Visitor's Information for New Orleans

New Orleans is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all.

New Orleans is the most celebrated city of the American South, and the largest city in Louisiana (some 300,000 in the city, 1.2 million in the metropolitan area as of late 2007, and still re-growing), as well as the state's top visitor destination. The city has a reputation for historical roots, hot and muggy weather, great food, great music, and great times. Despite being hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in late 2005, New Orleans is still the tourist hot-spot it always has been. Jazz music still rules the city's streets and there's still a bit of Mardi Gras all year round.

New Orleans is known for a host of attributes like its famous Creole food, abundant alcohol, music of many styles, nearby swamps and plantations, 18th & 19th century architecture, antiques, gay pride, streetcars, museums. Nicknamed the Big Easy, New Orleans has long had a reputation as an adult oriented city. However, the city also offers many attractions for families with children and those interested in culture and the arts. It is a city with a majority Roman Catholic population owing to its European origins.

Famous festivals like Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest bring in tourists by the millions, and are the two times of the year when one needs to be sure to book well in advance to be sure of a room. The city also hosts numerous smaller festivals and gatherings like the French Quarter Festival, Creole Tomato Festival, Satchmo SummerFest, the Essence Festival hosted by the magazine, Halloween parading and costume balls, Saint Patrick's Day and Saint Joseph's Day parading, Southern Decadence, and so many more. The city takes almost any occasion for an excuse for a parade, a party, and live music, and in New Orleans most events often have a touch of Mardi Gras year round. Like they say, New Orleanians are either planning a party, enjoying one or recovering from one. Party down!

Districts

  • French Quarter: the oldest, most famous, and most visited section of the city. Most tourists will want to center their visit here. Those who explore other parts of town as well will find the city offers additional treats. Many old-line restaurants are in the Quarter, along with music clubs, museums, antiques shops, and drinking establishments
  • Central Business District: What many cities call "Downtown" (though in New Orleans this term is often used to refer to a different part of town downriver). Adjacent to the French Quarter; has many attractions. The "CBD" has many high-rise hotels and some excellent restaurants, along with many museums (the National D-Day Museum, the Louisiana Children's Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Arts Center) and a gallery district on and around Julia Street.
  • Faubourg Marigny: This hip, bohemian neighborhood is on the other side ("down") from the French Quarter. Locals come here for authentic (read: non-touristy) nightlife, though tourists are certainly welcomed. Along with the section of the French Quarter east of St. Ann Street, this is the residential hub for the gay/lesbian community.
  • Bywater: Downriver from Marigny.
  • Treme: Historic Franco-African(Creole)neighborhood inland from the French Quarter.
  • Mid-City and Esplanade Ridge: The central part of town is home to the New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park, and the New Orleans Fair Grounds (a racetrack that hosts the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival every spring).
  • Uptown: 19th century residential section upriver, take the St. Charles Avenue streetcar. Uptown includes the "Garden District", which is more noted for its Victorian architecture than gardens. Also contains some of the City's best local restaurants, and the Audubon Zoo. Magazine Street hosts some 80 blocks of antique stores, art galleries, interior designer studios, and clothing stores ranging from funky thrift shops to upscale boutiques.
  • Carrollton: At the other end of the St. Charles Streetcar line from the Central Business District; pleasant neighborhood with a concentration of good restaurants, along with students from nearby Tulane and Loyola universities.
  • Algiers: The part of New Orleans across the Mississippi River.
  • Lakeview and Lakefront: Along and near Lake Pontchartrain.
  • Other parts of town

New Orleans and the Acadians
Despite what many visitors expect, the population, food, music, and traditions of New Orleans are not predominately Cajun. The Acadian or Cajun (from 'Cadien, pronounced ca-jen) people developed their rich culture in rural parts of Louisiana, south and west of the city. These peoples were descended in a massive diaspora from areas such as Nova Scotia (previously called Acadia) when control of Canada was passed to the British. There are some good places for Cajun food and music in the city-- mainly these are branches of famous Southwest Louisiana Cajun places that opened up locations here. Many cajuns still live in rural Louisiana although some say the culture is slowly dying. As late as WWII cajuns were used as French translators for the U.S. Army.
The main culinary tradition in New Orleans is Creole - which means the culture and its cuisine already flourishing when Louisiana was purchased by the United States in 1803. The creoles were the peoples originally in New Orleans from its founding, differing from the outback styled cajuns. Creole has a mixture of influences, including French, German and Spanish with a strong West-African foundation. Creoles cook with roux and the "trinity," a popular term for green pepper, onion and celery. These are the base for many savory dishes.
Since the Louisiana Purchase, other major immigrant groups and influences on local cuisine and culture have included Italian (mostly Southern and Sicilian), Irish, Caribbean and Central American. In the late 20th century a sizable Vietnamese community was added to the New Orleans gumbo.
 


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