Lots to do around that area, depending on your interests.
A must stop for me, now that I've been there, is
Cochon Butcher, which arguably has the best
Muffalettas outside of Central Grocery in the Quarter. Much easier parking and far less tourists than in the Quarter. Right around the corner from Cochon Restaurant, which is pretty amazing in itself for its great tasty Gumbo and other local favorite food.
Also
very cool, I thought, is the
Chalmette Battlefield at Jean Lafitte Nat'l Historic Park (easy to find and free when I went), which is the site of the famous
Battle of New Orleans (subject of Jimmy Driftwood's classic song) and, in the same park, an even cooler
National Cemetery, quite unusual among Nat'l Cemeteries, I thought. 15,000 gravestones marking several different important conflicts in US history.
Also a must, if a music lover at all, is catching a show or two most any night in the Quarter at any number of cool little spots. A very wide range of style and presentation, ranging in cost from free to $50. It's a park and walk kind of place, after driving through to get the lay of the Quarter.
Worth rolling through just for perspective, too, is the lower 9th Ward. You can still see high water marks from Katrina and a variety of old and new projects and building styles.
I could go on.
I spent a day and half there, and without feeling rushed in the least did all the above and more. Then caught a run from Slidell (just about 30mi across Lake Pontchartrain from NOLA) up to AR.
So if, as suggested, you're sitting in Slidell and have the means to explore NOLA at all, I strongly suggest checking it out. It's unlike any other American city, to be sure.
