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One of the pleasures of New Orleans was that the city changed very slowly, if at all. This was a city that objected strenuously when a certain decades-old restaurant dared to switch from hand-chipped ice to machine-made. This was a city where 10 years could go by between visits, but your favorite bookstore would still be in business when you came back, and your favorite bookseller would still be behind the counter, possibly with a volume he had been holding for you until the day you finally returned. Still, change is the one constant in life, and yet we never think about it applying to an entire city, an entire culture, an entire way of life.

On August 29, 2005, New Orleans changed forever. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which was not quite as strong as the direct hit originally predicted, at least three of the levees designed to keep the below-sea-level city safe from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain either broke or were breached, with the result that 80% of one of the most charming and historic cities in America was underwater. The water remained for weeks -- months, in certain places -- and by the time it was done, the landscape of New Orleans was forever altered.

But New Orleans was given two gifts. The first was that the narrow band of land that did not flood at all included the most historic and best-loved areas: the French Quarter and the part of Uptown that included the Garden District. New Orleans is considerably more than those much-photographed neighborhoods, make no mistake, but what the average visitor imagines when he or she thinks of New Orleans remains much as it ever was. One can walk through those areas and not know anything of the magnitude of the disaster ever came close.

The second is the spirit of the people of New Orleans. Within weeks of the catastrophe, intrepid remaining citizens threw a jazz funeral, complete with an exalting, rejuvenating second line for the disaster, for its victims, and for its citizens. Restaurants and clubs reopened even when it meant grilling on the sidewalk and keeping the beer cold with a generator. Mardi Gras parades rolled, and many contained floats openly mocking the terrible thing that had happened just 6 months before, a thumbing of the nose at events that may have left the city broken but not bowed. An only slightly truncated Jazz Fest went on during its usual weekends, featuring headliners such as Bruce Springsteen, and attracted as large a crowd as usual. Mardi Gras 2008, though still not quite as crowded as pre-Katrina days, was otherwise unremarkable, which is as it should be -- the past is done and celebrants were embracing the present. Jazz Fest 2008 was as crowded, musically, and attendance was as usual. The refurbished Superdome reopened on Sept 25, 2006, with a bang-up party including performances by U2 and Green Day, and the usually hapless Saints responded with a winning season that saw them one victory away from their first Super Bowl appearance ever. Who dat say they gonna beat dem . . . Hornets? Yeah, you right! After four seasons marked largely by futility (and two post-Katrina years of uncertainty about staying in NOLA), the NBA team became a true powerhouse in 2007-08, winning the Southwest division and getting into the second round of playoffs, losing a dramatic series to the San Antonio Spurs behind coach of the year Byron Scott and MVP runner-up Chris Paul. The Hive is buzzing now.

Music will sound even sweeter now that the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is located at Tulane. It intends to cultivate new traditions within the modern-jazz milieu, with Herbie Hancock as chairman of the institution and Terence Blanchard as artistic director. The Institute will work with schools and the community to help strengthen musical education and employment opportunities in the city.

Then there is that guy Brad Pitt, who has made New Orleans his adopted hometown. His Make It Right Foundation erected 150 temporary pink structures the size of houses in the Lower 9th Ward to symbolize the 150 affordable and sustainable houses that the foundation is helping build in that devastated area. The project, along with Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village, is moving along. Meanwhile, the St. Charles streetcar line has finally returned to its full normal route, while the hard-hit Mid-City neighborhood is seeing a boom of businesses and renovations.

And so recovery is slow, but sure. The city definitely seems to have turned a corner recently, with optimism all but visible in the air. Still, all manner of important things are, maddeningly, no closer to being resolved than in the early days after the storm. It doesn't help that crime is notably on the rise, and is a serious problem, though it is largely confined to the poor and still badly damaged areas of town. Plus, improbably, on September 1, 2008, just 3 days after the third anniversary of Katrina, the city nearly faced catastrophe again when Hurricane Gustav threatened New Orleans. This time, evacuations went smoothly (though as many as 10,000 people remained behind, many out of choice), if hectically. (Evacuees faced hours on I-10 trying to get out of the city.) Gustav went far enough to the west that New Orleans was hit by merely a bad storm, though with plenty of wind and rain damage, downed tree limbs, and the like. More importantly, despite understandable fears, the levees held.

All of this likely prompts a question of your own, probably: Should you go?

Oh, yes.

Go, because the things you wanted -- the beautiful architecture, the majestic oaks, the river wind, the quality of light that makes even the most mundane just a little bit magical -- all remain. Go, because people are there, and as long as they are, there will be music and food, and it will be some of the best of your life. Go, because perhaps you've wanted to help in any way you can, and now the best way you can is to help a historic city regain its economic feet. Go, because every brick in the French Quarter has a story to tell, and so does the damaged ground of the 9th Ward, and you should bear witness. Go, because there is much to celebrate, and this is still the best place there is to do so.

"I want to be in that number," goes the song. I do indeed. I hope you do, too.

Accommodations

At press time, there were over 31,000 hotel rooms available in the city, with even more coming up to get excited about. The venerable Fairmont (123 Baronne St.), the classic hotel still known to locals as the Roosevelt, will once again be known by the latter name, thanks to new owners (the Hiltons, who are making it part of their Waldorf-Astoria group). A $100-million renovation will restore the grande dame's illustrious looks. Famed for the lobby that ran from 1 block to the next (and at Christmastime featured a beloved display), it was the choice for President Clinton when he came to town. Plans are to restore its fabulous Blue Room showroom (where any number of notable performers, including a fellow named Louis Armstrong, entertained) to its former glory as well. The hotel will reopen in late spring 2009.

The Hyatt Regency (500 Poydras Plaza) was the poster child for Katrina's fury, as photos of the glass building with many of its windows blown out were broadcast around the world. At press time, plans were finally coming about to reopen it, but the date was uncertain.

The romantic and much-loved Pontchartrain Hotel, which got hard hit post-Katrina thanks to looters and more, has closed until at least late 2008 for a top-to-bottom renovation, including converting all rooms to suites. If your stay may land during 2009, here are the hotel's details for further information: 2031 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70140; tel. 800/777-6193 or 504/524-0581; fax 504/529-1165.

Dining

The dining scene is hotter than ever, as more places are open in the metropolitan area (as in, where the tourists are most likely to go) than before the storm. For 2 of the last 3 years, the winner of the James Beard Foundation's Best Southeast Chef has been from New Orleans, which says much about the post-storm cuisine quality level. A number of new places have opened up, including Patois (6078 Laurel St.; tel. 504/895-9441), which is in a converted old house in a residential neighborhood, and the just-cute-enough Cake Café (2440 Chartres St.; tel. 504/943-0010).

Attractions

Three long-anticipated attractions recently got their NOLA debut. The Audubon Insectarium (423 Canal St.; tel. 800/774-7394 or 504/581-4629; www.auduboninstitute.org), the largest free-standing museum dedicated to all insect creatures large, small, buzzy, crawly, and more, is full of expected icks and unexpected delights. Foodies and cocktail fans are thrilled with the new Southern Food and Beverage Museum and the Museum of the American Cocktail (contained within the former; 1 Poydras St., in the Riverwalk Marketplace Mall; tel. 504/569-0405; www.southernfood.org and www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org) because, well, isn't eating and drinking what New Orleans is really all about?

On August 29, 2008, the third anniversary of Katrina, the city dedicated a new memorial at Charity Hospital cemetery, at the corner of Canal and City Park Avenue. Shaped like a swirling hurricane, it is part memorial and part mausoleum, the resting place for 85 unidentified or unclaimed victims of the disaster. The site was not all-together completed in time for the dedication, but it should be by the time you visit.