Hotel St Marie French Quarter

Downtown New Orleans: Step away from the Quarter and meet the locals

This hour is happy, but not delirious. The young crowd is sipping wine and martinis, not swigging hurricanes. There lies the difference between downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter as the sun starts to set.

Like almost everybody else, I enjoy the French Quarter, but you don't get to talk to a whole lot of locals there. If you want a taste of local New Orleans, get a few blocks away. The World War II Museum (945 Magazine St., nationalww2museum.org) continues to grow by leaps and bounds (I got to peek inside a building where a PT boat is being assembled). It's the epicenter of a burst of growth in this part of town, bolstered by other museums and a healthy helping of restaurants and bars.

As for the World War II happy hour's popularity, it doesn't hurt that it features John Besh's piquant, little pulled-pork sliders topped with crunchy onion rings for 75 cents each. The American Sector restaurant and bar are Besh creations that opened a year and a half ago.

One guy I'm eating sliders with works at the museum and lives across the parking lot in the Cotton Mill condominiums, created from a former cotton gin. This live-work-play neighborhood arrangement has been going on for years all over the country, but it's a new thing here, and the locals are almost giddy about it. Turn-of-the-century buildings are being turned into apartments and condos, and restaurants like this one are luring downtown residents.

After drinks, we walk (for this is an evening on foot) over to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (925 Camp St., ogdenmuseum.org) where, because it's a Thursday night, there's music playing in the atrium. Drinks are being served along with crawfish and macaroni and cheese prepared by a local soul food caterer known as Miss Linda.

A lot of museums, including Austin's Blanton, have these music-and-art evenings. But there's something different about this one: It's quiet. Guests — some sitting, some leaning over a banister above, some standing on the steps — are listening intently to the music. They're not talking.

This is the great respect for creativity that's feeding the city right now. Creative types are moving to New Orleans because it's cheaper to ply their trades here than in California and New York. The number of art galleries is increasing on nearby Julia Street, where art walks are organized the first Saturday of every month.

Hotel St Marie - New Orleans French Quarter Hotels

The Hotel St. Marie is located in the heart of the French Quarter within easy walking distance of all major attractions – Bourbon Street, Royal Street, Jackson Square, and Louis Armstrong Park.

When taking a break from the sights and sounds of the French Quarter, hotel guests can relax in the lush, tropical courtyard or cool off in the hotel pool.

The Unofficial Guide to New Orleans

Frommer's New Orleans 2010

Life after graduation, financial advice & money saving tips

New Orleans, A Guided Tour Through History

Frommer's Portable New Orleans