New Orleans, Louisiana

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, good food, good music, and over-the-top debauchery. 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.

Understand

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!

After Hurricane Katrina

In late 2005 New Orleans and the surrounding area was hit by Katrina, a major hurricane. Much worse than the hurricane was the failure of the Federal levee system; in what has been called "the worst civil engineering disaster in U.S. history" some 80% of the city flooded.

New Orleans was not destroyed, but Katrina was a severe blow, perhaps the worst disaster to hit a U.S. city since the great San Francisco earthquake of 99 years earlier. 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 lower lying residential sections of town. Also, since this city has many attractions and a long tradition of catering to visitors, now is a good time to visit New Orleans since crowds are lighter, local merchants are eager to please visitors, and good deals can be often be found on accommodations.

As of the start of 2008, tourism has returned. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (IATA:MSY, ICAO:KMSY) is functioning. Taxi companies are functioning, as are a number of public transit routes including New Orleans' popular "streetcars". The Audubon Zoo, the Museum of Art, the Aquarium, and many other attractions have reopened, and festivals, art openings, and other events again fill the city's schedule. However, not everything is back to normal in the city; scenes of devastation can be seen a 5 minute to 20 minute drive from any of the most intact neighborhoods. Only about half of the city's pre-Katrina population is back living in the city; most of them have a fierce love of their city and have faced many hardships in their continuing efforts to rebuild their city bit by bit.

The city's public services - especially police - have struggled to return to their full strength, and are dealing with a city where decades of neighborhood stability have been disrupted. The city overall has experienced an increase in crime as a result. (See "Stay safe" below.)

Having cash is recommended; a number of businesses that switched to cash-only in the early days of the city's recovery have continued to prefer that mode of payment. Most restaurants continue to accept credit cards and banks and cash machines are open in the city.

In the nearby suburbs of Jefferson Parish, Kenner, parts of Metairie, and Gretna on the Westbank are also in good shape. The North Shore on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain is also returning to normal quickly.

Areas to the south and east of the city, such as the suburb city of Chalmette, the rest of St. Bernard Parish, and much of Plaquemine Parish, were even worse hit than the city itself. While areas of ruined buildings still abound, a number of local businesses and amenities are back.

For the curious visitor wishing to see the devastation, possibly the best option is offered by Gray Line Tours [1] with their Hurricane Katrina - America's Worst Catastrophe! tour that seeks to inform visitors about the reasons behind the disaster.

Hurricane Katrina related disaster relief visiting and tourism

While some visitors decide to confine their trip to the more fully intact parts of the city or just visit the worse hit areas as part of a half-day "disaster tour", for others the historic events of Katrina and its aftermath are the focus of their visit.

Volunteer projects such as “New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity”[2] which builds new houses has attracted volunteers doing good work.

Many groups on a regular basis document the progress of the city's post-Katrina rebuilding effort[3]. Organizations such as Levees.org[4] are vigilant in encouraging further investigation into the flooding and hurricane protection issues surrounding New Orleans, and visitors to the city are encouraged to tour ravaged areas and help keep alive, the attention needed to restore New Orleans to its original grandeur.

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.

Contact

The telephone area code for New Orleans and the nearer suburbs is 504.

There are cyber-cafes throughout the city, with the greatest number in the French Quarter and CBD. Many coffee houses and some bars offer wireless internet connection.

New Orleans Public Libraries has branches around the city. Out of towners can get 1 hour of internet access on library computers for $3; try to go at a time when school is in session to minimize risk of long waits.

Iron Rail Bookstore & Library in the Marigny has free internet access. Sessions have a one hour limit when others are waiting.

Municipal free wireless (ESSID: "CityOfNewOrleans") is available in most of the downtown area (including the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny). Although Louisiana has an anti-municipal-WiFi law (to prevent competition with businesses), the city has an exemption as long as it throttles bandwidth to 512Kbps. Originally created for police and emergency response vehicles, the network is also available to visitors and citizens. However it is generally slow and often not accessible at all for long periods in much of the city.

Stay safe

Hurricanes

Katrina alerted the world to the danger of hurricanes in this part of the world. However if one visits a place vulnerable to natural disaster, at least hurricanes give warning. During the height of the hurricane season, from July through October, be sure to check with the weather service before going to New Orleans, and if a large storm is threatening the Gulf Coast, consider a change of plans. If one threatens the city while you're there, play it safe and leave early; don't wait for an evacuation order to head away from the coast. If you cannot get out of the area you should at least be sure to get to a hotel located on high ground.

Health

Worries about health risks in New Orleans remaining after the post-Katrina cleanup were fortunately unfounded. In the main sections of the city, those of most interest to visitors, the main health concerns are the same for the rest of the U.S. South: If you're not accustomed to the sub-tropical heat, drink plenty of liquids and pace yourself in the sunshine. For the record, the tap water has been declared safe again since early October 2005, and New Orleans is one of the few cities where one can be sure that every restaurant and cafe has had a recent health and sanitation inspection, as this was required before the businesses could reopen after the storm.

No shots or other unusual precautions are required or advised for New Orleans visitors unless they plan to do volunteer work gutting and repairing homes in devastated areas like the Lower 9th Ward. Volunteers should please contact the charity you plan to work with in advance; Habitat for Humanity, Common Ground, Loyola University, or other such organizations can advise you on current projects and recommended precautions for participants.

Crime

Following the widespread displacement of people, destruction of property, and general disruption of city services following Katrina, the city has been experiencing a spike in violent crime, even increasing from 2006 to 2007. The majority of this is away from the parts of town of interest to most visitors, but no part is as safe as it once was. The Central City neighborhood (see New Orleans/Other parts of town|Other parts of town) is having the worst problem, and at present should be avoided by casual visitors. The New Orleans/Bywater|Bywater area has also been having serious problems, and visitors are advised to check on current local conditions before visiting that neighborhood and take extra care if they go.

While the French Quarter and attractions most visited by tourists are some of the safest areas from violent crimes, beware opportunistic thieves looking for a chance to snatch something from visitors who are not keeping an eye on their valuables. A famous 19th century sign from the Quarter reads: "Beware Pickpockets and Loose Women." Not much has changed. Tourists can be so distracted that they are separated from their common sense... and, theoretically, other things. Keep things in your front pockets, and be careful with your digital on Bourbon.

Around parts of the French Quarter and nearby areas with many tourists, visitors can encounter hustlers who will try to get a few dollars from visitors offering anything from a flower to a hat, a foot massage, or even to clean your shoes. Remember you're under no obligation to talk with them.

Looking for drugs or illegal activities will expose you to danger; if someone you just met is trying to lure you into a strange part of town for something decadent, assume you're probably being set up for a robbery.