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New Orleans
New Orleans seduces with Caribbean colour and waves of sultry Southern heat. Enshrouding us in dreams and ancient melodies, its sweet-tasting cocktails are laced with voodoo potions. The unofficial state motto, laissez les bons temps rouler ('let the good times roll'), pretty much says it all.
Called by some 'The City That Care Forgot,' New Orleans has a well-earned reputation for excess and debauchery. It's a cultural gumbo of African, Indian, Cajun and Creole influences. Whether you're looking for history, drama and intrigue or just a damn good bop in the street, New Orleans is it.
Area: 200 sq km
Population: 1.2 million
Country: USA
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -6 (Central Time)
Telephone Area Code: 504
Orientation At the big toe of boot-shaped Louisiana, New Orleans nestles between Lake Pontchartrain, a huge but shallow body of saltwater that forms the northern edge of town, and a meniscus-shaped bend of the Mississippi River, about 145 river kilometres (90mi) above where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The original and most visited portions of the city parallel the northern riverbank. Directions upriver or downriver are relative to the water flow, which bends maddeningly to all points of the compass. The Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain also provide 'riverside' or 'lakeside' orientation.
New Orleans comprises a checkerboard of neighborhoods of different wealth and ethnicity - it's often only a few steps from ghetto to endowed estates. At the easternmost point of the city's crescent-shaped core is the heart of the original city, the French Quarter. To the southwest, the Uptown area encompasses the Garden District, universities and palatial mansions along the St Charles Ave Streetcar Line, which leads to the Riverbend area at the other end of the crescent.
Older faubourgs (suburbs) border the crowded French Quarter - to the east, the Faubourg Marigny appeals to a bohemian, mostly gay crowd, while the more down-at-heels Faubourg Tremé to the north is a black neighborhood known for its music. Downriver from Faubourg Marigny is the Bywater, a burgeoning artist hangout in an otherwise marginal district.
New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is 18km (11mi) west of the city center in Kenner, while both trains and buses share New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal ('Union Station') on Loyola Ave in the Central Business District (CBD), between the French Quarter and the Uptown area.
West of New Orleans you'll find the Cajun wetlands, an area of French patois-speaking rural people who still depend on the natural resources of the swamps. The Cajuns' Spanish counterparts, the Isleños, live in the coastal fishing villages south of New Orleans. Upstream along the Mississippi River, antebellum sugar plantations attract visitors who marvel at elegant plantation homes. An occasional slave cabin remains as a reminder of how the wealth was gained.
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When to Go New Orleans' climate is influenced by its subtropical latitude and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. It's hot, wet and sticky for most of the year - other times it's just wet. February through April is the best time to visit, when an easygoing climate coincides with the city's two most spectacular events, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. May sees the heat begin to intensify, and June marks the official beginning of hurricane season, which lasts through September. The oppressive heat and humidity of the summer months are a misery, driving many residents to the 'redneck Riviera' of gulf coast Mississippi.
If you're visiting in summer, prepare for the 'oven' effect of going from chilly air-conditioned interiors to overwhelmingly tropical 95°F (35°C) streets. September and October tend to be much more agreeable. Christmas is an off-peak period with discounted accommodations, although the winter temperatures during the large New Year's Eve celebration and the Sugar Bowl football game can be chilly.
Events
Of all American cities, New Orleans knows best how to party. Its hip-swinging insouciance, greasy-chinned hedonism and cosmopolitan embrace of different cultures and artforms combine to lift it above (or deliciously below) the Calvinist mindset that still haunts the rest of the US. Let 'em roll!
Booze, beads and bare-breasted revelers, right? Well, if you think that's all there is to Mardi Gras, then honey you're in for a treat. French for 'Fat Tuesday,' Mardi Gras is a Roman Catholic celebration ushering in the 40-day Lenten season before Easter. It takes place the day before Ash Wednesday, which can be any Tuesday from 3 February to 9 March, depending on the date of Easter. Seeing as Lent demands fasting from meat, Mardi Gras has always represented a last chance to indulge.
New Orleans' ribald version of the events include several weeks' worth of fun and fabulousness leading up to Mardi Gras. Though the big masquerade balls are often private affairs, there's no shortage of public parades and gatherings. The bacchanalian nightlife really starts to heat up about two weeks before Mardi Gras, with nonstop nonsense from the Thursday before. Don't even think of showing up without a costume of some sort - even a simple mask will transform you into a worthy party peer.
In homage to New Orleans' jazz traditions, on the 250th anniversary of the city's founding (1968), an all-star lineup of jazz-scene giants came together for the first ever New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. A few years later, 'Jazz Fest' expanded to include two weekends in late April and early May and a variety of musical forms besides jazz. Today, Jazz Fest features music to suit just about anybody's tastes, with thousands of performers on more than 10 stages displaying styles ranging from big band to zydeco. The 'Heritage' portion of the title refers to the army of Louisianan arts, crafts and food purveyors gathered downtown at Armstrong Park. Do yourself a favor and arrive hungry - the food on offer is a festival unto itself. If you're new to the region, this is an excellent place to get your culinary bearings.
Other somewhat less boisterous celebrations include the Black Heritage Festival on the second weekend in March, the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival on the last weekend in March, the French Quarter Festival on the second weekend in April, the Greek Festival on Memorial Day weekend in May and the raucous riverfront Carnaval Latino on the last weekend in June. Independence Day (Fourth of July) features food and entertainment along the riverfront and star-studded musical performances at the Superdome, followed of course by a barrage of fireworks.
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Public Holidays
1 Jan - New Year's Day
third Monday in January - Martin Luther King Jnr Day
third Monday in February - President's Day
Feb/Mar - Mardi Gras Day
Mar/Apr - Easter Sunday
last Monday in May - Memorial Day
4 Jul - Independence Day
first Monday in September - Labor day
second Monday in October - Columbus Day
11 Nov - Veteran's Day
25 Dec - Christmas day
Attractions
Aquarium of the Americas
New Orleans voters should be congratulated for funding the Aquarium of the Americas, operated by the Audubon Institute. Here you can go eye-to-eye with giant tropical creatures from the Amazon basin, see spotted moray eels and hawksbill turtles in a walk-through Caribbean reef tube or watch incredible specimens of Gulf species through 14ft (4m) high windows. Mr Bill, a 40 year old sawfish, even shares his tank with an oil platform (that doesn't leak). Of course, the Mississippi River and Delta wetlands environments are displayed, but the 'Americas' apparently extend to the farthest reaches of the Arctic.
The air-conditioned aquarium is at the foot of Canal St, near Woldenberg Park and next to the Canal St Ferry. Use the Riverfront streetcar if you don't want to walk from the French Quarter. The Zoo Cruise also docks here, and you can get a variety of combination tickets to both the Audubon Zoo and the aquarium, including the price of the cruise.
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The French Quarter (or Vieux Carré, as it's sometimes called) was the city's original focal point and remains its chief tourist draw. It houses nearly all New Orleans' signature tourist icons, and Bourbon Street alone, with its stormy nightlife and seedy sex shows, defines the city's bawdy character.
What surprises most newcomers is that despite the name, the Quarter is noted for its Spanish, not French, architecture. With the exception of the Old Ursuline Convent - the oldest building in New Orleans, dating from 1745 - the district's French-designed buildings were destroyed by the tremendous fires of 1788 and 1794. The distinctly Spanish character that emerged in the rebuilt city is seen today in its broad window openings, crowned by graceful arches, and handsome fan-shaped transoms. Lacy ironwork railings on galleries overhanging the street are particularly emblematic.
Royal Street, the main drag of the French Quarter, is the postcard image of the neighborhood: its cast-iron galleries and Greek Revival buildings make camera shutters click like locusts in heat. Jackson Square remains the central and most important starting point for visitors to the Quarter, with its nebulous assortment of street musicians, artists, fortune tellers and mimes doing their shtick on the sidewalk. On adjacent Chartres St, two notable history museums are the Cabildo and the Presbytère, the former emphasizing the external impact of New Orleans, the latter concentrating on its internal history.
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Like the French Quarter, this is a National Historic District, where architectural preservation ordinances prevent would-be developers from fiddling with its period character. The free guided National Park Service 'Faubourg Promenade' provides an overview of the Garden District, but it's more fun to explore it on your own - especially since it's an ideal zone for bicycling.
Aside from the eerie splendor of Spanish moss and the tranquil allure of the Georgian manors, the key attractions of the district are the Audubon Zoological Gardens, one of the country's richest collections of exotic wildlife; Tulane University, with repositories specializing in African-American history and New Orleans' jazz legacy; and Lafayette Cemetery No 1, where above-ground tombs let you ponder up close what makes Anne Rice's vampire novels seem so perfectly suited to their setting. The Garden District is 1.5mi (2.5km) southwest of the French Quarter; the St Charles Ave Streetcar Line cuts right through its northern half.
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If you're strolling in the French Quarter, look for the Historic Voodoo Museum on Dumaine St. Half market, half museum, it's a one-stop shop for all you need to get your mojo risin' and keep it there. Whether it's gris-gris you're needing for grandma's arthritis or a penis doll to stop your man from running around on you, this is your place. The museum is only worth visiting when it's uncrowded and a guide is available to talk about the potions, rituals and people, since the exhibits are not self-explanatory.
Voodoo Spiritual Temple
One meaning assigned to voodoo, 'being in a trance,' is in part derived from the lack of proper burial for slaves, which was believed to result in restless souls or the walking dead, also called zombies or plat-eyes. In New Orleans, the spirits of deceased ancestors are carefully protected through common rituals such as jazz funerals, featuring brassy bands and a 'second line' of paraders in top hats and umbrellas.
At the Voodoo Spiritual Temple on N Rampart St in the French Quarter, Priestess Miriam Chamani primarily practices spiritual healing rituals based on Afrocentric American Voodooism. Her temple promotes neither white nor black magic, but instead focuses on 'true spiritual power for friendly people.' She continues a tradition established by her New Orleans ancestors, Dr John (the voodoo practitioner from the 1820s, not the contemporary musician), Marie Laveau and Leafy Anderson. Drop by the small storefront temple to chat, pick up books on the occult or check out the small collection of art and artefacts from around the world.
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