It is a sure bet this mysterious Creole child of the moonlit swamp was born in the midnight hour. Little else can account for the city’s jazzy, free-wheeling soul. New Orleans at once bewitches and befuddles outsides accustomed to living their days and nights close to the mainstream.

A 300-year-old melting pot heritage, sprung from early French, Spanish, West African, and Caribbean settlers, guarantees this is not your father’s Southern city. New Orleanians make no excuses when it comes to living life with gusto. Don a pair of rose-coloured glasses and this rock-around-the-clock party town tucked on a crescent of the Mississippi River looks like a long-lost Huck Finn acquaintance.

Perhaps no other American city or region is more down-to-the-bone musical than New Orleans and Southern Louisiana. Jazz evolved here, and so did the careers of many well-known musicians. Literary and artistic careers began here, as writers and artists found inspiration and acceptance. The benefits of all this creativity are seen and heard throughout the city – in its streets, concert halls, theatres, museums and architecture.