13. Let the good times roll
Mid City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl is one of the hottest venues for Louisiana-style music and dancing. The ambience is retro, and the clientele is multigenerational. Thursday is Zydeco Night. 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 504/482-3133, rockandbowl.com, $18 per lane per hour.

14. Rifling through architecture
A shotgun house is a narrow, often one-story affair with each room situated behind the other. (The idea is that if you fired a shot at the entrance, it would travel through every room and out the back.) The city's shotguns tend to be colorfully painted; a row of them strikes a picturesque pose. Driving through the Upper Ninth Ward, Bywater, Faubourg Marigny, Irish Channel, Uptown, and Riverbend neighborhoods provides concentrated viewing. New Orleans' Favorite Shotguns, by Mary Fitzpatrick and Alex Lemann, is a useful companion; buy it at the Preservation Resource Center. 923 Tchoupitoulas St., 504/581-7032, prcno.org.

Leroy Jones on trumpet at Preservation Hall (Chris Granger) [enlarge photo] INTERACTIVE MAP! Explore these New Orleans locations. • Launch the map

15. Just off the boot
A wave of Sicilian immigrants in the early 20th century created some beloved food traditions: muffulettas at Central Grocery Co. (923 Decatur St., 504/523-1620, $13), spaghetti with red gravy and Italian sausage at Mandina's Restaurant (3800 Canal St., 504/482-9179, mandinasrestaurant.com, $12), and gelato and cannoli at Angelo Brocato Ice Cream & Confectionery (214 N. Carrollton Ave., 504/486-1465, angelobrocatoicecream.com).

16. Stars in stripes
Seersucker is a summer staple in New Orleans. Perlis, a favorite local clothing retailer, is the place to go to outfit the entire family. Flagship store, 6070 Magazine St., 504/895-8661, perlis.com.

17. What's old is new
A close cousin to the old-fashioned, the modern-day Sazerac is a cocktail incorporating rye, Peychaud's Bitters, pastis, sugar, and a lemon twist. Try one at the Hotel Monteleone's rotating Carousel Bar. 214 Royal St., 504/523-3341, hotelmonteleone.com.

18. Gumbo guidelines
Every Louisianan has a set of rules about the famous stew: A gumbo must contain a roux; or, a roux isn't necessary if you use okra; or, okra should be used only in seafood gumbos. To taste multiple styles, visit the Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter. 630 St. Peter St., 877/525-1486, gumboshop.com, gumbo from $8.

19. A fresh approach
New Orleanians enjoy changes of seasons—seafood seasons, that is. That means oysters during fall and winter, crawfish in spring, and shrimp and crabs all summer long. Casamento's Restaurant, located Uptown, is famous for its raw oysters and fried-oyster loaf (4330 Magazine St., 504/895-9761, casamentosrestaurant.com, oysters $8.75 per dozen). Big Fisherman Seafood specializes in boiled crawfish (3301 Magazine St., 504/897-9907, bigfishermanseafood.com, crawfish $2.50 per pound). And Tommy's Cuisine is revered for its crabmeat au gratin (746 Tchoupitoulas St., 504/581-1103, tommyscuisine.com, entrées from $21).

20. Magnificent MiLa
Slade Rushing and Allison Vines-Rushing fell in love as young cooks in New Orleans roughly a decade ago and then moved to Manhattan to pursue their big-city dreams. Now they've returned to the South and opened MiLa (an amalgam of Mississippi and Louisiana); they take the products of an area farm and turn sweet potatoes into pappardelle and muscadine wine into a dessert gelée. Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel, 817 Common St., 504/412-2580, milaneworleans.com, entrées from $19.

21. Southern hospitality
Two blocks from the French Quarter, the International House hotel offers New Orleans–style glamour with a nod to the city's penchant for superstition. In the plush lobby, a West African fertility bench is covered with so many pillar candles that it seems more like an altar than a decoration. Rooms have bedside tables with cruciform feet, said to act as talismans for guests. 221 Camp St., 800/633-5770, ihhotel.com, from $119.

22. Drink locally
Abita Amber, produced by Abita Brewing Company, is a favorite New Orleans brew—the caramel flavor complements long, slow nights. But since its creation after the hurricanes of 2005, Abita's Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale has become a new favorite. 21084 Hwy. 36, Abita Springs, 985/893-3143, abita.com, brewery tour free.

23. Progressive parties
Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs celebrate local traditions by high stepping through the streets in what are called second-line parades. There's always a brass band and sometimes outfits with sashes and feather fans. For routes and to learn more about second-line traditions, visit the Backstreet Cultural Museum. 1116 St. Claude Ave., 504/287-5224, backstreetmuseum.org, $8.

24. Class transit
Gravely damaged after Hurricane Katrina, the St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street streetcar lines are operational again. Tourists ride knee to knee with commuters and kids, for whom the streetcars serve as school buses. $1.25 per ride; exact change required.

25. You're invited!
Festival season runs spring through fall, and if there's a town, a food, a craft, or a cause, Louisiana celebrates it. You might know the biggies: the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest), French Quarter Fest, and Essence Fest. But what about the Creole Tomato Festival? Or, 85 miles southwest of the city, in Morgan City, the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival? neworleansonline.com/calendar.