New Orleans French Quarter, Jazz and Bayou, 4 Nights

A driver meets you at Louis Armstrong International for the drive into the city, about half an hour. The rest of the day is free. Walk to the French Quarter for your first taste of its wrought-iron balconies and street musicians, and stop at a cafe for beignets, the square doughnuts buried in powdered sugar. Bourbon Street is loud at night; Royal Street, one block over, is calmer and lined with galleries.

The narrated tour starts in the French Quarter at Jackson Square, with the Cabildo and the Presbytere on either side of the cathedral, then heads out along Esplanade Avenue to City Park and its huge live oaks. The route also passes through the Garden District's grand old houses and takes in one of the city's above-ground cemeteries, chosen by the operator under the current access rules. After dark, the ghost walk leads through gaslit lanes of the Quarter, telling tales of fire, fever and the people said to linger.

The morning walking tour explains how the French Quarter was laid out and introduces the city's layers of French, Spanish, African and Caribbean culture. It visits Congo Square, where enslaved Africans gathered to play music on Sundays, and tells the story of Marie Laveau, the most famous voodoo priestess. In the afternoon, visit the New Orleans Jazz Museum in the Old US Mint, which is closed on Mondays, then stay on Frenchmen Street for live music in the evening.

A morning boat trip into the wetlands outside the city, where a guide explains Cajun life and the slow loss of coastal marsh to erosion. Look for egrets, turtles and alligators, which are most active in warm months and much less visible in winter. In the afternoon, visit the National WWII Museum, a large complex in the Warehouse District, where you could easily spend four hours or more.

Breakfast and check-out, and if time allows a last cafe au lait by the river, then your driver takes you to the airport for your onward flight. New Orleans pairs well with Atlanta, Orlando or Chicago if you are continuing within the USA.