Before the Music Plays:Th Guide to (Almost Free) Summer Day Activities in the Marigny and Beyond.

To be completely honest, this list is biased because I made it. But if you’re looking for a slow, easy day while waiting for the music to kick off on Frenchmen Street later in the evening, you need a solid slate of neighborhood things to do nearby.

(Note: I did double-check the list with my mom, my child, and my dog, and they all agreed that even though a tour with us is the only thing on this list that costs money, we deserve the top spot. This is why I am nice to my family.)

1. A Street Tour Named Desire Bike Tour

Okay, again, it’s my company, and Danny and I are the only guides. But I know us, and we are damn good at what we do—weaving the history of the neighborhoods surrounding Frenchmen Street into how the area became so unique today. And we’ve got jokes.

If you like drinking, we have the Cocktail Tour; if you like eating, we have the Culinary Tour. But for a deep dive into the stories that make us who we are, there is the Creole Cultural Tour.

But, if you don’t want to spend the money to see if my mom is right, there are plenty of free things to do if you just grab a Blue Bike from a city rack. And once you do, here are the other four places where you can stay cool and entertained while doing next to nothing—my personal preference on a slow summer day. And remember, biking is cooler than walking because the self-powered breeze acts as your personal AC.

2. Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park

The first time I visited this park was the day it opened. I honestly said out loud, “Holy @#%^! This is what other cities have!” We don’t usually do modern or overly clean public bathrooms in New Orleans, so the whole park was a wonderful shock.

Sitting right at the edge of the French Quarter closest to the Marigny, it definitely makes a case for having the best views of the Mississippi River—right at the very bottom of a drainage basin that covers a third of the nation. Traditionally, at least to me, it’s the best spot in the area to enjoy a (relatively) cool breeze and an absolutely cold beer. It’s the Mississippi—one of the beating hearts of American mythology—even if we’re catching it near the end of the line where it’s at its least "American."

Even better, an entire section of it is a hammock park! A hammock park! It’s strictly BYOH (Bring Your Own Hammock), but those little travel ones you pack in your luggage will do just fine. If you also happened to pack a child or two, the playground next door is the best this city has ever built. (The Drew Brees playground Uptown with the zipline is also awesome, but that’s Uptown, which is not our concern today—and barely my concern ever.)

The park connects right to the Moonwalk so you can reach anywhere in the French Quarter from there, but I prefer to just hang out and watch the freightliners push up and down the river, imagining they’re bringing in Mardi Gras throws and coffee. Because they probably are.

3. The End of the World

I’ve always disagreed with almost everyone about the name. I actually like the rest of the parishes that lie across the Canal, so it’s not the end of my world... but it sits at the far edge of the Bywater, beyond the abandoned Naval Base, so fair enough—it’s the end of some people's world.

Either way, it’s a local dog-walk and dog-swim spot (unswimmable for humans), a dirt path for biking or walking along the canal, and a free, open-air art exhibit featuring fresh graffiti.

It’s about a 15-minute walk each way from the Music Box Village—which, when open, is an amazing place to play giant, house-sized musical instruments that require your full body to master the collective beats of the people playing alongside you.

Getting back to the End of the World—and keeping with my theme here—it’s a great place to stay cool in the summer heat, but it's even cooler with a cold beer for the trek.

4. St. Roch Cemetery

Okay, not every stop in our neighborhoods in the summer requires a cold beer. We can leave the drinking outside the gates for this one.

There are New Orleans cemeteries you can only enter with paid guided tours, there are cemeteries jammed with massive tourist crowds, and there are cemeteries locked up tight that you can't enter at all. The cemetery I may be entombed in one day is none of those.

This cemetery was established in 1874 in honor of its patron saint, St. Roch—the saint of miraculous cures and dog owners (a saint of truly varied skills!). Like most 14th-century Catholic saints, he’s got a wild story you have to hear; whether you believe it is entirely up to you.

You can admire the 150-year-old tombs in total peace, follow the Stations of the Cross, and take your time learning why we bury our dead above ground here. This cemetery, just three blocks from my house, took on about three feet of water during Katrina, and you can still see the faded waterlines stained into the brick. Be respectful; it is a resting place for the dead. Open your beer when you leave.

5. Hank’s Bar & Supermarket

Alright, this one is not in any guidebook, nor should it ever be. It’s not a historic landmark, and it isn't even clean... but if you want to actually understand our neighborhood, you need to sit somewhere near Hank’s—on a curb or a stoop—and watch the locals march in and out during any of the 24 hours a day that it’s open. They’re supplying themselves with never-ending armfuls of local beer, fried chicken, po' boys, and whatever else it takes to get through the day and night.

It’s a free show, but it’s best experienced with your own supplies—like that cold street-legal beer—that you grab for yourself inside. New Orleans is always at its best when it's a participatory experience. Remember that if you ever come down for Mardi Gras Day.