New Orleans

About this city

Also known as: The Crescent City, Big Easy, NOLA

Perched dramatically along the sweeping crescent bends of the Mississippi River near the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans is Louisiana's largest city and a globally renowned crossroad of cultures. Founded by French colonists in 1718, the city lived under both French and Spanish flags before the Louisiana Purchase, creating a profound, singular blend of European, African, and Caribbean Creole traditions. New Orleans is universally celebrated as the birthplace of Jazz music, the home of culinary delicacies like gumbo and beignets, and the site of America's most famous Mardi Gras carnival celebrations. Despite devastating flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the city's fierce cultural soul remains vibrant, defined by the iron-laced balconies of the French Quarter, streetcars, historic Voodoo lore, and a colossal international seaport.