They say that New Orleans is the least American city in the United States, and that is true. All this thanks to the melting pot of cultures from which the great town of Mississippi in Louisiana emerged, which make it an enchanting tourist destination for its beauty, music, gastronomy and traditions.
Top things to see and do in New Orleans
New Orleans is a city marked by its French, Spanish, African and Caribbean heritage, and by jazz, a musical genre that was born in La Nouvelle-Orléans , as the French called it.
The French Quarter of New Orleans and its famous Bourbon Street, its museums, the places related to voodoo, its unique architecture and several festivals linked to New Orleans music and culture are among the main attractions of New Orleans.
1. Ride the tram
One of the essential things to do in New Orleans is to ride its historic tram, which was inaugurated in 1834 and is the oldest in the world in service.
It’s a comfortable, glamorous, and affordable way to see the city, as the trolley runs through the French Quarter and many other parts of New Orleans. It has the following lines:
Saint Charles Line
Pass through St. Charles and Carrollton avenues, symbols of the romance and charm of New Orleans.
Central Street Line
Pass by the Central Business District, City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
riverfront line
Its red, vintage-looking trams run from the French Market to the Aquarium of the Americas and beyond.
Loyola/UPT Line
This 2.6 km circuit entered service in 2013 and passes through Loyola Avenue and the Union Passenger Terminal .
Rampart/Saint Claude Line
Cars on this line chug to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, Louis Armstrong Park, and the St. Claude Arts District.
2. Let yourself be bewitched by the French Quarter
In New Orleans tourism means French Quarter. Also called French Quarter and Vieux Carré is the oldest neighborhood in the city.
After its foundation in 1718 as a French town, New Orleans grew around its central square until in 1803 Napoleon sold the 2.15 million km 2 of Louisiana to the United States for 15 million dollars and the Americanization of the city began.
Most of the historic buildings that remain were built between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century.
The French Quarter has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is the number one tourist attraction in New Orleans. It suffered relatively minor damage in 2005 during Katrina, due to its remoteness from the breached levee and the strength of its closest walls.
Among its great attractions are Jackson Square (Plaza Jackson), the former Place d’Armes of the French and Plaza de Armas of the Spanish, and Bourbon Street, the most famous street in New Orleans.
3. Stop at Jackson Square and Bourbon Street
Jackson Square was designed by architect Louis H. Pilié and in the mid-19th century it was named after the 7th US president, Andrew Jackson, who won the Battle of New Orleans during the Anglo-American War of 1812.
It was the place where those sentenced to death were hanged and in this square the heads of the insurgent and defeated slaves were exhibited in 1811.
On the opposite side of the river are three emblematic buildings of the city: the Cathedral of San Luis, the Cabildo (or old town hall in which the comparison of Louisiana was signed) and the Presbytery.
Bourbon Street is probably the best-known postcard of New Orleans and its famous bars fill up at night. Older ones, like the Old Absinthe House, retain their charming 19th-century feel, though they no longer serve the toxic absinthe.
The first piano duel was held at Pat O’Brien’s Bar and it was the place where the Hurricane cocktail was invented. Napoleon House operates from a house in which a plan was hatched, not executed, to rescue Napoleon from his banishment in Saint Helena and bring him to La Nouvelle-Orléans .
4. Walk Canal Street
Canal Street is one of the most iconic streets in New Orleans and embodies the hustle and bustle of downtown.
Canal Street is one of the hottest spots of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the famous parade that takes place on Shrove Tuesday to celebrate the closing of the festivity. Other popular parades are those of the Christmas season, with the street lit up with spectacular lighting systems.
Canal Street is home to splendid theaters like the Saenger, the Orpheum and the Joy, which present the best live entertainment in the city.
Canal Street is also the place where New Orleans women have been going since the 19th century to renew their closets with trendy designs. Well-known stores and warehouses include Rubenstein, Meyer the Hatter and The Shops at Canal Place.
5. Immerse yourself in the color of the French Market
It is a market full of flavor and color, which emerged in 1791 as a commercial street for the Native Americans, which was later incorporated by French and Spanish settlers.
The peculiarly modern structure was erected at the end of the 19th century. to a design by Joseph Abeilard, one of the first African-American architects.
The new construction allowed to increase the supply and it is currently a space that has fresh products, shops, crafts, restaurants and other retail establishments.
Restaurants and outdoor eating stalls attract large crowds, and one of the most popular is the Café du Monde, which serves the city’s famous beignets and cafés au lait.
The Farmers Market Pavilion is a festival of colors where farmers sell their fresh and processed produce, including almond pralines, a New Orleans foodie staple.
6. Take part in the New Orleans Heritage Jazz Festival
It is a festival that has been held since 1970, dedicated to the main music of New Orleans and other indigenous cultural manifestations of the city.
It takes place between the end of April and the beginning of May and its main stage is the Fair Grounds Race Course , a racetrack located in the center of New Orleans.
Aside from the various forms of jazz (traditional, contemporary, swing , bebop and others), the festival encompasses all musical genres and styles associated with New Orleans and Louisiana, including blues, folk, rock, gospel, R&B, Cajun, Latin, rap, country and other rhythms.
After the musical, the most important facet of the festival is gastronomy and it is an opportunity to taste some of the culinary specialties of the city and state, such as the po-boy sandwich, jambalaya, fried green tomatoes, crab beignets , the oyster patties and the Monica crab.
A remarkable aspect of the festival are the large spaces designed to publicize the history and cultural traits of Louisiana.
During the celebrations there are several parades animated by musical bands. The organization is the responsibility of the New Orleans Heritage & Jazz Foundation, which allocates the proceeds to social and community programs.
7. Visit the Aquarium of the Americas
The prestigious Audubon Aquarium is located on Canal Street 1, next to the Mississippi River, and is home to some 15,000 creatures of 600 different species that have enchanting habitats in this state-of-the-art facility.
There is a gallery dedicated to seahorses, where you can admire how these beautiful and curious animals swim, characterized by the fact that it is the male that gives birth.
One of the rare and endangered species is the white, steel-blue-eyed alligator from the swamps of Louisiana.
In the shark pool you can touch a baby shark, while an aquarium specialist provides information on the habits of these cartilaginous fish.
Other species that you will be able to see are sea otters, penguins and harmless frogs. The exhibit on the Amazon rainforest includes poisonous frogs, anacondas and exotic birds. The Caribbean Reef Tunnel offers views of marine life only available to divers.
8. Tour the areas of the old cotton plantations
Cotton made New Orleans so rich that during its heyday there were more millionaires in the city than in any other American town.
A tour of the old plantations along River Road will take you back to the time before the Civil War, when whites lived happily in their beautiful mansions surrounded by cotton fields, with a large servant of African Americans.
There are many plantations open to tourism, a short drive from New Orleans, such as Laura Plantation, Houma House and Gardens, Oak Plantation, Nottoway Plantation, San Francisco Plantation, and Whitney Plantation.
The grand mansions on these plantations are part of Louisiana’s cultural heritage, and some feature restaurants and lodging for a more complete Gone with the Wind time experience .
9. Get to know the New Orleans Museum of Art
Isaac Delgado was a prosperous sugar businessman in New Orleans who in 1910 donated $150,000 for the city to have what he himself called “a temple of art for rich and poor alike.”
The institution opened in 1911 with nine works and today houses a valuable and impressive collection of some 40,000 pieces. The NOMA is located in City Park near the intersection of Carrollton and Esplanade avenues.
It encompasses European art since the Renaissance and American art since the 18th century, as well as Pre-Columbian, Asian, African, and Oceanic works.
One of its sites that has become iconic in the city is the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. The Rosemonde and Emile Kuntz rooms showcase New Orleans’ exceptional decorative and artistic heritage.
NOMA is known for its collection of great European and American masters, including Monet, Degas, Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Mary Cassatt.
10. Stroll through the cemeteries
Located between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain and protected by levees, New Orleans’s average elevation is about half a meter below sea level, and half the population lives below sea level.
Thinking of dignifyingly burying their dead without floating them so close or below sea level, the first residents of New Orleans decided to make the graves in elaborate marble chambers without knowing that they were bequeathing a future tourist attraction.
New Orleans cemeteries are famous for their splendid architecture. One of the most visited is the Saint Louis Cemetery, where Marie Catherine Laveau, called the last voodoo queen of the city, is buried.
Other famous residents of what New Orleans call the “cities of the dead” include Confederate Army General PGT Beauregard and trumpeter and musician Al Hirt. Among the main cemeteries are San Luis (1, 2 and 3), San Patricio (1, 2 and 3), Lafayette (1 and 2), Greenwood, San Roch, the Masonic Cemetery and the Hebrew Rest Cemetery.
11. Visit the New Orleans Historical Voodoo Museum
Voodoo is a religion that emerged, in its Caribbean variant, from a syncretism between the customs brought by the Africans who came as slaves and the Catholic religion.
In America it has a strong magical component and in the United States its main place of implantation was New Orleans, where it arrived in the 18th century brought by Haitian immigrants.
The New Orleans Historical Voodoo Museum, located in the heart of the French Quarter, is dedicated to the history of the cult in the city and in a gloomy setting exhibits the instruments and contraptions used by the priests and priestesses, voodoo dolls, African carvings and a representation of Baron Samedi (spirit that mediates between men and Bondye) in the form of a skeleton with a top hat.
In New Orleans voodoo means Marie Catherine Laveau and in the museum there are several paintings of the beautiful daughter of a rich white landowner and a mulatto woman who was the highest incarnation of religion in the city.
After the tour, you are taken to a pharmacy to purchase any magic potions you may be needing. There are also mediums to predict the future.
12. Admire The Presbytery
Facing Jackson Square, on the opposite side of St. Louis Cathedral, it is a building with a history of its own.
It was built in 1790, after the great Good Friday fire of 1788 destroyed almost the entire city, in part because the priests refused to use the bells of the temples as an alarm because it was a sacred date.
It owes its name to the fact that it was built in an old presbytery of the Capuchin monks, although it has not had religious uses. It was a commercial building and courthouse and is currently one of the headquarters of the Louisiana State Museum.
It houses a display of objects related to Mardi Gras, one of the main traditions of New Orleans.
The exhibition called “Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana” takes a tour of this celebration from its origins to the present, passing through its enrichment with the dances and parades that have made the New Orleans carnival famous.
In the interactive exhibits, visitors can experience the excitement of parades and ride on a carnival float.
13. Tour the Jazz Museum
The musical genre known as jazz was born in New Orleans in the second half of the 19th century, although the word “jazz” to identify it was written for the first time several decades later, in 1913.
From Louisiana, the genre spread to the rest of the United States and the New Orleans Jazz Museum collects part of this history.
It works in a historic building that was the Mint, at 400 Esplanade Avenue in the French Quarter, although it opened its doors in 1961 at 1017 Dumaine Street in the same neighborhood. After going through two other locations and filing for bankruptcy, it reopened at its current location in the early 1980s.
It houses the world’s largest collection of jazz-related memorabilia, including the first recording made in 1917, Louis Armstrong’s first cornet, and instruments that belonged to famous jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Bix Beiderbecke, Edward “Kid” Ory, Sidney Bechet and George Lewis.
The museum’s collection includes 12,000 photographs, 4,000 records in different formats (78, 45 and 33 RPM), original sheet music and films of famous jazz cabaret performances, festivals, parades and funerals, a Louisiana tradition.
14. Enjoy the French Quarter Festival
This festival, which began in 1984, was conceived to remind New Orleans, Americans, and foreign tourists of how beautiful, fun, and fabulous the French Quarter is.
Every year for four days chained during the second weekend of April, the most important neighborhood of New Orleans is filled with music, color and gastronomic samples from Jackson Square to all its confines.
The musical genre that presides over the festival is jazz, but rock, Latin music, New Orleans funk, zydeco, rhythm and blues (r & b), swing and other rhythms are also heard.
Dozens of artists from New Orleans, Louisiana and the United States, accompanied by music legends, animate the long weekend, while the public walks, sees and listens without having to pay.
During the festival, Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park and the surrounding area host the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch,” so go with a good appetite and a little thirsty.
There are also guided tours of the main attractions of the French Quarter, art shows, audiovisual projections and special activities for children.
15. Get to know the old Ursuline convent and its museum
This former convent located at 1100 Chartres Street, completed in 1752, is the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley and the longest-standing example of the French colonial period in Louisiana and the United States.
It is also called the Monument to Archbishop Antoine Blanc, the first Catholic dignitary with that status in New Orleans.
The first thing that strikes visitors upon entering the main building is a beautiful handcrafted cypress staircase.
The different rooms recall the different uses that the building has had, such as a convent, a children’s shelter, an improvised hospital and an ecclesiastical residence. The religious statues, bronze busts and portraits of prelates stand out.
Behind the main building there is a courtyard used for prayer and meditation in which there are statues of relevant figures of the order of the Ursuline Sisters. In this same sector there is an interesting herb garden.
16. Value the New Orleans Historical Collection
It is a collection made up of houses that are architectural treasures of the French Quarter and that were restored for their opening to the public. In this collection are:
Merieult House
It is an 18th century colonial house that was the headquarters and headquarters of the forges of the King of France. It currently houses the Louisiana History Gallery and the Williams Gallery.
House of Account
It was built as a warehouse at the end of the 18th century and took its name from the banking activities carried out on the site in the 19th century.
Williams Residence
It was built in 1889 and is an Italian style house with 2 stories and galleries. It belonged to Kemper and Leila Williams and retains the decor from the 1940s and 1950s that the couple put up.
louis adam house
It was built by Louis Adam in 1788 and restored in 1970 in a Spanish colonial style. In the 1930s a young Tennessee Williams occupied a loft room.
Creole House
It is a double cabin located at Calle Toulouse 726-728, acquired for the Historical Collection in 1990 and which serves as the headquarters of the exhibition preparation department.
Town house
Two-storey brick building built in the 19th century.
17. Visit the St. Louis Cathedral
The cathedral consecrated to the main Gallic saint (King Louis IX of France, commander of the Seventh and Eighth Crusades, canonized in 1297 as Saint Louis) is one of the most recognizable buildings in the French Quarter, where it faces Jackson Square.
Its main facade faces the Mississippi, which is 200 meters away, and it is one of the few American Catholic churches located, according to Spanish tradition, in front of a central plaza.
The current one is the third built on the site and was erected in 1789, after two predecessors, one French (1718) made of wood and the other Spanish (1727) made of wood and brick.
During a reform and expansion carried out in the mid-19th century, the domes that crowned the towers were replaced by neo-Gothic spiers.
Inside, there are paintings, stained glass windows and the gilded altar in the Rococo style. At the back of the building is the San Antonio Garden, presided over by an image of Jesus Christ.
The cathedral lights up at night in an impressive show of light and shadow. It is little similar to the cathedral of Orleans (Loiret, France), despite the homonymy between the two cities.
18. Attend the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival
Tennessee Williams was a famous American playwright and writer, Pulitzer Prize for Theater in 1948 and 1955, who lived in New Orleans during a productive stage of his life. He is world-renowned for such works as A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof .
Every spring, the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival is held in New Orleans, bringing together playwrights, writers, screenwriters, performers, editors, and people from the world of theater and letters.
In this last area described, master classes, conferences, readings and other literary activities are offered, which are harmonized with theatrical productions, film screenings, book signings, cocktails and gastronomic events.
One of the funniest acts at the festival is the Stella! screaming contest, parodying Stanley ‘s famous screaming call to his wife, Stella , in A Streetcar Named Desire .
The participants, dressed in tattered T-shirts to look more like Stanley Kowalski , strive to give the most convincing shout from the balcony of the Pontalba apartments in Jackson Square.
Many festival events are free, and New Orleans hotels often offer special rates to attendees.
19. Get to know the Audubon Butterfly and Insectarium
It is the largest museum on the planet dedicated to insects and works in a building that was the port of New Orleans customs between 1840 and 1881. It is located at 423 Canal Street.
It has more than 50 live exhibitions and varied multimedia aids in an area of 2,100 m 2 and some of its samples are:
louisiana swamp
The state of which New Orleans is the largest city has huge swampy areas formed by the Mississippi River and its impressive variety of insects is shown in this gallery.
Termite Gallery
Here you can see what these insects are capable of doing to wood.
butterfly garden
It is a space with hundreds of living specimens of these beautiful insects.
Metamorphosis Gallery
Here you will see the insects go from larvae to pupae and adults.
Hall of Fame
Preserved specimens of the most impressive insects in the world.
Bug Appetit
Here you can see the chefs prepare dishes with insects and taste them.
20. Remember Louis Armstrong at the Satchmo Summer Festival
Satchmo was the nickname of Louis Armstrong, the legendary trumpeter and jazz performer born in New Orleans.
It is an abbreviation for “Satchelmouth”, a term first used by Percy Brooks, editor of the British magazine Melody Maker , to greet the musician in London in 1932.
Armstrong is one of the most famous and beloved people in New Orleans and his influence on jazz and music in general does not diminish, but grows with time.
The 2019 Satchmo Summer Festival will take place between August 2 and 4 and its main venue is the New Orleans Jazz Museum. It is a long weekend filled with live music, typical food, drinks, conferences, seminars and other events related to the life and musical heritage of Armstrong.
Satchmo Festival’s outdoor events are filled with the best musicians from New Orleans and Louisiana, many paying personal tribute to Louis Armstrong and his music.
video of new orleans
Below a video of New Orleans seen from a drone:
Why you should visit New Orleans
New Orleans is the world’s leading city with French, Spanish, Caribbean and American heritage. This historical evolution produced a syncretism that was reflected in the architecture, music, gastronomy, religion and other cultural facets. New Orleans is a city that lives for jazz, fun and fine dining and there are events throughout the year that remind you what a privilege it is to be in La Nouvelle-Orléans .
Things to do in New Orleans
One time you’ll appreciate being in New Orleans is on the night of December 31 for the New Year’s Eve celebration, which has its epicenter in Jackson Square in the French Quarter. There you can join the emotional countdown to welcome the new year, amid champagne, fireworks and popular revelry. Another event worth enjoying is the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience, held in the spring with the participation of more than 100 city restaurants and more than 250 wineries.
What to do with children in New Orleans?
Trolley rides, the Aquariums of the Americas, the Audubon Zoo, the Audubon Butterfly and Insectarium, and even the mysteries of the Voodoo Museum will be attractions your kids will enjoy in New Orleans. The main festivals in the city, such as Jazz and the French Quarter, have programs especially geared towards children. City Park and MardiGras World, where the carnival floats are built, are other great places in New Orleans to keep the little ones entertained.
What to do in New Orleans for free
Many of the events at New Orleans music and cultural festivals are free. Witnessing the parades of Mardi Gras, Christmas and other festivities, walking along the banks of the Mississippi, strolling through the French Quarter, visiting the French Market and admiring the cathedral and other historical buildings, are things for which you will not have to pay. City Park features 1,300 acres of trees, grass, lakes and trails and is free to enter. At GlassWorks in the Arts District, you can watch glass blowing for free.
Where is New Orleans?
New Orleans is located in the delta of the Mississippi River, in the southeast of the state of Louisiana (USA), approximately 170 km from the Gulf of Mexico. It is the most important city in Louisiana, although not its capital, a title that corresponds to Baton Rouge, a town located 130 km northwest of New Orleans.
map of new orleans
What is the weather like in New Orleans?
New Orleans is a city with a temperate and warm climate. It is somewhat rainy (1546 mm per year), with the particularity that there is not a dry season and a wet season, but rather it rains in any month of the year. The average annual temperature is 20.3 °C. The coolest season is in winter, when the mercury reaches 11-13 °C. In May it rises to 24 °C and in summer it is between 26 and 28 °C, with peaks close to 33 °C.
What is the best season to visit New Orleans?
For weather, the best season is between April and May, when the city is cool without being hot. There is no need to worry about the rain because it rains at any time of the year. The main festivals are in spring and summer. Late autumn is another good time to visit La Nouvelle-Orléans .
What airlines fly to New Orleans
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is the origin and destination of flights for major US, Canadian, European and Latin American airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, Aeroméxico and Copa.
new orleans airport
The city’s main air terminal is the Louis Armstrong International Airport, located in the town of Kenner, 21 km from New Orleans. It is located 120 centimeters above sea level, making it the second lowest international airport terminal in the world, only surpassed by Schiphol (Netherlands), which is 3 meters below sea level. It currently has an annual traffic of 12 million passengers.
How to get from the airport to the city of New Orleans
You can go from the Louis Armstrong International Airport to the city of New Orleans by taxi and bus. The second option is cheaper and the most affordable fare is the E2 buses from the transport company Jefferson Transit. The taxi is faster and the rate is fixed according to the destination district in New Orleans.
Best restaurants in New Orleans
New Orleans is a festival of flavors and you will find Cajun, Creole, French, Spanish, Caribbean and African food, among the most linked to the past and present of the city, as well as any specialty of international cuisine. There are more than 1000 restaurants in the city and some names that have made history are Galatoire’s, Arnaud’s, Emeril’s, Bayonne, Commander’s Palace, Herbsaint, Bourbon House, Palace Café, NOLA, Antoine’s and Café du Monde.
What are the best hotels in New Orleans
New Orleans’ range of accommodations is impressive and world-class, from luxurious chain hotels to quaint bed & breakfasts and cozy boutique hotels . Some names are TownePlace Suites by Marriott New Orleans , Cambria Hotel New Orleans Downtown , Hotel Mazarin , Bourbon Orleans Hotel , and Wyndham Garden Baronne Plaza .
What are the best hostels in New Orleans
Although New Orleans has a somewhat higher price level than the average US city, it is possible to stay cheaply. Some of the best B&B options are India House Hostal , City House Hostal New Orleans , Blue60 Guest House , Creole Gardens Guesthouse and Inn , New Orleans Little Gem , WG Creole House 1850 , Bon Maison Guest House , and Treme Two Bedroom Suite .
What are the upcoming 2019 events in New Orleans
Among the main events of the second semester of 2019 in New Orleans are Runnig of The Bulls (July 12), Satchmo Festival (August 2), NOLA Music and Arts Festival (August 21), Southern Decadence (the most important event in Gay New Orleans, August 29), National Fried Chicken Festival (September 20), Oktoberfest (October 4), Latin Carnival (October 12), New Orleans Film Festival (October 16), Bacanal Bayou (November 2), Christmas Eve Bonfires at El Dique (December 24).
When is the New Orleans Mardi Gras 2020
In the world of Christian tradition, carnival is celebrated during the days immediately preceding the Wednesday that begins Lent. In 2020, Shrove Tuesday, New Orleans’ famous Mardi Gras, falls on February 25.
When is the New Orleans Jazz Festival 2019 and 2020
The jazz festival officially takes place during the final weekend of April (from Friday to Sunday) and the first weekend of May (from Thursday to Sunday), although in practice it is a continuous party of 10 days. The one for 2019 has already taken place and the one for 2020 will open on Friday, April 24, and close on Sunday, May 3.
The best tours of New Orleans
In New Orleans you can do all kinds of tours, from historical tours , which take you through the most emblematic places of the city’s past, to ghost and graveyard tours , which take you through the supposedly haunted houses of the French Quarter and the famous necropolis of the city. Other tours available are food tours, cocktail tours, and carriage rides around the city and boat rides on the Mississippi River.
The history of voodoo in New Orleans
Voodoo was brought to New Orleans during the 18th century by black immigrants from the Caribbean. This magical cult had as its main figure in the city Marie Catherine Laveau (1794-1881), an enigmatic and beautiful woman with a tanned complexion who learned the knowledge and rites of the religion from her grandmother and from Darcental Marguetto, the Creole mother her. With her magnetism, her amulets and her mysticism, Marie Laveau came to exert remarkable influence over the upper class of her time and is called the Queen of Voodoo. As an example of Voodoo’s cultural influence, a football team in the city is called the New Orleans Voodoos.
How is security in New Orleans?
Like most American cities, New Orleans has its pockets of marginality and drug addiction that it’s best not to venture into. In the circuits and tourist places there is enough security and you just have to take the precautions that would be taken into account in any other place. In places with a high influx of people, for example festivals, and on public transport, you have to take care of your wallet.
The history of New Orleans
The city was founded in 1718 by the French in the Mississippi Delta with the aim of opening a trade route in a deep-water port into the interior of what is now the United States. In 1722 it was designated the capital of French Louisiana and in 1763 France ceded it to its wartime ally, Spain. In 1803, with the Franco-Spanish pact terminated, Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States to raise cash to finance its wars in Europe. The sale price was $15 million, a transaction that would have to be noted among the biggest real estate bargains in history.
What is the French Quarter of New Orleans
The French Quarter is the original and most iconic neighborhood of New Orleans and is bounded by the Mississippi River, Canal Street, Rampart Street and Esplanade Avenue. It houses the main attractions of the city, such as Jackson Square, Bourbon Street with its famous bars, the French Market, the cathedral, the San Luis cemetery where the Voodoo Queen is buried, the old Mint, the Cabildo, the Presbytery and a large number of historic and representative buildings of New Orleans architecture.
In New Orleans there are vampires
According to the city’s mythology, New Orleans, and especially the French Quarter, are America’s premier haunt of vampires and witches. Anne Rice, popular gothic and religious best-selling author ( Interview with the Vampire ), a New Orleans native, has made her fortune with her city’s vampires and one of her places of inspiration is 1 Lafayette Cemetery, near which she has his house.
Why is it important to visit St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans?
The New Orleans Cathedral is interesting for several reasons. The current building is the third built on the site, after the one erected in the times of French Louisiana (1718), which was replaced by the one built in the period of Spanish Louisiana (1727) and which was destroyed by the great fire of 1788. The beautiful and sober current cathedral, built in 1789 and renovated in 1850, is the oldest Catholic church that has maintained its continuity over time in the United States.
The famous street of Bourbon Street in New Orleans
Bourbon Street is the most famous street in New Orleans, especially for some famous bars such as Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, Old Absinthe House, Pat O’Brien’s Bar and Napoleon House. Other attractions on Bourbon Street are the Royal Sanesta Hotel, with the city’s peculiar architectural style, and the Galatoire Restaurant, founded in 1905 and specializing in French Creole cuisine.
The Witches of New Orleans
Voodoo is related to witchcraft, especially that practiced by a houngan (priest, shaman) who uses his supposed powers to try to do evil. In New Orleans there seem to have been many witches, but the most famous has been Marie Laveau, the city’s “senior sorceress”. Although there are few details about her life, it is said that she was married twice and both husbands mysteriously disappeared. She is told that she exercised her rites freely and that she was widely consulted on love and economic issues. Nowadays, everyone who wants to make a television series or a movie about witchcraft thinks of New Orleans as a location.
legends of new orleans
New Orleans is full of legends that are skillfully exploited on French Quarter tours . One of the stories around Marie Laveau is that a client sought her help to save her son from the gallows and the famous “Queen of Voodoo” caused the rope to break. Another legend of New Orleans is that of a wealthy woman named Delphine Lalaurie, apparently generous, who dismembered her slaves. If we are to believe the myths of the city, there are more ghosts than guests at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.
What to see in the Garden District in New Orleans
Garden is a district in western New Orleans that is home to one of the most beautiful residential areas in the city, with mansions with large galleries, wrought-iron railings and lush groves. The streets are divided by green areas and the cars of the historic New Orleans streetcar circulate along St. Charles Avenue. Another of its attractions is the Lafayette 1 Cemetery. Writer Anne Rice and actress Sandra Bullock have homes in the district. JustBookExcursions.com’s daily tours of Garden District homes take half a day and start at $38.36.
Who founded New Orleans?
New Orleans was founded in 1718 under the name La Nouvelle-Orleans . The founder was the colonizer Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, a Frenchman from the Montreal area (now Canada), brother of fellow explorer Pierre Le Moyne de Bienville. The first plan of the town, a set of streets at right angles, was made by the architect Adrien de Pauger. The city was named in honor of Philip II of Orleans, at the time Duke of Orleans and Regent of the Kingdom of France.
When was New Orleans founded?
The city was founded in 1718 and in 1922, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville moved the capital of French Louisiana from Biloxi to New Orleans as it was a port with deeper waters and better land for cultivation.
What does Nola mean?
Nola is an acronym that stands for New Orleans, Louisiana. It is widely used to refer to the city.
How many inhabitants does New Orleans have?
When Louisiana and New Orleans were sold by France to the United States in 1803, the city had about 10,000 inhabitants, who were greatly dismayed by their sudden membership in a nascent American republic. By 1830, New Orleans had 102,000 inhabitants and was fourth in the country. Before Katrina (2005), the population was 456,000 people, reduced to 200,000 after the hurricane. In 2017, New Orleans had recovered to 394,000 inhabitants.
What is the language of New Orleans?
The first inhabitants of New Orleans were French from Acadia, a territory formed by the former maritime colonies of Canada and the state of Maine (USA). They spoke Acadian French, a dialect that derived from the Cajun French used today in Louisiana and New Orleans. It is estimated that there are about 26,000 speakers of the dialect in the state, although there are fewer and fewer due to the predominance of English. There is an idea of bringing Cajun French into the school system to save it from extinction.
What is the capital of New Orleans?
New Orleans does not have a capital, although if one were to be named, it would have to be the French Quarter. It is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, but the state capital is Baton Rouge. New Orleans is called the “jazz capital” and the “voodoo capital” in the United States.
How was jazz born in New Orleans?
Jazz was born in the New Orleans area during the second part of the 19th century, as a musical manifestation of the slaves who arrived from Africa. In New Orleans there was a place called Place Congo (now Beauregard Square ) where black slaves were allowed to gather to make music and dance. They used percussion instruments (donkey jaws and seed rattles), brimbão (string instrument), kalimba (sanza) and a four-stringed banjo. This original music evolved into jazz.
We hope that very soon you will be able to make your reservations for next year’s Mardi Gras or for any other occasion in which New Orleans fully vibrates with its charm. Share this post with your friends and friends so that they also know everything that can be fun in La Nouvelle-Orléans .
See also:
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- We leave you our guide with the 25 best free things to do in Los Angeles
- Read our guide to the top 20 tourist attractions and landmarks in Manhattan
