Where to stay in New Orleans: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

The French Quarter is the oldest part of the city and the one on all the postcards: candy-coloured Creole townhouses with lacy iron balconies, courtyards hidden behind carriage gates, and St Louis Cathedral presiding over Jackson Square. Royal Street has antique shops and galleries, Preservation Hall keeps traditional jazz alive, and Bourbon Street is a neon-lit, go-cup party that rarely pauses.

Hotels here are full of character. The Hotel Monteleone has stood on Royal Street since 1886, the Omni Royal Orleans greets you with marble, chandeliers and onyx statues, and the Royal Sonesta is a grand hotel two blocks from Canal Street. For something calmer, Hotel Provincial is in the quieter lower Quarter near the Old Ursuline Convent and the French Market, with a pool and a garden.

Light sleepers should ask for a room away from Bourbon Street. Everyone else should just embrace it.

Where Canal Street meets the Mississippi, the city's tallest hotels look out over the great brown river, the paddle steamers and the bend that gives New Orleans its Crescent City nickname. The French Quarter is a few minutes' walk one way, the Warehouse District the other, and the riverfront streetcar runs past the door.

The Four Seasons occupies a landmark tower at the foot of Canal Street, with restaurants by Louisiana chefs Alon Shaya and Donald Link, a resort-style pool and a 34th-floor observation deck. The Windsor Court is classic luxury, with balconies or bay windows overlooking the river or the skyline. The Hilton Riverside sits right on the riverbank, and Caesars New Orleans brings a casino and big views.

Just across Canal Street from the French Quarter, the Central Business District is a handsome mix of early-20th-century towers and converted office buildings. It's busier with workers than tourists by day, but it's where many of the city's best hotels are, and you can walk to Bourbon Street in a few minutes. During Mardi Gras, St Charles Avenue becomes a parade route.

The Saint, on the edge of the Quarter, is a two-minute walk from Bourbon Street. The InterContinental sits on the route of more than 30 annual parades, two blocks from the Quarter. Le Pavillon has been welcoming guests since 1907, and the Hilton on St Charles Avenue occupies a 1926 Masonic Temple with beautiful woodwork. Rooms are often cheaper than in the Quarter for similar quality.

The old cotton and coffee warehouses upriver from Canal Street now hold art galleries, loft apartments and some of the city's most talked-about restaurants. The National WWII Museum is the big draw, and an absorbing one, while the convention centre and the riverside outlet mall are a short walk away.

The Higgins Hotel is the official hotel of the WWII Museum, rising nine storeys above the Arts District. The Old No. 77 is a creative conversion with the acclaimed restaurant Compère Lapin downstairs. Families and groups should look at Domio on Baronne Street, where apartment-style suites come with a games room and a pool, and the Renaissance has an outdoor pool for hot afternoons.

Ride the green St Charles streetcar upriver and the city softens into the Garden District, a neighbourhood of white-columned mansions, wrought-iron fences and live oaks so big their roots buckle the pavements. Magazine Street runs along its edge with miles of boutiques, antique shops, cafés and bars, and Lafayette Cemetery's above-ground tombs are among the most atmospheric in the city.

There are only a few hotels here, but they're special. The Pontchartrain, on St Charles Avenue, has an intimate, flapper-era feel, a panoramic rooftop bar and the old-school Bayou Bar. Hotel Saint Vincent, in the Lower Garden District just off Magazine Street, has an outdoor pool and serious style. The French Quarter is a streetcar ride away, close enough for dinner and far enough for a proper night's sleep.

Kenner, a suburb west of the city, is home to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and its hotels are the sensible choice for an early flight or a late arrival. Several, including the DoubleTree, the Hilton and the Holiday Inn Express, are a couple of miles from the terminals and run free airport shuttles.

Parking is easy and prices are lower, but you'll need a car or taxis to reach the French Quarter. For a full stay, base yourself in the city and save Kenner, or neighbouring Metairie, for the night before you fly.