A New Orleans day from the French Quarter to Frenchmen Street

Beignets at the coffee stand that's been running since 1862. Three to an order with enough powdered sugar to guarantee a laundry problem, chicory coffee alongside. Arrive before 7:30 and you'll beat the line; after 9:00 you'll stand for thirty minutes.

Start at Jackson Square facing the St. Louis Cathedral — tarot readers setting up, paddle-steamers on the river behind. Walk Royal Street north: art galleries, antique dealers, and the wrought-iron balconies the Quarter is known for. Crosses onto Bourbon are best made after Dumaine, where things get quieter.

The neighbourhood po'boy shop locals still use, fifteen minutes north of the Quarter on the Bayou. Roast beef and gravy on a French loaf is the classic order, shrimp if you want seafood, Barq's root beer alongside. Sit on the patio out back by the water.

The oldest continuously operating streetcar in the Americas, running since 1835. Two and a half dollars cash, exact change. Ride to Washington Avenue and walk the Garden District mansions — white columns, iron lace, and the above-ground tombs of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

A tiny bookshop in an alley behind the cathedral, where William Faulkner lived in 1925 and wrote his first novel, Soldier's Pay. Two rooms of books, a skeleton key held by the owner. Buy something you'll actually read.

A cramped bar in the lower Quarter where the jambalaya is the benchmark: spicy, smoky, studded with rabbit and andouille. Cash only, no children, the wait builds later — arrive at 19:00 and you'll get in clean.

Three blocks of jazz clubs a few minutes east of the Quarter. The Spotted Cat has the loose vibe, Snug Harbor has seated acoustic sets, and Bamboula's does the brass bands. A cover is usually five dollars. Hop between three in one night.