Eccentric, elegant New Orleans is strongly connected to both the Mississippi River and the South, but its identity remains aloof from any regional or even national affiliation. It reminds some visitors of European cities, in part because French and Spanish colonial architecture adds an Old World backdrop to some streets. But the feeling of foreignness goes deeper than that: The celebrated New Orleans atmosphere, cuisine, music, traditions and lifestyle are rooted in an embrace of the decadent and assimilation of the unconventional.
New Orleans welcomes all, but is familiar to none, and the result is a city that attracts the romantic, the spiritual, the wild and the inquisitive—all the while successfully promoting itself as corporate America’s playground. No matter what is expected from a visit to New Orleans, no one goes home disappointed.
New Orleans knows water: Six feet (two meters) below sea level, it’s bounded to the west by the sprawling Atchafalaya Basin, to the north by Lake Pontchartrain, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and to the south by the Mississippi River. Bayous and canals crisscross the metropolitan area. New Orleans is sometimes called “the Crescent City” because it’s curved like a crescent, following the snaking Mississippi. As a result, standard compass-point directions of North, South, East and West are nearly irrelevant. Instead locals speak in terms of “uptown” and “downtown” (or “upriver” and “downriver”) and say that a particular building sits on the “lake side” or “river side” of the street.
New Orleans is made up of distinct districts. The French Quarter, which was the city’s first neighborhood, is both residential and commercial. It bustles with tourist activity. Nearby lies Uptown, an area marked by majestic houses and picturesque parks, bisected by the grandest avenue of them all, St. Charles. Within Uptown is the Garden District, renowned for its historic homes as well as cemeteries, churches and, of course, gardens. Downriver from the French Quarter is the Faubourg Marigny, home of bohemian restaurants and clubs. The Warehouse District, near the Central Business District, formerly served as the city’s great port. Mid-City is a popular residential area that contains most of City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Like New Orleans itself, the city’s best shops are unique. The most interesting shops to explore can be found in the French Quarter and along Magazine Street. A small stretch of Maple Street, accessible by streetcar off of Carrollton, also offers some unusual shops within a neighborhood atmosphere.
