Hotels in New Orleans, Louisiana

A little about New Orleans...

New Orleans is located in Southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The city is bordered by Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the east and is cœxtensive with Orleans Parish. New Orleans is known for its multicultural heritage as well as its music and cuisine and is considered the birthplace of jazz. Its status as a world-famous tourist destination is due in part to its architecture, music, cuisine, its annual Mardi Gras, and other celebrations and festivals. The city is often referred to as "The most unique city in America".

Colleges and universities:
Several institutions of higher education also exist within the city, including the University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, Louisiana State University Medical School, and Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Notre Dame Seminary, and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Other schools include Delgado Community College, University of Phœnix, Culinary Institute of New Orleans, Herzing College, Commonwealth University.

Favorite tourist scenes in New Orleans include the French Quarter (known locally as "the Quarter" or Vieux Carré), which dates from the French and Spanish eras and is bounded by the Mississippi River & Rampart Street and Canal Street & Esplanade Ave.

Art museums in the city include the Contemporary Arts Center, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) in City Park, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Audubon Park, the Audubon Zoo, and the Aquarium of the Americas are also located in the city. New Orleans is also noted for its many beautiful cemeteries.

Greater New Orleans is home to numerous celebrations, including Mardi Gras and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. New Orleans' most popular celebration is Carnival, officially beginning on the Feast of the Epiphany, which locals sometimes refer to as "Twelfth Night." The largest of the city's many musical festivals is the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

So when is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana is one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world.

The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in the start of the Catholic season of Lent, starts on Twelfth Night (January 6). The season of parades, balls (some of them masquerade balls), and king cake parties begins on that date.

From about two weeks before, through Fat Tuesday(day before Ash Wednesday), there is at least one major parade each day. Fat Tuesday is also known as Mardi Gras Day. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the season. In the final week of Carnival many events large and small occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities.

The parades in New Orleans are organized by Carnival krewes. Krewe float riders toss throws to the crowds; the most common throws are strings, usually made of plastic colorful beads, doubloons (aluminium or wooden dollar-sized coins usually impressed with a krewe logo), decorated plastic throw cups, and small inexpensive toys. Major krewes follow the same parade schedule and route each year.

While many tourists center their Mardi Gras season activities on Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, none of the major Mardi Gras parades have entered the Quarter since 1972 because of its narrow streets and overhead obstructions. Instead, major parades originate in the Uptown and Mid-City districts and follow a route along St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street, on the upriver side of the French Quarter.