The oldest building here is 2340 Prytania Street; 1239 First Street, with its skull-like sculptures on the iron railings, used to belong to Vampire author Anne Rice.

You can’t say you’ve been to New Orleans until you’ve seen Bourbon Street. It’s 12 buzzing blocks of bars, tat shops and strip joints – but for a drink that’s a cut above, try the 18th-century Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (00 1 504 593 9761), which claims to be the oldest bar in America.

NEW NEW ORLEANS

Wake up with an epic breakfast at Brennan’s (00 1 504 525 9711). It’s been kick-starting residents’ mornings since 1946. Start with an eye-opening cocktail, then choose from 27 options, such as oyster soup, eggs Benedict and key lime pie (£18 for three courses). Just leave enough time to enjoy it – it will take you till noon to digest.

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Bourbon Street gets more debauched still during Mardi Gras. If you can’t make February 24 2009, get a taster at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World (00 1 504 361 7821), where the floats are built each year in a giant warehouse. To get there, catch the free Canal Street Ferry to Algiers Point; a shuttle then whisks you to 81-year-old Mr Kern’s HQ.

Nola’s best retail therapy is on the 10km stretch of Magazine Street. Shopping sections are interspersed with blocks of houses, and buses are irregular, so catch a cab. The 2000 block (between St Andrew and Josephine Streets) is good for one-off boutiques, with T-shirts at Metro Three (00 1 504 558 0212) and retro frocks at Trashy Diva (00 1 504 299 8777). The 3000 area, between Seventh Street and Louisiana Avenue, is a top spot, with rock ’n’ roll threads at Sputnik Ranch (00 1 504 897 5446), more than 1,000 T-shirt designs at Funrock’n (00 1 504 524 1122), and Funky Monkey (00 1 504 899 5587), a thrift-shop exchange.

Though Katrina struck three years ago, the devastation is still being cleared. The Hurricane Katrina tour (£18; 00 1 504 569 1401) may sound ghoulish, but it gets most residents’ approval. If the tour spurs you to action, do as 35,000 people did last year and spend a day or two as a volunteer on rebuild projects. Contact Habitat for Humanity (00 1 504 861 4121).

Nola’s up-to-the-minute music scene pulses on Frenchmen Street, with live performances in clubs, bars and on street corners. At Snug Harbor (00 1 504 949 0696), sets take place in a back room shaped like a chapel, and performances are suitably heavenly. Across the street, the Spotted Cat (00 1 504 943 3887) has a tiny stage just inches from the bar floor; the performers regularly get passers-by dancing in the street.

Celeb spot: Brad and Angelina bought a house here after Katrina. To find it, go to Governor Nicholls Street and look for the ‘Please do not bother the animals’ sign.

The really big easy: New Orleans says it’s the only place in the world to boast a drive-thru Daiquiri bar.

Boney's House: After Napoleon was exiled to St Helena, a bunch of New Orleanais hatched a plot to rescue him and set him up at 500 Chartres Street. Go and you’ll find a classily decaying bar, Napoleon House (00 1 504 524 9752), with pictures of Monsieur Bonaparte adorning the walls.

£5 buys you: A chocolate voodoo doll from Laura’s Candies (331 Chartres Street; 00 1 504 525 3880).

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