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New Orleans Attractions
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Audubon Zoo
 Audubon Zoo is a living museum filled with some of the rarest and most beautiful creatures of nature. One of the country's top-ranked zoos, Audubon Zoo blends the exotic excitement of animals from around the globe with the serenity of its lush gardens. With an animal collection ranging from the unique and extraordinary white alligators to the majestic Bengal Tigers, Audubon Zoo has become one of the Gulf South's favorite family gathering spots.
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Aquarium of Americas
 Audubon Aquarium of the Americas is located along the banks of the Mississippi River in the historic French Quarter. The Aquarium of Americas features some 560 species of marine life. More than 7,000 different creatures swim in 60 separate displays. The facility includes a restaurant and IMAX theatre.
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St. Charles Avenue Streetcar
 To get a true feel for the city, take a ride on the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, which passes many of New Orleans' most famous landmarks. It is the last streetcar operating of the sort. It travels 6.5 miles from Canal Street through the Central Business District, along tree shaded St. Charles Avenue to Carrolton Avenue. After Jackson Avenue, large live oaks canopy almost the entire route. Antebellum mansions with huge Corinthian pillars line the street. Most of the streetcars are olive-green with polished wooden seats. As this is the city's only commuter train and each of the cars can only accommodate 52 people, it is best to avoid rush hours and the end of the school day, about 3pm. The streetcar runs continuously 24 hours a day, roughly every quarter of an hour between 7 A.M and 8 P.M; it runs every half hour until midnight, then every hour until 7 A.M. After 9 P.M visitors should opt for the cab, as it is unsafe to wait on street corners at night, even on St. Charles.
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City Park
 A 1500-acre, oak linked park full of traditional, native plant life. It is the fifth largest urban park in the US. Entry to this park is free. The 10-acre Botanical Gardens and the New Orleans Museum of Art share this space with olive oaks, lagoons for boating and fishing, and the championship Bayou Oaks Golf Course. Children are attracted to the antique carousel and storyland, a mini-theme park with Mardi Gras exhibits and a kid-sized carnival with rides.
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Old US Mint
 The only building in America to have served both as a U.S. and Confederate Mint was built in 1835 by William Strickland, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson who had advocated for its establishment in order to help finance development of the nation's western frontier. Three years after the building opened, in 1838, minting began. In 1931, it was converted into a federal prison. Later it was used by the Coast Guard until the late 1970s, when it was taken over the state as a museum to house the New Orleans jazz collection. Visitors find a number of stunning permanent exhibits in the Old U.S. Mint.
Admission to the Cabildo/Arsenal, Presbytere and Old U.S. Mint is $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens, students, and active military. Children under 12 are admitted free to all sites.
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Jackson Square
 The heart of the French Quarter remains its central plaza, Jackson Square, originally constructed in 1721 as a drill field and called the Place d'Armes in the early French colony. The park is landscaped in a sun pattern, with walkways set like rays streaming out from the center. A flagstone pedestrian mall surrounds the park. Along the fence of Jackson Square, you can find artists who assemble each day, where you can have your portrait or caricature done, and view the artists at work. Many Street performers entertain on a daily basis here. You can see musicians, break dancers, tap dancers, jugglers, acrobats, tarot card readers, mimes, and clowns performing on the streets.
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Bourbon Street
 Named after the French royal family of Bourbon, there is no other seven-block stretch in America more evocative of excess, the erotic and exotic, and traditional jazz and R&B than Bourbon Street. On Bourbon one will find everything from five star hotels to strip joints. All day and all night there are people partying up and down the street.
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Steamboat Natchez
 To indulge yourself in the old days of river travel, visitors can take a two-hour cruise on the Steamboat Natchez. While walking through the French Quarter during the day, listen carefully at 11 a.m. (except Sunday morning) or at 2 p.m. and you will hear the lively music of a calliope. This 32-note calliope was custom crafted and modeled after the "Gilded Age " craft of the 1800s for the Steamboat Natchez. A casual buffet dinner is served on the second deck, featuring live jazz music by dukes of Dixieland. All of the cruises are casual; however some passengers do dress up for the 7pm Dinner/Jazz Cruise. Also, on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve Cruises, holiday attire is recommended.
Boarding starts at least one half hour before departure time, and the Steamboat sails very closely "on time". It is best to arrive 30 minutes before departure or sooner. There are parking lots on Decatur Street that offer hourly rates on parking.
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Royal Street
 Pride of French Quarter, the royal street is lined with antique shops that are filled with beautiful, often French, treasures associated with an opulent Southern lifestyle. Its beautiful and antique buildings have been carefully taken care of and are today occupied by fine stores and restaurants. Louisiana State Bank on Royal Street, built in 1821 is now converted into a fine antique shop. The LaBranche Buildings embellished with fine oak-leaf ironwork, these buildings were constructed in 1835 on Royal Street for sugar planter Jean Baptiste LaBranche.Street musicians provide open-air entertainment on Royal Street.
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Garden District
 Developed mainly between 1840 and 1900, the Garden District is just a 10-minute drive away from the French Quarter, it runs from Magazine Street to St. Charles Avenue and from Jackson Avenue to Louisiana Avenue. It is residential area with one of the best-preserved collections of historic mansions in the South. The gardens, planted with mangolia, camelia, sweet olive, jasmine and azalea, are as stunning as the mansions themselves.
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