Nestled among the centuries-old oaks of the famed St. Charles Streetcar line in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast is a three-story 1891 Thomas Sully mansion that offers turn-of-the-century charm to match its historic location.

The French Quarter, the Garden District, the D-Day Museum, the New Orleans Convention Center, the Audubon Institute (home to the New Orleans Zoo and the Aquarium of the Americas), and Tulane and Loyola universities are all within two miles of the Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast. Better yet, Magazine Street, a stretch of pavement famous for its antique shops, specialty boutiques, fine restaurants, and lively night spots, is within walking distance.

The elegant estate's trademark features include high ceilings, hardwood floors, and period furnishings. Each of the 17 lodging accommodations is uniquely decorated and offers contemporary amenities including a private bath, cable television, individually controlled central air and heat, and telephone with voice mail and data port. The mansion's spacious front porch and two second-floor balconies serve up great views of historic St. Charles Avenue, which is included on the routes of 18 different parades during Mardi Gras.

A delicious complimentary continental breakfast is served daily in the Inn's formal dining room. But after that, your options are wide open as you set out to explore a city that has truly evolved into one of the world's premier destinations known for its food as well as its music.

Mardi Gras festivities and The French Quarter Festival are closeby. The Longue Vue House and Gardens provides an inside-out montage of architecture, decorative art, and immaculately designed landscape. The Louisiana Children's Museum, John Brown's New Orleans Sidewalk Astronomy, a French Quarter mainstay, offers peeks into the night sky through a monstrous 12.5-inch Meade Reflector Telescope. Of course, you can't leave town without a shopping visit to the Riverwalk, a collection of stores and restaurants.

Museums include the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, the D-Day Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Gallery of New Orleans, the Musee Conti Wax Museum, and the Historic New Orleans Collection.

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