Courtyards containing beautiful fountains are plentiful throughout the French Quarter.    Vieux Carre, another name for the French Quarter, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans.

The Quarter (as the locals call it) covers about 78 city blocks.  The epicenter of the French Quarter is without question Bourbon Street.  Clubs and bars line Rue Bourbon - most notably Pat O'Brien's, the birthplace of the Hurricane cocktail.  World famous restaurants and hotels, large and small, are scattered throughout the district.

Of course Bourbon Street is home to one of the biggest parties in the world -- Mardi Gras.