this book allowed for one of the nicest vacations i have ever taken. more than bourbon street indeed; if you're into historical along with fun, good food, and the infamous celebratory attitude then this is the book you're looking for! it covers everything you can imagine plus the historical information with the descriptions that follow the maps for the various tours is priceless. we didn't take one tour save the plantation *oak alley* tour; didn't need to! the maps along with the additional information is all you need to create your own walking tours, driving excursions and much much more. i would also allow that personally i did read another book: Fabulous New Orleans by Lyle Saxon. the combination of the two really compliment one another. just my opinion. again, great book; i sincerely can't say enough.

Having visited NO before and having read three other "Guides" I was suprised by how different this book was from the others and how everything I personally wanted to know about was adressed in detail. Walking the Faubourgs is the best way to appreciate the very unique city behind the tourist hype and Mr. Delahanty tells you how. Other guide books are collections of data gathered from many sources, but this is a story told by someone who knows and loves his subject. Our morning walks through the Bayou St. John neighborhood for coffee on Esplanade Ave. were greatly enhanced by the information in the "Esplanade Ridge" section. The history is so much more amazing than the garishness of Bourbon St. My daughter, a six year resident of NO, is planning her wedding there and has found this an invaluable resource. There is an address and telephone number for everything. I am recommending this book to all of her wedding guests and buying a second copy for myself, having given mine to her. If you plan a trip to New Orleans, read this book before you go and carry it with you while you are there.

New Orleans' unique food, music, architecture, and people have been justly celebrated and explained to out of towners and locals alike in many, many books. Why one more?

Randolph Delehanty's answer to that question would be, I suppose (I have never spoken with him), that most guidebooks miss the essence of our city: the varied streets - from the carriage-wide alleyways of the Vieux Carre to the grand boulevards of St. Charles and Esplanade Avenues - which tie together our rich architectural heritage and cultural history.

At once public and private, street walking is an old tradion in New Orleans and this book introduces novice and old pro alike to the tricks of the trade.

Delehanty, director of the University of New Orleans' Ogden Museum of Southern Art and author of nine books, including the definitive coffee table book of New Orleans'interiors and patios, New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, takes readers inside New Orleans buildings and gardens on over a dozen walking, transit, and (when necessary) car tours of the city and its River Road environs. Neighborhood by fauborg, he explains the special points of history that make this a city of towns, unlike most Southern cities. While your eyes are drawn to the architecture, he points out the lives of the inhabitants of these old homes, shops, and mansions - often writers and musicians. A few pages on "New Orleans House Design and Sociability: Stoops, Balconies, Galleries, and Porches" explain how climate, architecture, and sociability were intimately intertwined before the age of air-conditioning, cars, and television reduced urban life to a fraction of its potential for gracious living.

This walker's "ultimate guide" to New Orlean's architecture and culture is a must for locals who hope to become "New Orleans know it alls" and an inspired choice for those out of towners who hope to live like a native, if only for a few days.

Excellent and detailed maps, extensive cross-references, and select listings of all the basic tourist needs (restaurants, music clubs, bars, etc.) round out an excellent guide: the best of its kind (in the opinion of this City of New Orleans' licensed walking tour guide and life long resident of the Big Easy).

San Francisco Victorians is a wonderful little book, especially for the homesick like me. The book is full of great pictures reflecting the cultural heritage of Frisco, with a historian's essay telling the history along the way. Excellent companion for a long stroll in the city; for delightful discoveries.

I've seen this photographers' work before and he's done another impeccable job documenting some of the most originally restored homes I've seen in twenty years.

I love this book. The pictures are beautiful and the text is very informative. If you love artful buildings and wonderful pictures of them, you will be very glad to have this book.

i loved this book! this is one of the best books on the town of natchez, anyone looking for info on anyone of the many fantastic houses in natchez should bye this book! i looooooooved that one house, longwood, interesting architecture.

This is a fabulous book, filled brillant color photo's of manywonderful ante-bellum homes. I am proud that someone finally wrotesuch a great,detailed, and informitive book. If you like classicsouthern architecture than this is the book for you.I give this book 5stars!

This walking guide to San Francisco contains numerous historical and architectural tidbits of a variety well-suited for curious urban day-hikers. I've lived in San Francisco for three years and have walked by a great number of interesting buildings without noticing them until they were pointed out in this book. The text is organized into chapters devoted to neighborhoods, with (somewhat limited) information about lodging and dining and a walkable itinerary highlighting the most distinctive features of the area. Noteworthy are the chapters concerning the Victorian Painted Ladies of the Haight-Ashbury District and the excellent Mission District walk. A book like this is a fine way to get off the beaten path of San Francisco tourism and to see what the real neighborhoods are like.

I love New Orleans and everything about it! My husband and I go there regularly, so when we bought a new house in December, I wanted to really decorate the interior of some of the rooms "New Orleans Style". When searching on Amazon, I found this book with pictures of some homes in NOLA interiors. I found this book to be very helpful as far as decorating and choosing Nawlins' colors for my house. Not to mention the fact that it gives me a "quick fix" for New Orleans when I can't be there in person!

One of my all-time favorite books. The stuff of dreams and nightmares too.

This is an utterly luscious picture book. Chock full of photos of real interiors. Real homes of artists and the creative. Homes of people who love peeling wallpaper and cracked plaster; and especially those who love living in the midst of art works, or deeply personal collections.

The homes of people who love the humid haze, moist earth-scented New Orleans.

Just returned from my fifth trip to the Crescent City and miss it already. I flipped through this book at a shop there and knew I would buy it as soon as I got home. In photographs and words, this is an evocation of New Orleans by two people who obviously love the place. Go with it and you'll be transported! New Orleans isn't perfect, but it is fascinating, unique, and exotic, which this book appreciates and shows off.

We just got back from 5 days in New Orleans, and this was the only guide we took with us. It was a mistake. It's a difficult book to navigate, has limited maps, limited selection of accomodation & restaurants. If you go outside of Madi Gras & with children (two teenagers in our case) half the book is irrelevent. The restaurant '100 best' list doesn't match Zagats (always reliable). It warns against solo visits to the cemeteries (they're not safe, go on a tour), but doesn't explain why! Pity there isn't a Michelin Green Guide.

If you are going to New Orleans to enjoy the truly (as opposed to superficially) diverse culture of the United States' most distinctive city, then read this book before your trip.

Bultman's history of the city (perhaps the book's strongest feature) is fascinating and the neighborhood descriptions will help you decide what to see. More importantly, the information on N.O.'s unique slang, customs and food is essential. The dozens of great photographs will whet your anticipation before you go and remind you of the Crescent City's pleasures when you're back home.

I've used this book on three trips to N.O., and I still enjoy reading it. The restaurant and hotel recommendations aren't perfect (hey, tastes vary and things change) but they give you a place to start before you discover your own favorite spots.
Buy this book, make your reservations and let the good times roll!

This is really more than a just a guidebook but a very informative and entertaining history and cultural guide of New Orleans. Even though I had been to New Orleans before, the trip I made with this book as my companion was my best.

On past trips to New Orleans, I never could successfully determine what was real and what was for the tourists. I was especially impressed by the restaurant picks in the book which were outstanding.