36 Hours - New Orleans - NYTimes.com THE weekend here begins midday on Friday when the smartly dressed lunch crowd descends upon Galatoire's restaurant in the French Quarter and, well armed with cocktails, starts its long assault on the afternoon. Or perhaps on Thursday night, when Kermit Ruffins pulls out his trumpet at Vaughan's Lounge in the Bywater neighborhood. Of course, a strong case could be made for Wednesday. That is only in normal time, anyway. The season leading up to Mardi Gras, this year on Feb. 21, fuses into one long weekend, as the streets around the city begin filling up with floats, and the living rooms of New Orleanians become littered with feathers, glue and the makings of costumes. This is how they do it in New Orleans, a city that was four-fifths underwater less than seven years ago and is hosting this year's Final Four basketball tournament, the 2013 Super Bowl and the countless parades and festivals in between. 5 p.m. In a city blossoming with craft-cocktail bars, best begin with a classic. The French 75 Bar (813 Bienville Street; 504-523-5433; arnaudsrestaurant.com/french-75) is a side chapel to Arnaud's, one of the old French Quarter dining palaces. The bar can get smoky, but that's part of its French colonial charm, along with the animal print upholstery and tuxedoed bar staff. Order a Sazerac ($6.95) or let Chris Hannah, one of the city's best bartenders, stir up something of his own design. For a scenic if unhurried ride uptown, take the streetcar past the mansions and live oaks to the end of St. Charles Avenue. There is good food here. For classic south Louisiana cuisine, including a justly celebrated roast duck ($32), head to Brigsten's (723 Dante Street; 504-861-7610; brigstens.com), situated in a homey Victorian cottage, or for a more casual dinner, cross the street to Dante's Kitchen (736 Dante Street; 504-861-3121; danteskitchen.com; small plates $12 to $14; entrees $23 to $27), which begins dinner with spoon bread so good you want to eat it with a ladle. A walk of a few blocks is worth it for Boucherie (8115 Jeannette Street; 504-862-5514; boucherie-nola.com), a Southern-flavored bistro that began its life as a food truck. Start off with the boudin balls ($5) and end with - this is real - Krispy Kreme bread pudding ($5). 10 p.m. Stuffed and standing at the corner of Oak Street and South Carrollton Avenue, you have a choice. If you're in the mood for refined, you can go to Oak (8118 Oak Street; 504-302-1485; oaknola.com), a glossy wine bar, and conclude the evening all civilized-like with a crisp riesling. If you're restless, walk to the Maple Leaf Bar (8316 Oak Street; 504-866-9359; mapleleafbar.com) and join the crowd already dancing to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band or whoever is on the bill. And if you're game, turn around and head to Snake and Jake's Christmas Club Lounge (7612 Oak Street; 504-861-2802; snakeandjakes.com), strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you and see where the night goes. 10 a.m. New Orleans is known for its cemeteries, built largely above ground in part because the water table lurks only a few feet below. The variety runs from the eerily beautiful tombs of Creole grandees to a small plot on the grounds of a former plantation outside town where one of Adolf Hitler's horses is said to be buried. The best place to start looking is just outside the French Quarter in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (1300 St. Louis Street), the oldest existing cemetery in the city. Explore on your own, or take a tour (501 Basin Street; 504-525-3377; saveourcemeteries.org; $12) and study the tombs of mayors, gamblers, jazz musicians and heroes of the War of 1812, as well as those of Paul Morphy, one of the greatest chess players of the 19th century; Marie Laveau, the voodoo priestess; and, potentially, Nicolas Cage, who financed the construction of a rather odd-looking pyramidal tomb presumably for his future use. Noon 5. There's no SUBstitute for a real New Orleans po'boy, or so the bumper sticker goes; whether your taste runs to gravy-doused roast beef or barbecued shrimp, the one at Liuzza's by the Track (1518 North Lopez; 504-218-7888) is so overstuffed that it verges on a stew ($14.95). Still, the buckboard bacon melt sandwich ($9) at Cochon Butcher (930 Tchoupitoulas Street; 504-588-7675; cochonbutcher.com) makes for a pretty good stand-in. The destruction wrought by Katrina and the subsequent flooding go far beyond the iconic Lower Ninth Ward, but it is also true that the wonders of the Lower Ninth Ward go far beyond the floodwaters. There is the pastel origami of the "Brad Pitt houses," Fats Domino's black and yellow mini-mansion, the beguiling steamboat houses on Egania Street and the little museum behind Ronald Lewis's house at 1317 Tupelo Street. Call Mr. Lewis ahead (504-957-2678), and he'll arrange a visit to the House of Dance and Feathers, his private collection dedicated to the Mardi Gras Indian, the still vibrant but century-plus-old tradition wherein black New Orleanians create ornate suits and parade the streets. If you have a car, you can hire a guide ($10 to $30 per person depending on group size) from lowernine.org, a nonprofit rebuilding group (504-344-4884); all the proceeds go to their work in the neighborhood. But you can also explore on a bike; Ninth Ward Rebirth Bike Tours (504-909-9959; ninthwardrebirthbiketours.com; $55 a person for a four-hour tour) run five or six mornings a week. A tally of good restaurants in this city is endless - just about anyone's favorites are worth trying - but the list has mostly left out the bohemian Bywater neighborhood, a part of town appreciated more for art collectives and corner bars where you can happily kill an afternoon. That is beginning to change, however. Satsuma (3218 Dauphine Street; 504-304-5962; satsumacafe.com), a hipster-crowded coffeehouse by day, has recently begun serving dinner. Sit in the patio and begin with an order of gougères ($4), little pastries of Gruyère, prosciutto and tomato jam. Afterward, head over to Bacchanal (600 Poland Avenue; 504-948-9111; bacchanalwine.com), order a glass ($5 to $8) or a bottle ($12 to $30) of whatever they suggest, and take a seat in the courtyard under lights strung among the mulberry and oleander trees. Frenchmen Street on Saturday night is like a big radio dial: you can just pop in and out of the bars and hear something different at each one. A swing band is most likely on stage at the Spotted Cat (623 Frenchman; 504-258-3135; spottedcatmusicclub.com; usually one-drink minimum); over at d.b.a., John Boutté is well into his Saturday night gig (618 Frenchman; 504-942-3731; dbabars.com/dbano; the cover charge is usually $5); a chanteuse is giving way to a jazz trio at the Three Muses (536 Frenchmen; 504-252-4801; thethreemuses.com; one-drink minimum); and at the little Japanese tavern Yuki Izakaya (525 Frenchmen Street; 504-943-1122; one-drink minimum), Norbert Slama, the virtuosic blind French accordionist, is playing torch songs over the sake and yakitori. Shortly before St. Augustine Catholic Church (1210 Gov. Nicholls Street; 504-525-5934; staugustinecatholicchurch-neworleans.org) was dedicated in 1842, white and black Catholics in the area began battling to see who could buy up the most pews. When the "War of the Pews" ended, the congregation was a mix of free blacks, whites and slaves, possibly the most integrated in the country. The church is known for its jazz Masses throughout the year, but any given Sunday the choir and the church's history make it worth a visit. The boundary between parade and spectator in New Orleans is always a blurry one, especially when the second line comes down the street. Every Sunday from the fall through spring, neighborhood associations known as Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, formed long ago as insurance and financial assistance pools, take turns putting on parades. The brass band and the club's dancers march out front, followed by everyone else - the "second line." That is, when you go, you will be in the second line. The parades usually last a few hours, and you can hop in at any point. Check the Web site of radio station WWOZ (wwoz.org/new-orleans-community/inthestreet) for the route. The site also lists Mardi Gras Indian practices on Sunday nights, which begin again in the fall. If you stay for those you'll probably just move here. The 600-room Hotel Monteleone (214 Royal Street; 504-523-3341; hotelmonteleone.com) is still the grande dame of French Quarter hotels. A renovated street-level lounge has just opened, and a new restaurant is on its way. Rooms start at $169. For rock stars and those who would live like them, the Royal Street Inn (1431 Royal Street; 504-948-7499; royalstreetinn.com) - attached to the always-jumping R bar, and described as a "bed and beverage" - is ideal. There are five suites, starting at $85. There are plenty of bed-and-breakfasts in the Marigny, just downriver from the French Quarter, and in the Lower Garden District, such as the charming Terrell House (1441 Magazine Street; 504-237-2076; terrellhouse.com) with 12 rooms starting at $150 a night.