There’s something about New Orleans that feels like the very edges of culture, those unusual underground edges that we reach before we fall. In New Orleans, it’s always a feeling of falling off that very same edge, the edges of the earth, and into the mouths of sea monsters that are waiting just below. There’s also something in the air in New Orleans, where all of this seems like it might actually be a good thing, and the fall is liable to be interesting, and the sea monsters probably have very good taste in music. In New Orleans, it’s the beginning of something interesting, and at also seems like it’s the end of something else.

There are always plenty of ways to negotiate the space between here and there in New Orleans, where the sense of otherness that was so disconcerting in other places is common here. There is a sense of being in a city that’s unique and lively, and also a feeling of entering another world. Great hotels are splendid ways to maintain a kind of contact with a familiar world, or at least one that’s remarkably gracious, and as hospitable as the rest of the city.

There are also plenty of adventures here, ranging from the easily accessible, in body and spirit, to the more local and unusual, like the programming offered at Zeitgeist . This multi-disciplinary arts center is curated by local Rene Broussard , whose tastes are eclectic, innovative, and also rather visionary at times. There are plenty of art forms to experience here, and lots of film, but the roots of the space are in experimental theatre. It started operations in the 80s, and has had a pretty spectacular run, featuring a stunning number of artists and performance from all over the world. There is also always a generous number of artists working locally, and presenting work here. For visitors, this is the perfect opportunity to enjoy something very much rooted in the neighborhoods in New Orleans, and there be sea monsters for sure.

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