Traveling is a vital supplement for some students’ education because it enriches understanding beyond textbooks. For those who lack the ability or money for trips, it takes a second-hand account to provide the thrill of travel. For many, New Orleans can be one of those hard-to-budget but necessary trips.
In New Orleans, the majority of porches are occupied by 10:30 a.m. People sit in wicker lounge chairs chatting with others seated in wooden rocking chairs while ceiling fans lazily turn in the breeze. Late morning in New Orleans epitomizes the Southern stereotype of relaxed, laid-back living.
But the city has much to offer beyond that easy southern stereotype.
“New Orleans isn’t a Southern city. It is a city that just happens to be in the South,” said Jeremy Ruiz, bartender at Cajun Mike’s Pub ‘n Grub, who was born and raised in New Orleans and intimately understands the city’s unique character.
“The city was built on a swamp, so it’s sinking. If you dig two feet, you’ll hit the water table. For most places, they slapped down some mud and said, ‘Hey, there’s a good spot to build a big house,’” he said.
Sightseeing in New Orleans involves walking around the Garden District. In this historic neighborhood, enormous, colonial-era mansions compete for visitors’ attention, each one outdoing the previous in grandeur, in a sharp contrast to New Orleans’ crumbling infrastructure.
In the city, exposed tree roots bulge over sidewalk seams, often breaking through the cement. Two-block-long puddles randomly line the streets even if it has not rained in days. Walking, driving and biking become a slalom race through sinkholes, cracks, loose blocks and the occasional fountain spurting from the sewers.
“New Orleans is an amazing city even though it’s corrupt. There’s not much money for public works even though there are city taxes,” said local resident Alex Payne. “The thing about New Orleans is that it’s part of another time. That’s its appeal. You come here, and it’s a different pace; things work differently, so people have a different type of social interaction.”
For residents and tourists alike, the evening hours are often the beginning, rather than end, of the day. The city has a never-ending list of musical events, which are great opportunities for socializing. The music scene is legendary because of its wide-ranging styles and venues. Jazz concerts play in the French Quarter nightly, impromptu brass bands perform at Hornets games and a cappella quartets sing on street corners.
For those who seek a variety of music, Frenchmen Street runs one block east of the French Quarter and has more than 20 bars amid venues in a three-block stretch. For those who enjoy festivals, events such as Bach Around the Clock unite more than 20 musicians for a 24-hour, non-stop concert.
While most visitors come for the infamous nightlife, many are frequently surprised by the city’s eclectic and often scandalous history. Local history is a lesser-advertised aspect of New Orleans’ tourism, but numerous activities teach visitors about the city’s colorful past. Guided tours, trolley rides and museums provide ample opportunity to learn about its history, including vampires and ghosts, “code noir,” public execution, political corruption, organized crime and religious scandal.
One of the most popular walking tours, the Ghost Tour in the French Quarter encompasses three city blocks and retells four particularly gruesome stories from the 19th century when street riots and serial killers were common. Museums such as the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Confederate Museum are other sources of local and regional history not often found in American history textbooks.
For those seeking more than a drunken party on a beach, New Orleans offers culture, music and history in a setting that defies simplistic explanations.