New Orleans Overview

Locals say that the South ends fifty miles north of New Orleans. In many ways, this is true. This city is home to a diverse music culture, world-renowned cuisine, voodoo, and Mardi Gras, one of the world’s largest parties. New Orleans' colorful constitution incorporates French, Spanish, Caribbean, Italian, Irish, and West African influences into one big jambalaya. The result is a red-hot town that can be everything from difficult to magical.

New Orleans is a relatively small city which had little concern for what went on outside of it until Hurricane Katrina devastated the city 2005. Parts of New Orleans are still recovering from this disaster but the city's vibrant culture is back in full swing. In the summertime, heat rouses the scent of everything from magnolia blossoms to fresh-boiled crawfish, and contributes a comfortable laziness to the New Orleans’ attitude. Part of the city’s charm lies in its laid-back manner toward almost everything. You can blame the laissez-faire attitude of the city on the heat, but this approach has become part of the culture. In New Orleans, there is always a tomorrow for what they have to do today, and that is what makes this city so fun and relaxing.

Districts

Once you reach New Orleans, you can take a cab to almost anywhere in the city for a flat rate of about $25. Public transportation in New Orleans consists of the streetcar line and the bus system. Though public transportation is not the most reliable form of travel, in many cases it can take you where you want to go for only a $1.25. If, of course, you need to get somewhere quickly, or if you're traveling late at night, it is best to take a cab. A good way to sightsee is to take the streetcar line, which is the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world.

The French Quarter, or Vieux Carre in French, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. It lies in the crescent of the Mississippi River and consists of fairly narrow streets, reminiscent of European city planning, that reveal hidden courtyards and look up to wrought iron balconies. The architecture in the Quarter typically dates to the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries, and draws on French and Spanish influences. In the daytime, the French Quarter, especially the area around Jackson Square, is filled with tourists, street performers, and the occasional conman. At night, the French Quarter transforms into the stereotypical party scene. Barhopping college students, adventurous suburbanites, tourists, and practitioners of the world’s oldest profession all populate the area until the wee hours.

Once the main shopping district of New Orleans lined with popular department stores and theaters, Canal Street lost much of its grandeur to a sluggish economy in the 70s and 80s. Today, Harrah's New Orleans and an expanded convention center have helped this part of Canal Street to develop into a ten block strip of hotels, T-shirt shops and electronics stores. The Riverwalk Market Place, which is near the Aquarium of the Americas and the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center, also makes this a popular stop for tourists.

The scattered, mismatched skyscrapers and superbly odd-shaped Superdome of the Central Business District form the recognizable skyline of New Orleans. Several modern hotels, as well as older and established hotels are in heart of the CBD and the New Orleans’ business community. Bustling during the day with local businesspeople, this area lulls at night. Since the district is relatively empty at night, many of the guests from the hotels in the neighborhood head for the Quarter.

The Garden District is the premier New Orleans residential neighborhood, boasting the tremendous oak tree lined Saint Charles Avenue as its most-famed street, and home after home epitomizing the antebellum’s Greek Revival architecture. Only a walking tour will do this dazzling district the justice it deserves. If you visit the city, you must see the lush, overgrown gardens and grand mansions that line these streets. The Garden District has many well-known residents, including Trent Reznor, Archie Manning, and Anne Rice, the famous author of many vampire novels.

Oak lined streets, Victorian mansions, and college cafes are staples of New Orleans’ thriving Uptown neighborhood. St. Charles Avenue and Pyrtania Street offer examples of Colonial Revival architecture. The neighborhood is also home to Tulane and Loyola Universities. In addition to the mansions and universities, many pleasant coffee shops, antique stores, and restaurants crowd the small spaces between the fantastic homes of New Orleans’ upper class. Plenty of fit and tanned residents jog the two miles through Uptown's gorgeous, Spanish moss-filled Audubon Park each morning.

Having outgrown the once-appropriate title, the Warehouse District is no longer frequented by blue-collar factory workers. Instead, it is now a vibrant arts district populated by the city’s young professionals. Some of the best art galleries in the city sit beside restaurants that offer excellent cuisine. In addition, locals and tourists crowd into the streets of the district during festivals such as Art for Art's Sake, when plenty of wine, cheese, gumbo, and art clutter the sidewalks and the shops.

Entertainment

New Orleanians love to throw a good party - keep in mind this is a city that dances in the street after a funeral. So don't fret if you miss the big money draws Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. There are still plenty of festivals to go around, including Southern Decadence with the ultimate drag parade down Royal Street; the French Quarter Festival in April that attracts local and international bands as well as some of Jazz Fest's favorite food vendors; and the Creole Tomato Festival, a smaller affair, but just as delicious.

A ton of musical history and a citywide penchant for "shakin' it" make New Orleans ground zero for catching great music all year long. Even more good news: if you go local and hit clubs outside the French Quarter you'll find yourself rarely paying more than a $5 cover charge with standard bar prices.

New Orleans is most famous for jazz. This is where the national art form was born, and the natives haven't forgotten it. You can capture the various evolutionary forms of this African/European musical merger throughout the city.

The next most popular New Orleans musical requests? Cajun and Zydeco, additional examples of the melding of European and African stylings. Both genres fall under the "unapologetic dance" heading and draw on their strong regional country roots (accordions, washboards and smatterings of French).

Museums range from the nationally significant
D-Day Museum and Confederate Museum to the more obscure Pharmacy Museum, a celebration of the 19th century apothecary.

Most political, sociological and architectural exhibitions of interest can be found in the French Quarter, home of the Louisiana State Museum and its various branches, as well as the Historic New Orleans Collection and important historical residences.

All manifestations of material goods are yours for purchasing. Try Magazine Street, lower Garden District to Uptown, for funky, used and questionably French items; Royal Street, for classic antiques; and the Central Business District's New Orleans Shopping Center, Canal Place and sprawling Riverwalk for all your mall needs.

Dining and Drinking

The people of New Orleans are passionate about eating. Any visitor to the city should experience the regional flavor, but there are important differences between the countrified Cajun, refined Creole, and classic Southern styles of cooking that make up New Orleans cuisine. There also exists a unifying principle: "Fat is flavor." Cream, butter, and oil abound. With this in mind, pace yourself! Hot weather and heavy food can limit your visit to the confines of your hotel room. Stay on the safe side and try to limit yourself to one big meal a day.

Where To Stay

New Orleans makes few bones about it, its raison d'etre is to play host. New Orleans has luxury hotels, funky guest residences, quaint bed and breakfasts, and even a few youth hostels. Naturally, your accommodations should probably be determined by your expectations of the city.

Although New Orleans is not a large city, getting around can take time. Things move at their own pace and it is best to accept that the city’s residents, especially the bus drivers, move to their own unhurried rhythm. If you are in town for business or area-specific sightseeing, it makes sense to stay somewhere close to the attractions on your list or the arenas for your business meetings.

In general, hotel rates go up during Mardi Gras season (February/March) and Jazz Fest (late April/early May,) so make sure you book your rooms in advance. If it is at all possible, make reservations a year ahead of time to ensure a fair price and the room you want. In addition, you may not want to book rooms in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras season unless you fancy noisy late nights and a frenzied party atmosphere. Mardi Gras in the Quarter can be very chaotic and those who stay there may not get much sleep. If, on the other hand, you want the complete Mardi Gras experience, make sure you book your rooms a year or more in advance, since the hotels in the Quarter fill up quickly. New Orleans is also host to a number of large conventions each year, so the "earlier the better" rule applies for a good portion of the year.

Did You Know?

New Orleans is called the Crescent city because the city proper is shaped like a crescent. The nickname "The Big Easy" comes from the city's history of jazz and was the name of a dance hall in the early 1900s.

Orientation/Geography

New Orleans is located in the Southeast part of the state and makes up 4,190 square miles and is about 90 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi river.