5 Best Sights in New Orleans, Louisiana

When facing the river with the French Quarter at your back, you will see, to your right, the Crescent City Connection, a twin-span bridge between downtown New Orleans and the West Bank, and a ferry that crosses the river every 30 minutes. The river flows to the left downstream for another 100 miles until it merges with the Gulf of Mexico. Woldenberg Riverfront Park and Spanish Plaza are prime territory for watching everyday life along the Mississippi: steamboats carrying tour groups, tugboats pushing enormous barges, and oceangoing ships. Directly across the river from the Quarter are the ferry landing and a dry dock for ship repair.

This is a great place to get in touch with the spiritual side of New Orleans. It's the product of an innovative collaboration of more than a dozen of New Orleans's most progressive (and intriguing) organizations. Visitors can check out everything from the Wild Lotus Yoga Studio to the New Orleans Food Co-Op, from the Café Istanbul Performance Hall to the Island of Salvation Botanica, the famous voodoo shop run by the renowned priestess Sallie Ann Glassman.

One need not be a jazz fanatic to love the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. "Jazz Fest," as it's more commonly known, is a sprawling, rollicking celebration of Louisiana music, food, and culture held the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May. It takes place at the city's historic Fair Grounds Race Course, which reverberates with the sounds of rock, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, folk, world music, country, Latin, and, yes, traditional and modern jazz. Throw in world-class arts and crafts, exhibitions and lectures, and an astounding range of Louisiana-made food—which, for many, is the star of the show—and you've got a festival worthy of America's premier party town. Over the years, Jazz Fest lineups have come to include internationally known performers, but at its heart the festival is about the hundreds of Louisiana musicians who live, work, and cut their chops in the Crescent City. The festival is an important showcase for local musicians, introducing them to fans around the world.

Priestess Miriam Chamani shares her traditional West African spiritual practices here, offering a more authentic experience than many of the tourist shops in the French Quarter. The priestess sells her own line of essential oils and voodoo dolls, as well as jewelry, sachets, incense, and books on voodoo, and is available to book for consultations and healings. Voodoo walking tours, like the New Orleans Spirit Tour ( www.neworleansspirittours.com), will often take visitors here.