Things to do in New Orleans, LA

It should come as no surprise that the host city of Mardi Gras is famous for its festivals. The Carnival season, which begins on January 6 and culminates on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day), is easily the biggest draw for visitors where festivals are concerned, but the Big Easy has a host of other events throughout the year. In April, the Jazz and Heritage Festival (more commonly known as Jazz Fest) offers a great mix of big headliners and local musicians, while March's Road Food Festival features beignet-eating contests and the world's longest Po'boys.

The indigenous cuisine of New Orleans, made up mostly of Louisiana Creole, is comprised of some of the most diverse, unique, and easily recognizable flavors in the world. Whether you're sipping a chicory cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde while indulging in a few beignets or ordering up the original muffuletta sandwich at the world-famous Central Grocery, you're sure to understand this city's love affair with food and embark on one of your own. Other must-try dishes for a visit to New Orleans include jambalaya, red beans and rice, Creole bread pudding, Po'boy sandwiches, and anything with crawfish. It's worth noting that although New Orleans is widely...  

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It should come as no surprise that the host city of Mardi Gras is famous for its festivals. The Carnival season, which begins on January 6 and culminates on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day), is easily the biggest draw for visitors where festivals are concerned, but the Big Easy has a host of other events throughout the year. In April, the Jazz and Heritage Festival (more commonly known as Jazz Fest) offers a great mix of big headliners and local musicians, while March's Road Food Festival features beignet-eating contests and the world's longest Po'boys.

The indigenous cuisine of New Orleans, made up mostly of Louisiana Creole, is comprised of some of the most diverse, unique, and easily recognizable flavors in the world. Whether you're sipping a chicory cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde while indulging in a few beignets or ordering up the original muffuletta sandwich at the world-famous Central Grocery, you're sure to understand this city's love affair with food and embark on one of your own. Other must-try dishes for a visit to New Orleans include jambalaya, red beans and rice, Creole bread pudding, Po'boy sandwiches, and anything with crawfish. It's worth noting that although New Orleans is widely associated with Cajun food, that style of cuisine didn't see much exposure in the Big Easy until the late 1970's. Acadiana, a separate region of Louisiana, is the true source of Cajun cuisine.

New Orleans is universally regarded as the birthplace of jazz music, a fact that pervades every facet of the city's existence today. The music of New Orleans, not unlike it's cuisine and broader culture, has a long and richly varied history. The infancy of jazz is usually traced back to 1835, when slaves would congregate in Congo Square to sing and dance. Over time, jazz and brass bands (distinct entities for a time) began to form in their own right, and the two deeply forms deeply influenced one another even as they in turn were influenced by Creole contributions, ragtime, Dixieland, and later, blues and rock. Marching bands are an integral part of the Big Easy's musical heritage, and one of the most notable staples of its culture today. It's a rare public event in New Orleans where you don't see a marching band performing.

New Orleans is one of a very few cities in the States that has a high watermark example of almost every major architectural style in history, owing largely to its own multicultural heritage. Quaint Creole cottages are strewn throughout the city. These one-story wood or stucco structures have a design that dates back to the 18th century. Elsewhere, on Canal Street and in the French Quarter, a majority of the buildings were refurbished in the Victorian Style following the Louisiana purchase, but a handful maintain Colonial French or Spanish design. Spanish influence is most prominent in these historic districts, but the buildings also have touches of African, French, and Caribbean styles.

Whether you're in the market for Old World antiques or cutting edge fashions, each of New Orleans' distinct neighborhoods has something to offer. Foodies should head to the Crescent City Farmer's Market for the proverbial "died and went to heaven" experience, while art connoisseurs can have a field day at the Bywater Art Market. Magazine Street is virtually blanketed in boutique shops that mostly traffic in upscale women's wear, while Canal Street offers an array of high-end cigar shops and music stores that male travelers are sure to find appealing. Bourbon and Canal Streets feature mostly touristy shops, but it's worth tramping around in either of those areas to explore a few Voodoo shops.

Ten million. Twenty-eight thousand. Seventeen. Sure, it's simplistic to think of New Orleans from a numbers-first perspective, but then numbers are sometimes telling. According to the CVB, these figures represent, respectively, how many people visit the city annually, the number of hotel rooms it offers and the number of nicknames it has.

Not surprisingly, the "Big Easy" has a long, fascinating history. Western explorers, most notably Rene-Robert Cavelier, better known as Sieur de La Salle, first explored the Mississippi River in the late 17th century. It didn't take long — 1718, as a matter of fact — before the French decided that founding a port city where the Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico would be a strategic and commercial advantage. Laid out five feet below sea level, Nouvelle Orléans would prosper over the next several decades no matter whose auspices — France, Spain, France again, and, eventually, the United States — its residents found themselves under.

During the 19th century, New Orleans gained renown as the leading port for sugar, fruit, rum and other goods arriving from the West Indies. It was then that the city also saw a large influx of immigrants, particularly those seeking to...  Read more »

Ten million. Twenty-eight thousand. Seventeen. Sure, it's simplistic to think of New Orleans from a numbers-first perspective, but then numbers are sometimes telling. According to the CVB, these figures represent, respectively, how many people visit the city annually, the number of hotel rooms it offers and the number of nicknames it has.

Not surprisingly, the "Big Easy" has a long, fascinating history. Western explorers, most notably Rene-Robert Cavelier, better known as Sieur de La Salle, first explored the Mississippi River in the late 17th century. It didn't take long — 1718, as a matter of fact — before the French decided that founding a port city where the Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico would be a strategic and commercial advantage. Laid out five feet below sea level, Nouvelle Orléans would prosper over the next several decades no matter whose auspices — France, Spain, France again, and, eventually, the United States — its residents found themselves under.

During the 19th century, New Orleans gained renown as the leading port for sugar, fruit, rum and other goods arriving from the West Indies. It was then that the city also saw a large influx of immigrants, particularly those seeking to escape the Haitian Revolution. Of African descent, they thickened the gumbo of a place already heavily seasoned with French influence, bringing with them not only a deep love of music but also a belief in voodoo. By the time the Civil War began, this was one of the United States' most dynamic cities —a cosmopolitan place where Cajun and Creole cultures coexisted, intertwined and ultimately flourished.

Yet, tied to the past as it is, for New Orleans there's no time like right now. Her untethered spirit and indefatigable devotion to the art of celebration have attracted folks young and old for years. Drink in hand, she beckons to travelers with her brassy siren's song, forever reminding them that, here, more than anywhere else, is the place where les bon temps rouler. This fact has never been more clear than it was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when, in light of widespread devastation and massive population displacement, some officials suggested postponing the 2006 Mardi Gras festivities.

Residents completely balked at the notion. After all, this is "The City that Care Forgot." The parades, music and mass revelry took place just like always — only this time, there were a few floats designed to make light of the disaster. "We're still here," the floats seemed to say, "You can't ruin our party." And though the Lower Ninth Ward continues to bear the wounds of 2005, it's worth noting that the more heavily touristed areas of the city managed to escape much of the flood damage, and neighborhoods like the French Quarter, Magazine Street and the Garden District remain the vibrant, alluring draws they've always been.

The prominence of partying, po' boys and beignets go without saying, and if you don't adore eating and drinking, you may think this isn't the place for you. Don't rush to judge. Nobody's suggesting you shouldn't indulge, but your trip doesn't have to revolve around Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's. There are, in fact, subtler, more intrinsic qualities that make Crescent City visits unforgettable.

They're found when you wake up early and make your way to Bourbon Street. Misty and quiet, the New Orleans morning is a veritable gallery of vignettes. Watch as the merchants wash away yesterday and prepare for today, quietly spraying off the worn slate sidewalks. Venture deeper into the Quarter and encounter lovely residences, their wrought iron balconies adorned with hanging baskets. Heavy with long, trailing vines and colorful blossoms, their morning water drips to the sidewalk. You also find the city's quality at dusk, as sun battles to leave one last glimmer of light over the Mississippi. Watch as the ships maneuver the deep, dark waters just like they did yesterday and just like they'll do tomorrow. Yeah ... A certain timeless style pervades everything New Orleans does, and even during the most mundane moments, it's an extraordinary place.