If you go to New Orleans and get a hotel on St. Charles Avenue, the great thing is that you can catch the St Charles street car anywhere along this street. It costs 1.25 or 1.50.  You can ride past the mansions and down to the French Quarter or take it in the other direction, past more mansion and Audubon Park, to Carrollton, a neighborhood with lots of restaurants.  (NOTE:  The post Katrina repairs are getting closer to completion and the St. Charles line now runs from Canal St. - just outside the Quarter - to the end of St. Charles Ave.- where the Carrollton neighbor begins.  It does not yet take the turn onto Carrollton Ave., so there is still about a mile or so awaiting completion.)  Most people don't care to drive in New Orleans, at least not the French Quarter, as the streets are very narrow and are kind of hard to follow. The French Quarter and the river front are great places for shopping, walking, and eating great food. It seems like every building that you look at has history.