Iconic French Quarter Architecture with Expansive Courtyard

Bedecked with wrought-iron balconies and tall french doors, five townhouses surround a vast courtyard. In the center, statues dance in a three-tier marble fountain while guests dine at tables swathed in white tablecloths. This quintet of former abodes comprises the Maison Dupuy Hotel, the last inn constructed in the Vieux Carreé before the historical neighborhood banned the building of future hotels in 1975. Day and night, guests lounge in the courtyard, enjoying a bite to eat, a satisfying guffaw, or a dip in the heated saltwater swimming pool or jacuzzi tub.

Tucked in a quiet nook of the French Quarter, some of the rooms in the Maison Dupuy's townhouses overlook the courtyard or the quaint residential streets. In the standard king room, soft lamps cast the king-size bed and wooden armoire in a somber, yellow tone, as if to stifle the blue notes of distant jazz sneaking in through the window's billowing white curtains.

Lining the walls of the hotel's signature restaurant, Bistreaux, a mural depicts New Orleans's halcyon days of jazz, dancing, and top hats. Four nights a week—including Wednesday and Thursday—resident jazz musician Paul Longstreth complements the locally sourced comfort fare with his own homegrown jazz. In the morning, guests can dig in to a full American breakfast buffet, and at the hotel's companion restaurant, Le Meritage, chef Michael Farrell models his entire menu around the qualities of wine, pairing light whites with roasted halibut and robust reds with grilled venison.

French Quarter: New Orleans' Oldest Neighborhood

When the founder of New Orleans, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, plotted the city in 1721, the original town center fell squarely in the present-day French Quarter. That history endures through the neighborhood's listing on the registry of National Historic Landmarks. It also endures through the area's unique architecture, scents, and sounds, from the cast-iron balconies extending over the narrow streets to the creole spices and trombone glissandos wafting through the air. Steps away from the Maison Dupuy Hotel, Bourbon Street—famous for its bars—exudes the city's iconic energy and celebratory spirit. Several nearby landmarks, from the oldest operating public market in America to a collection of authentic 1940s residences, preserve that history well into the present day.