NOLA Glitters: Help me plan my trip!

[sibee]

I'm going to New Orleans for a work conference in September and I'm looking for some good places to check out, preferably things to check out after 5:00/long boring work trainings. What is the weather usually like there? Is there anything I just must must must see/do before I go?

I'm also thinking of taking a couple of days afterward, renting a car, and driving up to Memphis (Stax Records! Sun Studios! Graceland!), but I'm wondering if it's worth the trip if I only have 2-3 days to get there and back before flying home.
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[caropop]

The weather in September can be nice or miserable. It can be not too hot, or it can still be gross. It tends to be wet still--well, it's wet year round there, but that's definitely rainy season.

I assume you'll be downtown somewhere (or at least not in the suburbs)? What kinds of things are you into?

I probably wouldn't try to cram a trip to Memphis into just a couple of days, but if you want to get outside of New Orleans and see some other place, there's plenty to see in the vicinity (like River Road and some of the plantations, or the Gulf in Mississippi).
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[yozhka]

I am by no means a NOLA expert, but aside from the French Quarter, I really enjoyed walking in the cemeteries and checking out the Bywater neighborhood, which had a cute artsy feel.

[sibee]

I'm going to be staying/working near Canal Street. I tend to like stuff that's less on the beaten path - not too much touristy stuff, but smaller things, museums, cemeteries, artsy neighborhoods (like yozhka mentioned). I also totally want to check out the Ignatius J. Reilly statue because I'm a total book nerd.
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[fleur-de-lis]

I'm pretty new here (only been living in NOLA since May), but definitely get in touch so that we can hang out!