New Orleans Travel Guide

If there is one "European" city in the U.S. that is New Orleans, the largest city in the state of Louisiana, in addition the main port of the river Mississippi. But New Orleans, a lot more than an "European" city of French descent, is a city where a lot of cultures, from the afore mentioned French to Spanish, Latin American (important Honduran community), African American and of course, Creole which is the main culinary tradition in New Orleans – so that means the culture and its cuisine already thriving when Louisiana was purchased by the United States in 1803.

Before the misfortune of the Katrina hurricane that was flooded more than 86% of the city, New Orleans counted almost the double of its inhabitants at present. But even thus, New Orleans is the largest city in Louisiana and recovering the normality little by little, and it is worth visiting.

The highlights of New Orleans apart from the beauty of its streets, which seem rooted in the colonial era, with brick that is so characteristic of time, is the exoticism that radiates at every turn. Its nightlife is perhaps the best in U.S., and New Orleans is, as everyone knows, the birthplace of jazz and geniuses like Louis Armstrong. A tourist attraction, perhaps a little macabre but it is very curious to see how funerals are held for the rhythm of jazz. Jazz may have been a luxury (entertainment) in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, but in New Orleans it was a necessity--a part of the fabric of life in the neighborhoods. And it still is.

It is not exotic just for jazz, but also by its practices of voodoo from Africa, Haiti and the French, and the mixed cultures that have given rise to the Cajun and Creole culture. Therefore it is known as the "City of the Dead."

The Cajun and Creole culture that exists in New Orleans highlights its cuisine, which along with jazz festivals and continuous festivals that flood the streets makes this city a place that never sleeps. There's always something to celebrate, its famous Carnival which are merely the street parades that precede the Mardi Grass or Ash Wednesday and that begins on the 6th day of January. If to mention, these carnivals include many festivals including the New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, the French Quarter Festival, the Black Heritage Festival, the Tennessee Literary Festival, the Creole Tomato Festival, the Greek Festival, the Carnival Latino, and Independence Day. But these are just some of the festivals that fill the streets. A city that never sleeps, with a unique and original cuisine, and of great beauty, that is worth visiting.