developments along the revitalized riverfront. The Central Business District includes the Louisiana Superdome, the Morial Convention Center, the Riverwalk, and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (www.auduboninstitute.org). At the Aquarium, one of the top-five in the United States, you can get up close to sharks and jellyfish. In the Riverwalk Marketplace, you can shop in a mall-like atmosphere with a few surprises: You can learn to cook Cajun in just two hours at the Cookin' Cajun Cooking School inside.

North of the river is the Warehouse Arts District, a neighborhood full of refurbished buildings that...