Strike Ignatius J. Reilly's Pose at His Canal Street StatueOn Canal Street outside the old D.H. Holmes (now Hyatt Centric, 819 Canal), the bronze of Ignatius J. Reilly waits under the clock in his earflap hat. Strike his exact disgusted pose for the photo.Photo HuntEasy20 min
Find the Singing Oak in City Park and Wait for a BreezeIn City Park near Big Lake, behind the museum, stands the Singing Oak: a live oak strung with black wind chimes up to 14 feet long, all tuned to one chord. Stand under it and wait for a breeze to play it for you.Hidden GemEasy30 min
Order the messiest sandwich in townAt Parkway Bakery & Tavern on Bayou St. John, skip the menu agonizing and ask for the roast beef po-boy dressed with extra debris gravy. It will run down your arms. Locals expect this; bring napkins.Food & DrinkEasy45 min
Visit the room of plaster body partsInside St. Roch Cemetery's chapel (1725 St. Roch Ave) is a tiny ex-voto room where the healed left behind plaster feet, glass eyes, leg braces and ceramic hearts as thank-yous. Whisper your own ailment and add nothing.WeirdMedium30 min
Eat shaved ice from 1939At Hansen's Sno-Bliz (4801 Tchoupitoulas) the ice is shaved on a machine grandpa Ernest built, and the syrups are made fresh daily. Order a small with cream of nectar; defend it from the heat with your life.Food & DrinkEasy30 min
Catch Sunset at The Fly, the Locals' Riverbank Behind Audubon ZooBehind Audubon Zoo on the grassy riverbank locals call The Fly (Riverview Dr), claim a patch of grass at golden hour and watch barges drift past as the Mississippi turns orange. Free, and gloriously tourist-free.SocialEasy45 min
Drink under a hand-painted SaturnSaturn Bar (3067 St. Claude Ave) is a 1960s dive crammed with leopard booths, dusty oddities and surreal devil-and-angel murals by a salvage diver. Order a cheap beer and crane your neck at the giant Saturn on the ceiling.CultureMedium40 min
Climb the Rusty RainbowAt Piety Street in Bywater, scale the arching rust-colored pedestrian bridge locals call the Rusty Rainbow into Crescent Park, where weathered steel frames a postcard view of the river and skyline most visitors never find.ActiveEasy35 min
Stand inside a Mardi Gras Indian suit's lairThe Backstreet Cultural Museum in Tremé (1531 St. Philip) is a tiny shrine to second-lines, jazz funerals and dazzling beaded-and-feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits. Ask the staff what spy boy means; they'll happily school you.CultureEasy45 min
Browse the Frenchmen Street Art Bazaar After DarkAt the open-air Frenchmen Art Bazaar (619 Frenchmen St), wander stalls of local painters and jewelers after dark while brass music leaks from the clubs next door. Browsing is free; chatting up the makers is the real haul.Local DetailEasy30 min
Jog the Audubon Park Loop Before the Humidity WinsBeat the swamp humidity with a sunrise lap of Audubon Park's 1.8-mile oak-shaded loop, where thousands of uptown locals jog past the lagoon before the heat clamps down. Nod to the regular walkers; they own this path.ActiveMedium45 min
Jog the Lafitte Greenway Through TreméTrace the 2.6-mile asphalt Greenway that locals run from the edge of the French Quarter through Tremé and Lafitte, then earn it at the open-air FitLot kiosk near Galvez Street. It is dead flat, so no excuses.ActiveEasy50 min
Climb the fairy-tale giants at StorylandLet the kids scramble over 26 oversized storybook sculptures in City Park's Storyland, built by a Mardi Gras float maker and still cheap to enter. Pinocchio's whale is fair game; you are encouraged to get swallowed.FamilyEasy1 hr
Putt across Louisiana at City PuttPlay a round at City Park's City Putt, where the 36 holes are themed around real New Orleans streets and Louisiana towns, with little history signs at each one. Quiz the kids on a fact, then promptly lose to them.FamilyEasy1 hr
Summit Laborde Mountain in Couturie ForestHike the easy 1-mile loop through Couturie Forest to Laborde Mountain, the highest point in New Orleans at a towering 43 feet of freeway rubble. Read the stone map at the top and tell the kids you conquered a peak.FamilyEasy45 min