Why are you into it?
A repeat for a reason.
About
New Orleans doesn't apologize for what it is. The French Quarter runs on bourbon and bad decisions, but step off Bourbon Street and the city shows its real hand. At Commander's Palace, they've been perfecting turtle soup since 1893. The waiters wear white jackets like armor. Order the bread pudding soufflé and watch them work.
The Garden District tells a different story. Mansions hide behind iron gates and oak trees that predate the Civil War. Magazine Street stretches six miles of antiques, art, and restaurants that locals actually frequent. At Shaya, Alon Shaya built something between Israeli street food and Louisiana tradition. The wood-fired pita arrives warm. Everything else follows.
Real New Orleans happens in the Bywater and Marigny. Frenchmen Street delivers live music without the tourist markup. The Joint serves barbecue from a converted gas station. The brisket runs out when it runs out. At Bacchanal Wine, you buy a bottle inside, then sit in the backyard garden while someone plays violin. It sounds precious. It isn't.
A weekend here demands strategy. Start with Café du Monde beignets at dawn before the line forms. Book GW Fins for dinner on Friday. Walk the Mississippi Riverfront at sunset on Saturday. Take the St. Charles streetcar uptown on Sunday morning. The rest writes itself. You come back because the city refuses to be anything other than what it's always been.
Fun fact
The streetcar on St. Charles Avenue has run continuously since 1835, making it the oldest operating street railway system in the world.