A trip to New Orleans isn’t complete without beignets, a po-boy, riding on the streetcar, seeing a cemetery, barely making bail, and taking photos in front of St. Louis Cathedral.

Aside from the pool open to the public, the best thing about the New Orleans outpost of the Ace Hotel is its rooftop garden, Alto.

What is there to love about Pal’s?

Slip inside the Lost Love Lounge, and the red walls seem to glow in welcome -- why arrive fancy when everyone looks good in a shade of rouge?

You’re always welcome at Bourbon Pub.

The Chart Room, bless it, is indestructible, un-ruinable.

The Columns is a pretty bar.

Twelve Mile has all the little things that make a bar feel homey.

In the tradition of Irish pubs, Finn McCool’s is more than a bar.

Ms. Mae's, on the corner of Magazine and Napoleon, is a New Orleans institution -- and not because it's open 24 hours or is one of the cheapest bars in town.

Snake and Jake’s is the kind of bar where you could be sipping a Schlitz next to George Clooney and vaguely wonder if that guy next to you is actually handsome, or if he just looks good in low, red light.

Everybody has opinions about New Orleans -- the laissez-faire attitude, the architecture, the food, the music, the colorful houses, and the characters that populate the Crescent City.