Accommodations

New Orleans offers an exciting, wide ranging getaway with a variety of condos, vacation homes, hotels, and resorts. Choose a vacation near any of New Orleans's local attractions that offers comfort while making the most of the beautiful scenery at affordably priced rates.

View our New Orleans Vacation Rentals or New Orleans Resorts

Activities

A great start to a New Orleans vacation is the Natchez River Boat. Enjoy the food, scenery, and music during a cruise down the Mississippi on a real steamboat. Learn more about New Orleans at the Musée Conti Historical Wax Museum, which tells more than 300 years of history, legend and scandal using the 154 life-size figures displayed in historically accurate settings. Visit Mardi Gras World, where thousands of sculptured props and breath-taking giant figures are displayed, and the artists work here as they build the floats for next year's Mardi Gras. New Orleans is also home to the National World War II Museum, with exhibits that encompass the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy, the Home Front during WWII, and the D-Day Invasions in the Pacific, using text panels, artifacts, and Personal Account stations in which visitors may listen to the stories of WWII veterans.

Events

The Louisiana Superdome is home to College Football's NewYear's Day Sugar Bowl. In addition to the game, Sugar Bowl events also include a prep football classic, a swimming invitational, a sailing regatta, a basketball classic, a pep rally and more. Mardi Gras Season begins on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6 and is a time for parties, parades, balls and celebrations. The final day is Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday, held on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. "What a Wonderful World" you'll discover during the Satchmo Summerfest in the French Quarter, honoring Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. The program includes musical performances, jazz exhibits, activities for budding young jazz fans, a club crawl, "red beans and ricely yours" foods, and a star-studded line-up of performances.

Water Sports

The white sand beaches and emerald waters of the Mississipi Gulf Coast are perfect for swimming, surfing, or catching up on your tan. You can also find powerboat and sailboat rentals, as well as jetski rentals. The warm Gulf waters are inviting for snorkeling and scuba diving.

Golfing

Come and discover that some of the best new golf courses in the United States are in the New Orleans area, with a smorgasbord of fun-filled evening entertainment, fabulous climate, history, and family activities. There's something for everyone here in New Orleans! So come on down as we say here in the deep south, and enjoy our southern hospitality!

History

The history of New Orleans is closely tied to the Mississippi River and its use for shipping into the interior of the United States. The mouth of the Mississippi was extremely shallow and unsuitable for boats when the French settlers arrived in the area. The route chosen to access navigable portions of the Mississippi River included a portage at the site of Baton Rouge, but in 1699, the brothers Bienville and Iberville were shown an easier route by the friendly Choctaw Indians. The Brothers founded the city of New Orleans at the point where the two mile portage from Bayou St. John crossed the natural levee to the Mississippi River.

Louisiana remained a French colony until it was ceded to the Spanish in 1763, but Spain did not attempt to take possession of it until 1766. The Govenor sent by Spain was forced to flee by a rebellion in 1768, and Spain was required to send troops to retake New Orleans a year later. Following several fires early in the Spanish rule that destroyed most of the buildings in the city, the citizens soon learned to build with native cypress and brick. The Spanish established new building codes requiring tile roofs and brick walls. A walk through the French Quarter today, shows that the architecture is really more Spanish than French.