Welcome to New Orleans
While many cities have great museums, New Orleans is itself a breathing, evolving work of art — a revitalized metropolis pulsating with the energy, creativity, and passion of artists, musicians, chefs, and a population ready to celebrate. Now is the time to rediscover New Orleans and all the artisic charm that comes with visiting The Big Easy.
The birthplace of jazz, New Orleans is a music lover’s paradise. Kick back to live Jazz at Preservation Hall and sway to the sounds of a street performer as you stroll through the French Quarter. The city is rich with clubs, concert halls, theaters, and street corners vibrating with a range of musical sounds and styles. You can hear everything from jazz and blues to Cajun, zydeco, rock, gospel, operac and classical. Music fills the air in New Orleans and you are sure to find entertainment on every corner.
New Orleans is considered the most delicious city in America. With world-famous chefs and more restaurants than ever in our history, New Orleans dazzles with its myriad culinary treasures. Sample everything from classic Cajun and Creole to Latin, Mediterranean, Asian and New Orleans fusion.
From the gambling tables at the casino to the paddlewheelers on the Mississippi River, to the historical street cars, the energy flows and the good times roll in New Orleans. Best of all, you won’t go home empty-handed. Louisiana offers tax-free shopping for international visitors.
We are different here. You’ll be different here as well.
The birthplace of jazz, New Orleans is a music lover’s paradise. Kick back to live Jazz at Preservation Hall and sway to the sounds of a street performer as you stroll through the French Quarter. The city is rich with clubs, concert halls, theaters, and street corners vibrating with a range of musical sounds and styles. You can hear everything from jazz and blues to Cajun, zydeco, rock, gospel, operac and classical. Music fills the air in New Orleans and you are sure to find entertainment on every corner.
New Orleans is considered the most delicious city in America. With world-famous chefs and more restaurants than ever in our history, New Orleans dazzles with its myriad culinary treasures. Sample everything from classic Cajun and Creole to Latin, Mediterranean, Asian and New Orleans fusion.
From the gambling tables at the casino to the paddlewheelers on the Mississippi River, to the historical street cars, the energy flows and the good times roll in New Orleans. Best of all, you won’t go home empty-handed. Louisiana offers tax-free shopping for international visitors.
We are different here. You’ll be different here as well.
FUN FACTS
- A second line is when people follow a brass band on the street while swinging a handkerchief in a circle over their heads. The second-liners also have a special shuffle step or dance that they do when following the band; this is called "second lining."
- St. Louis Cathedral is the oldest operating cathedral in the United States.
- The ritual of cutting a wedding cake in New Orleans is preceded by another tradition: Unmarried female friends of the bride each ""pull a ribbon"" from the cake, to which a silver charm is attached. Charms can include a ring, a heart, a thimble, a button, a horseshoe, and a clover, each with a symbolic meaning.
- The meaning of Mardi Gras, translated from French, is literally "Fat Tuesday."
- The white alligator is the rarest species of the alligator family — check one out at the Audubon Zoo’s Swamp Exhibit.
- Louisiana is known as “Sportsman’s Paradise,” a nickname that refers to the state’s wildlife, hunting and fishing resources, and myriad outdoor recreational and sporting activities.
- New Orleans had the first opera house in America.
- The French Quarter occupies the same six-by-13-block area laid out in 1722 as the original City of New Orleans.
- Yes, there is a difference! Cajun food is the earthy, robust creation of fishermen and farmers in the bayou country of southwest Louisiana. Creole food is the cosmopolitan cuisine of New Orleans, influenced by the foods of Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
- If someone asks if you want it “dressed”, they are asking if you want lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayonnaise on your Po Boy.
- New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, making it the only true American art form. Also, jazz gave birth to the blues and rock 'n' roll music.
- New Orleans is known as the ""Paris of the South"" because it’s a great city in which to get engaged, honeymoon and, of course, get married!