New Orleans' French Quarter is now on several lists of tourist traps I recently discovered on the Internet. One that lists 31 tourist traps around the United States has 20 places on it I have enjoyed and written stories about. How can I be so far off on what is an interesting, worthwhile experience?

Part of the problem pointed out by critics is too many people see these places as attractions, so they are typically overcrowded and as result attract pickpockets, scammers and overpriced venders. I feel a need to defend some of these places as interesting attractions worth a visit, despite some negative aspects at times.

The French Quarter is a good starting place. Over the years I have made at least a dozen trips to New Orleans. It is a popular spot for large conventions, and at least three of my trips were of that nature. Family vacations have played a role and, after Hurricane Katrina, our team working with psychological trauma made three trips. Some notes from my journal of one of the trauma trips reads:

"After visiting the most damaged area we drove down Canal Street to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. The streets had rows of filled dumpsters, hundreds of black garbage bags and heaps of refuse in the gutters. We were told there had been two feet of water in the area, and we could see the wet boards and a few remaining, useless sandbags. The smell of decay and moldy wetness permeated the area.

"Bars were open; the blare of music blasted out from them, and even a strip joint was functioning. Restaurants were open, but their usually pleasant odors were overwhelmed by the smell of decay, making them uninviting. Our group decided we would take our chances on finding a restaurant on our way back to Baton Rouge.

"Customers walked the streets looking for fun; some were obviously finding it in the bottle. Shills stood outside the bars inviting the visitors to find their fun inside. These customers were FEMA workers and volunteers who were escaping from the numbing work of giving life support to a dying city."

When we went back a year later, things in the French Quarter were back to almost normal. My journal reads:

"The French Quarter of New Orleans was alive and well in early November when I was there to run a workshop with my companions for teachers and social workers who were running therapy sessions for traumatized children. We had to shoulder our way through the high-spirited crowds that packed Bourbon Street.

"In one two-block stretch, masked and boa-adorned members of wedding parties stood on balconies overlooking the street and threw beads down to the spectators below. Some of the crowd had a dozen of the brightly hued mementos around their necks. I managed to grab one to take home to Carla as a souvenir.

"This crowd was sharply different from the older construction workers and disaster volunteers our team had seen on our visit shortly after Hurricane Katrina. This time college students mingled with older couples, all obviously having an exciting night on the town. Adding to the press of people were representative of the 25,000 members of the National Association of Realtors, who were holding the largest conference in New Orleans since Katrina.

"Music was blaring from the bars, lines were forming at restaurants and several strip clubs were doing a good business. As we dined on barbecue, a parade with several marching bands went by. If I hadn't seen the destroyed sections of town where no rehabilitation has taken place, I would have sworn New Orleans had returned to its old hedonistic self."

To add to the charm and excitement of a visit to the area, be sure to look into the wide range of walking tours that are offered. Over the 300 years of its existence as French, then Spanish, then American, scars are left on the city from weather, disease and war. New Orleans also has more registered ghosts than any other city. The tour including cemetery St. Louis No. 1, just a short distance from the French Quarter, is loaded with history of the area. Once you know the stories, the area becomes even more interesting and exciting.

If it's on the lists of tourist traps, be prepared for some scams, high prices, and pickpockets. However, be alert and try not to miss the adventures of walking the streets and seeing the attractions in New Orleans' French Quarter.

Reach Wayne Anderson at andersonwp@missouri.edu.