Beyond Bourbon Street, tourists are outnumbered by locals dog-walking, jogging, or chatting on stoops. Though these quiet streets are fringed by some of the Quarter's finest vernacular architecture , "sights" as such are few. Half a block north of Bourbon, at 820 St Louis St, the restored 1831 Hermann-Grima House (Mon-Fri tours every 30min 10am-3.30pm; $6; $10 with the Gallier House) illustrates the lifestyle of middle-class Creoles in antebellum New Orleans - with cooking demonstrations in the kitchen every Thursday from October to May - while at the cheesy Musee Conti Wax Museum at 917 Conti St (Mon-Sat 10am-5.30pm, Sun noon-5pm; $7) you can enjoy a variety of high-camp tableaux portraying the city's history.

Rampart Street , the run-down strip separating the Quarter from Tremé , is a boundary rarely crossed by tourists. Though it's home to a couple of popu-lar clubs ( Donna's and Funky Butt ), both of which are just a short walk from the heart of the Quarter, it can feel hairy at night, and only slightly less so during the day, partly due to the proximity of some of the city's poorest housing projects. However, in the last few years, as the city as a whole has grown more stable and crime rates begun to fall, Rampart has slowly started to shed its dismal image. Much of this is thanks to the revitalization of Louis Armstrong Park as a place to hear music. In general, the park entrance, a huge twinkling arch clearly visible the length of St Ann St, promises more than the park itself delivers, and it's not recommended to wander around alone during the day. It's a different story during the occasional weekend music festivals , however, many of which, continuing its long tradition of black music and celebration, are held in Congo Square , the small paved area to the left of the entrance arch. Near the park, the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe at 411 N Rampart St is notable for its statue of "Saint Expedite," mysteriously delivered here, so the legend goes, in a crate simply stamped expedite .

Tremé itself, the historic African-American neighborhood where jazz was developed in the bordellos of Storyville - long since gone - has two small museums worth a look. The fascinating Backstreet Cultural Museum , in an old funeral parlor at 1116 St Claude (Tues-Sat 10am-5pm; $3), celebrates local street culture, including jazz funerals, while the African-American Museum , 1418 Gov Nicholls (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; $4), displays art works from Africa and the diaspora in three old houses spread across flower-filled courtyards. It's safe enough, using common sense and caution, to venture to these museums on foot during the day, but if you're heading for one of Tremé's music clubs be sure and take a cab.

Rampart Street and Tremé

• Rampart Street and Tremé

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