 Travel to Cancun |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
 Travel to Hawaii |
||||||||||||||
| |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| |
||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
| |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| |
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
New Orleans
One of New Orleans' many nicknames is "the Crescent City ," because of the way it nestles between the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain and a dramatic horseshoe bend in the Mississippi River. This unique location makes the city's layout confusing, with streets curving to follow the river, and shooting off at odd angles to head inland. Compass points are of little use here - locals refer instead to lakeside (towards the lake) and riverside (towards the river), and, using Canal Street as the dividing line, uptown (or upriver) and downtown (downriver).
MARDI GRAS The fun starts early on Mardi Gras day, with walking clubs striding through uptown accompanied by raucous jazz on their ritualized bar crawls. Zulu, in theory, sets off at 8.30am (but can be as much as two hours late), followed by Rex. Ironically, by the time Rex turns up, many people have had their fill of the official parades. The surreal St Ann walking parade gathers outside the R-Bar at around 11am, while the gay costume competition known as the Bourbon Street awards gets going at noon. In the afternoon, hipsters head to the Faubourg, where Frenchmen Street is ablaze with bizarrely costumed carousers. The fun continues throughout the Quarter and the Faubourg until midnight, when a siren wail heralds the arrival of a cavalcade of mounted police that sweeps through Bourbon Street and declares through megaphones that Mardi Gras is officially over. Like all good Catholic cities, New Orleans takes carnival very seriously. Midnight marks the onset of Lent, and repentance can begin.
As befits its image as a hard-drinking, hard-partying town, New Orleans has dozens of truly great bars . However, though 24hr-drinking licenses are common, don't expect every bar to be open all night - even on Bourbon Street many close whenever they empty, which can be surprisingly early during slow periods. It is also, unlike in any other American city, legal to drink alcohol in the streets - for some visitors it's practically de rigueur - though not from a glass or bottle. Simply ask for a plastic " to go " cup in any bar and carry it with you. You'll be expected to finish your drink before entering another bar, however. The legal drinking age is 21; you should carry ID, though few bartenders bother asking for it.
Visting other Louisiana cities
Abbeville Alexandria Amite Arcadia Baker Baton Rouge Bossier City Breaux Bridge Bunkie Chalmette Covington Crowley Delhi Denham Springs Deridder Duson Florien Galliano Gonzales Gretna Hammond Harahan Harvey Houma Iowa Jennings Kenner Kinder Lafayette Lake Charles Laplace Leesville Livonia Luling Many Metairie Minden Monroe Morgan City Natchitoches New Iberia New Orleans Opelousas Pearl River Pineville Port Allen Rayne Rayville Ruston Saint Martinville Schriever Scott Shreveport Slidell Springfield St Martinville Sulphur Tallulah Thibodaux West Monroe Winnsboro
Search for Vacation Packages
Virtually visit over 5,000 cities. Use our complete city guides to research and plan your trip so when you arrive you don't waste a single minute wondering what to do. Familiarize yourself with your destination's neighborhoods, attractions, restaurants, entertainment options, shopping areas, and even recommended tours. Prepare for your upcoming vacation or just dream one!
 Las Vegas |
 New York |
 Orlando |
 Paris |
 New Orleans |
 London |
 Miami |
 Los Angeles |