IF MARDI GRAS is New Orleans' bread and butter, Christmas is the dessert. Come December, hotel lobbies are illuminated, palm trees shimmer, and restaurants roll out seasonal specialties.

Carols swirl into the song of the Vieux Carré, adding to the familiar strains of jazz standards that pour through the streets. It couldn't be simpler to plan an over-the-top getaway here-it is the Big Easy, after all.

TURNING UP THE FESTIVE TUNES

The city's soundtrack changes ever so slightly this time of year. The notes of a saxophone playing "Silver Bells" tumble through the French Quarter, carried along on an almost-cool breeze. At the corner of St. Peter and Royal Streets, a tuba begins its rumbling and a trombone squeals; the instruments sparkle in the sunlight, glinting gold amid a gathering crowd. The sidewalks bustle with people heading in all different directions, whether for celebratory dinners, drinks in glittering bars, or antiques shops for gifts.

And if there's one thing every visitor should add to their must-see list, it's the cadre of historic hotels festooned in their finery.

While many properties dazzle, The Roosevelt New Orleans has one of the most impressively arrayed foyers of them all. The long corridor of its lobby transforms into a winter wonderland thanks to thousands of little white lights. Flocked evergreens are crowned with looping crimson bows, and clusters of tall branches rise to form glowing canopies above.

Potted red poinsettias surround the trees. Each year, a ceremonial lobby lighting draws decor-obsessed visitors to see the opulence, but the space is open throughout the season for impromptu photo ops.

The Windsor Court on Gravier Street offers another spectacle. Magnolia wreaths embellish the windows, greeting folks as they step inside. A nearly 20-foot-tall tree stands in the middle of the hotel's entrance, and a classic toy train runs circles around its base.