New Orleans is great! A bit dangerous but as long as you keep an eye out you should be fine. You more than likely will step on something unpleasant but it's not worth bringing along footwear anyway just for that tiny rare occasion.
The cobblestones and the brick streets should be nice to walk on down there. I used to live down that way a long time ago, but I wasn’t into barefooting then. Too bad. Hopping onto the streetcars would be fun too.