BEFORE YOU GO For information about the rebuilding programme, plus special events, football fixtures and helpful tips on food, drink and places to stay, check out www.neworleansonline.com.

PLANES, TRAINS, AUTOMOBILES Continental (0845 607 6760, www.continental.com) flies daily to New Orleans via Newark from Glasgow and Edinburgh from £464 return, based on travel in September.

GETTING AROUND Buses and streetcars are a great way to navigate the city. Catch the famous St Charles streetcar, which runs through uptown New Orleans, past Audubon Park and Canal Street, for just 1.25. Alternatively, slip into your flatties and hoof it. New Orleans has been voted one of the best walking cities in the US.

TOURIST TRAIL It has to be the French Quarter, with all those wrought-iron balconies and baskets of bougainvillea, rocking chairs on porches and music – be it Cajun, blues or zydeco – pumping from every doorway. Bourbon Street is the centre of this universe, with its sex shops, tourist tat and daiquiri stands. Tacky, yes, but that's possibly what you're here for. The French Quarter is also home to the Historic Voodoo Museum (www.voodoomuseum.com). Spooky!

GO NATIVE Sports fan or not, take in a Saints (www.neworleanssaints.com) game. The team is hoping for a stellar season after some big-name signings.

NIGHTLIFE The bars are open 24/7, while cups of beer and jelly shots are sold on street corners, so it's fair to say things could get out of hand. Stay safe – don't take your clothes off until you get back to your room, and don't get in the car with that nice man who knows a great new club…

WHERE TO STAY If you have money to burn, Soniat House (www.soniathouse.com) is where it's at. Made up of three historic townhouses, with quiet courtyards and balconies from which to view all the action, it's a small but perfectly formed boutique hotel. Rooms start at £130 a night.

Don't be despondent if the MasterCard doesn't stretch to that. The Château Hotel (www.chateauhotel.com), a few blocks from the French market, boasts an open-air pool and comfortable rooms from £43 a night.

WHERE TO EAT New Orleans is one of the world's top three food destinations, so you're spoilt for choice. For casual dining in the French Quarter, try chef Emeril Lagasse's Nola Restaurant (www.emerils.com), or the world-famous beignets at Cafe du Monde in Jackson Square or an Oyster Po'Boy, the traditional New Orleans sandwich.

WHEN TO GO The city is best known for its Mardi Gras, but you don't have to wait until February to get your dancing shoes on. Congo Square Rhythms Festival is on October 4 and 5; the film festival is from October 10 to 16; and Swamp Fest is on November 1 and 2.

CAN YOU DRINK THE WATER? Yes. Preferably with a shot of bourbon and some ice.