Greater New Orleans

Greater New Orleans is a region centered on New Orleans, Louisiana's biggest city and top visitor attraction, and encompassing the south east part of the state, including the lower Mississippi River, smaller cities and towns, bayous, wetlands, and nature preserves.

Hard hit by Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the levee system in 2005, recovery has been taking place over many years. Still, a wealth of attractions are available for travellers.

Understand
The city of New Orleans and the surrounding region is the main center of Creole culture in Louisiana. The Louisiana Creole people are from a mix of different ethnic origins, with their culture being largely a fusion of African, Native American, French and Spanish influences.

Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in Greater New Orleans, which makes it stand out together with neighboring Acadiana in contrast to the rest of the largely Evangelical Protestant South.

Talk
English is almost universally spoken and understood; French and Spanish are the most common second languages. Some older residents speak a French-based creole known as Louisiana Creole, though this language is now moribund, and most younger people cannot speak it.

Get in
The major International Airport is in Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans.

Interstate 10 is the main highway in and out from east to west; Interstates 55 and 12 have their southern ends here.

A number of cruise ships dock in New Orleans.

Get around
A private automobile is the best way to get around the region. While the city of New Orleans can be enjoyably experienced without a car, outside of the city transport options for those without a vehicle range from inconvenient to non-existent.

See

 * New Orleans has a wealth of attractions, detailed in that city's articles.
 * Jefferson Parish to the west of New Orleans, is where you can find Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY), in Kenner, and also Metairie, home to antebellum houses, golf courses, and Lakeside Mall. Further away are bayou towns and the Gulf coast island of Grand Isle.
 * Saint Bernard Parish is has the city of Chalmette, site of the historic "Battle of New Orleans" in 1815, and is home of Louisiana's distinctive Isleño culture.
 * Plaquemines Parish offers historic plantations and forts, tasty citrus fruit, and fishing at the end of the Mississippi River.
 * Old plantations line the old River Roads on either side of the Mississippi River north of New Orleans towards Baton Rouge

Do
Visit the historic French Quarter complete with St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, Café du Monde, and of course, Bourbon Street.

The Central Business District (Downtown) is home to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (home of the Saints), Smoothie King Center (home of the Pelicans), the National World War II Museum, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Insectarium, and several casinos near the Mississippi River.

Uptown is known for the charming and historic architecture of its homes as well as its stately live oaks. New Orleans' famous streetcars traverse through Uptown on St. Charles Avenue, and Carrollton Avenue. The famous Audubon Zoo is also located here. If you happen to visit during February or March, Mardi Gras parades should be placed high on your bucket list.

Eat
New Orleans, and wider Louisiana, has the best food in the US, with more selections than you can count.

Stay safe
New Orleans may seem very enjoyable and fun, but there are many parts you don't want to go to. New Orleans has one of the country's highest murder rates. It is also best to be out of the French Quarter by 9:30 PM or so; locals say that nothing good happens in the Quarter after midnight.

Go next

 * Baton Rouge, Louisiana's state capital
 * Acadiana, Louisiana's "Cajun country", to the west
 * Florida Parishes, across Lake Pontchartrain
 * Biloxi, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, about an hour to the east