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New Orleans, Louisiana
The root: The birthplace of jazz and the beating heart of Creole America — a city that taught the nation to eat, drink, and dance at once.
Eat: Café du Monde — beignets and café au lait since 1862; Antoine's — grand Creole dining in the French Quarter since 1840; Commander's Palace — Garden District icon, jazz brunch.
Skip — don't: Bourbon Street's slushie daiquiri factories and "authentic Cajun" spots with a costumed hawker — eat on Frenchmen or Magazine where the locals do.
Specialty: Creole and Cajun cooking plus jazz — gumbo, po'boys, and second lines; the city's culture is its cuisine and its music braided together.
Shops & crafts: Royal Street's antique row; French Market praline and spice stalls; jazz vinyl and local-art prints in the Marigny.
See: Wander the French Quarter's balconied streets; hear real jazz at Preservation Hall; walk the Garden District's oak-lined avenues.
Main Street: Royal Street in the Quarter — galleries and antique shops in 200-year-old Creole townhouses, street musicians on every corner.
After dark: Frenchmen Street — club after club of live jazz, brass bands, and dancing, no cover games like the Quarter.
When — events
Mardi Gras (February/March, Fat Tuesday)
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (late April/early May).
Event dates are the typical annual timing; confirm with the town before traveling.