Picturesque park in the Uptown neighborhood

Noteworthy for: Named for the naturalist and city son John James Audubon, the park's landscaped lagoons and labeled collection of plants and trees are a great place to find some peace in the Big Easy.

Audubon Park, stretching for over a square mile from St. Charles Avenue to the river, is Uptown's big green lung. Easily accessible by streetcar, it's popular with everyone from families and children, joggers and sports fans, to birdwatchers and executive golfers. And you don't need to be a member to drop in to the club house for breakfast or lunch.

Towards the southern (river) end of the Park is Audubon Zoo, an almost entirely outdoor zoo that survived the hurricane largely unscathed. Today the collection includes lions, two rare white tigers and elephants, an impressive reptile collection including a Kimono Dragon and two of only 12 albino alligators in the world, found in the Louisiana swamps, and an impressive aviary.