New Orleans, is the largest city (some 480,000 in the city, 1 million in the metropolitan area) in Louisiana, as well as the state's top visitor destination. The city has a reputation for historical roots, hot and muggy weather, good food, good music, and over-the-top debauchery.

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 a city of vice. 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, and Satchmo SummerFest, the Essence Festival hosted by the magazine, Halloween parading and costume balls, Saint Patrick's Day and Saint Joseph's Day parading, 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!

After Hurricane Katrina

The newer (20th Century) residential neighborhoods of New Orleans suffered major damage from Hurricane Katrina at the end of August 2005, but the good news for travelers is that the business, historic and cultural districts of most interest to visitors, being on naturally slightly higher ground, came through in good shape, compared to other residential sections of town (which suffered severe to cataclysmic damage).

As of early November 2005, limited tourism has returned, but conditions and number of visitors are still far from the pre-Katrina level. By January, FEMA and other hurricane personnel will begin leaving their hotel quarters in the French Quarter and Central Business District, thereby finally opening up some 24,000 hotel rooms for travelers and scheduled conventioneers. The once damaging image of New Orleans as home to daily/nightly drug-related murders has "Gone With the Wind." With the added military presence, New Orleans' natives and visitors have already begun to enjoy a much greater level of safety and security both during the day and night.

The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is functioning again. Highways in and out of town are open and all major and most minor streets are clear. Taxi companies are functioning, and a number of public transit routes including New Orleans' popular "streetcars" have been restored.

Having cash is recommended, because due to continuing problems with phone lines, some businesses are not yet taking credit cards or checks. Most restaurants continue to accept credit cards and banks are open in the city, but like some businesses, may have more limited hours than usual.

The state of the amenities is highly dependent on neighborhood. The portions of the old city closer to the river have revived quickly, with a broad representative sample of restaurants, bars, hotels, grocery stores, and other business back open, with more opening every day. This area includes the French Quarter, Central Arts District, most of Uptown, Magazine street galleries, Carrollton, Marigny, Algiers, the portion of the Central Business District closer to the River, and the area of Bywater on the River side of Saint Claude Avenue. Safe drinking water and regular electric power are back in these areas, although land line telephone service may still be spotty. In a nutshell, all the popular historic and cultural areas frequented by tourists prior to Katrina are open to visitors. At present, visitors will enjoy their stay by sticking to these neighborhoods.

Other parts of town such as Mid-City and Lakeview, and particularly east-end communities like the 9th Ward, were devastated (or, in some cases, almost obliterated) by flooding. While the first few businesses are re-opening in the formerly flooded areas, affected parts of the city still have few amenities, and may take months or years to return to normality, if those areas ever do. In the nearby suburbs of Jefferson Parish, Kenner, parts of Metairie, and Gretna on the Westbank are also in fairly good shape, with little visible evidence of storm damage. The North Shore on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain is also returning to normal quickly. Suburbs and outlying areas in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes were very hard hit and were virtually obliterated by Katrina's flooding, and will take years to rebuild - if they do.

Even so, the most severely devastated parts of town should generally be avoided by visitors unless they have specific business there and they have checked on local conditions in advance.

For the curious visitor wishing to see the devastation, possibly the best option is offered by Gray Line Tours with their Hurricane Katrina - America's Worst Catastrophe! tour that seeks to inform visitors about the reasons behind the disaster.

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. 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.

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. Creole has a mixture of influences, including French and French Canadian (not Cajun), 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.

Lodging

The numerous hotels in the French Quarter and Central Business District are most centrally located for most tourists, but there are good accommodations in many other parts of town as well. Hotels on or near the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line in Uptown are popular with many visitors, and the smaller hotels and guest houses in neighborhoods like Marigny and Mid-City can provide an immersion in New Orleans away from the larger masses of tourists.

 • Omni Royal Orleans - 621 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70140. Phone: (888) 444-OMNI (6664). The Omni Royal Orleans is a recipient of the AAA four-diamond award for the past 27 years, the Omni Royal Orleans offers luxury hotel accommodations on the fashionable corner of St. Louis and Royal Street. The fine antique shops and art galleries of Royal Street are just steps outside our door. The hotel is a short one block walk to the nonstop revelry of the French Quarter's famed Bourbon Street, making it the perfect location for celebrating Mardi Gras, New Years or any other special occasion.

Stay safe

Hurricanes: The Federal Emergency Management Agency ranks New Orleans as its most pressing problem, as proven by Hurricane Katrina. Because most of New Orleans lies below sea level, waters that flood the city cannot exit the "bowl" without pumping. A hurricane-induced storm surge could overwhelm and disable the pumps that keep the city (relatively) dry in normal weather.

So if a hurricane is in the forecast (particularly a strong or strengthening one), leave the city for actual high ground (which lies about 60-100 miles away) and do not return until the danger has passed. Evacuate as early as possible--preferably at least a few days before landfall; hurricanes can develop and strengthen rapidly, raising the waters to flood the roads that lead away from the city.

Hurricane season is from June to November, however, the greatest threat to New Orleans is from mid-August to late October.

Other: A famous 19th century sign from the Quarter reads: "Beware Pickpockets and Loose Women." Tourists can be so overwhelmed they are separated from their common sense... and, theoretically, other things. Keep things in your front pockets-- not your back-- and be careful with your digital on Bourbon. Its the same with any city, be smart and keep your wits about you.

Get out

 • I-10 runs east west through the city, I-55 dumps into I-10 West of the city and Pontchartrain; I-59 outflows into I-10 on the East side.
 • The local airport, which is the suburb Kenner, is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (acronym of MSY, Moisant Stock Yards). The airport is approximately 11 miles from the Central Business District, the Riverwalk, and the French Quarter. Usual suspects for exit: taxicabs, shuttle buses, and public transportation have routes that can get you to Armstong 24-hours a day. General Aviation traffic is served by both MSY and New Orleans Lakefront on Lake Ponchartrain.
 • If your goal is getting to know the area, River Road is home to a stretch of Plantations. Sugar plantations brought in a nice bit of income, and there are some lovely homes with the archetypal oak colonnades at the entrance. Plantation owners were the first to institute levee constructions, and one of the first levees is actually just outside of New Orleans, right behind Oschner Hospital (along River road). When the area would flood, the levee would be the highest ground, and would crowd with refugees.
 • You can also arrange for a swamp tour. Spring at Jean Lafitte swamp is a lovely time to see the swamp iris. Also, the first and longest running prison rodeo is just up the way at Angola . Before and after the rodeo, the inmates sell crafts, such as belt buckles, wallets, original paintings, and the inmates earn money for their families.