Algiers

Two gray cats lounge in the blue shade of a front porch. A bust of Elvis sits in a side yard, draped with Mardi Gras beads. Ginger blooms spice the air. You’re in New Orleans, but not the one you might know. In a city of exotic names, the historic neighborhood of Algiers stands apart. Literally. It sits across the Mississippi River, connected to downtown by a ferry line – one of the nation’s oldest. As they have over three centuries running, a boat deposits you on the levee of Algiers Point. Explore. Relax. Its pace may be quiet, but its architecture is not – the wood houses lathed and carved in a variety of Victorian embellishment, shout their individuality. And history: The War of 1812, the Union occupation, an 1895 fire almost leveled it. But back Algiers came to make music. Jazz flourished here with neighborhood artists such as Kid Valentine and Papa Celestine. Algiers still sings its own New Orleans tune. Cross the water and listen.