“If the water wasn’t rising inside your parlor, you wouldn’t dare complain,” recalled one Garden District resident after church recently.  Another parishioner told us her next door neighbor still can’t bear to return, more than four years after Katrina.

The Cafe du Monde, a favorite spot fo tourists and locals alike for fluffy beignets and rich coffee

Stanton Hall - This former residence is now used for weddings and other events.

Hurricane memories still float close to the surface in New Orleans.  This city is still in the throes of what they call “rebirth.” But the tourist areas– the French Quarter and Garden District – look cleaner and more welcoming than they have in decades.  Since tourism contributes 35% of city revenues, you’ll help simply by being there.

Your ideal “N’awlins” getaway begins at the French Quarter’s epicenter — Jackson Square — with café au lait and beignets at Café du Monde. This coffee-chicory-steamed milk drink has been served here since 1862.

St. Louis Cathedral, America’s oldest cathedral in continuous use, and the Cabildo, site of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, border lush Jackson Square, presided over by Andrew Jackson, high on his horse.  You can find your own horse there, for a leisurely carriage ride through the historic French Quarter, the original section of the city.

This city grew up under five flags, but retains a decidedly French flavor. It’s a place that embraces its past — with twice as many buildings on the National Register than any other American city – and continues working as a busy seaport, our nation’s leader for rubber and coffee.

A stay in N.O. is a sensual gumbo of tastes and sounds.  Free-flowing cocktails, riffs of jazz and blues, and hidden courtyard cafes are three reasons visitors fall in love with New Orleans – and why it was named the most romantic getaway in the continental U.S. this year by  TripAdvisor.com.

A culinary tour is your perfect intro to the distinctive Creole entrees on French Quarter menus. You’ll taste signature dishes at top restaurants, tour a centuries-old wine cellar, learn about the first cocktail, discover the “holy trinity” of Creole ingredients — and even take a mini-class on cooking a roux.  This is where Oysters Rockefeller, Bananas Foster, Jambalaya, the Po’ Boy, Pralines and the Sazerac cocktail were invented — so don’t leave without tasting it all.

After you’ve had your fill, check out the around-the-clock party spilling out onto Bourbon Street from bars, dance clubs and overhanging balconies on both sides. Mardi Gras season or not, it’s always a party here.  For upscale entertainment, perk up your ears with a few sets at Preservation Hall, where Dixieland jazz was born and audience requests are welcomed.  Or catch the current show at Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, the country’s oldest community theatre.

If shopping is your forte, stroll prestigious Royal Street to scout out an antique silver candelabra, fabulous cocktail dress or custom-mixed perfume. Or head over to Magazine Street, where six miles of cozy cafes and chic boutiques invite you to browse.

For a peek at gracious southern living, ride the charming St. Charles Avenue streetcar ($1.25 exact change) to the Garden District, where lovingly-restored Greek Revival and Italianate mansions, embellished with columns, porches and ornate ironwork, sit amidst serene gardens. Tour guide Roberts Batson sums up the local aesthetic – as expressed in 24-hour bars, well-seasoned food and elaborate iron balconies – like this:  “In New Orleans, anything that’s worth doing is worth over-doing.”

This is the neighborhood of author Anne Rice, Lafayette Cemetery No.1, Tulane University and Audubon Zoo.  Select a local read from the Garden District Book Shop and splurge on a memorable meal at the celebrated Commander’s Palace.

Then venture out of your comfort zone into the famous Ninth Ward, where 12 feet of water breached concrete levees, flooding close-knit neighborhoods of simple bungalows. Take a “rebirth” tour to see block after razed or deserted block, punctuated by hopeful signs of new construction, thanks to Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr.’s Musician’s Village Habitat for Humanity project, Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, and various church-sponsored projects.

Once you see how much work remains to be done, follow the lead of many out-of-towners and roll up your sleeves.  You’ll “have a good time doing good” in what can be a life-changing volunteer effort.  Indeed, volunteering in New Orleans is the #2 top travel experience worldwide on Rough Guides’ 2009 “Nine Top Travel Experiences” list.  Start by researching volunteer options on neworleansonline.com.

As tour guide Debbie Alexander tells it, “We have four seasons here:  football, hunting, crawfish and hurricane.”  Come September and October, it’s all football in Saints territory. For visitors, autumn also offers fewer crowds, festivals every weekend and summery temperatures, just when it’s turning cool here in the Garden State. That adds up to an ideal time to “laissez les bons temps rouler” (translation:  let the good times roll).

Bygone Days - Fully customized southern belle on the veranda at Dunleith plantation in Natchez, Mississippi.

Dixie Detour

There’s an unmistakable charm to southern living, especially for Jersey folks.  So stay an extra weekend to immerse yourself in antebellum history and hospitality, with an easy three-hour drive north to Natchez, MS.  Time stands still there at 1850, when plantation owners and their hoop-skirted ladies sipped mint juleps on the porches of white-columned mansions, gazing out over moss-draped live oaks.  Back then, cotton was king and Natchez was home to more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the country. Scarlett and Rhett would feel perfectly at home there.

Visit during their fall or spring pilgrimage – running every year since 1932 — to tour 25 antebellum mansions and view a costumed history pageant.  Stay at Monmouth or Dunleith Plantations, now elegant B&Bs (hoop skirts not required).  Stop for a drink with locals at Under-the-Hill Saloon.  See NatchezPilgrimage.com for details.