Before the Audubon Insectarium – a zoo for crawling creatures – opened, New Orleanians never imagined that having more bugs in town would be a good thing. The Audubon Institute, which also runs the zoo and aquarium, created this unique, state-of-the-art home for fighting beetles, giant roaches, and tarantulas. It’s sometimes overrun with school groups, but the rationed admission policy ensures that everyone gets a chance to quiz the well-informed docents, pet a millipede, or taste fried dragonfly wings. And if too much time with bugs makes you edgy, relax at the end in the Zen garden filled with koi ponds and fluttering butterflies.