The city is well known for its distinct Spanish architecture as well as being famous for its cuisine, music (particularly as the birthplace of jazz), and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is often referred to as the "most unique" city in America.
It was easy to see this from the minute we stepped off the bus and into the bus station. The sound of jazz music was coming from speakers throughout the terminal. This was in stark contrast to all the other bus stations where all that can be heard is the echoing of Spanish from all the Mexicans and the occasional faint sound of a TV with CNN on.
The city has such a great vibe and atmosphere about it and it was hard for us to imagine the devastation that was here when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. New Orleans was catastrophically impacted by the failure of the Federal levee system during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. By the time the hurricane approached the city at the end of August 2005, most residents had evacuated. As the hurricane passed through the Gulf Coast region, the city's federal flood protection system failed, resulting in the worst civil engineering disaster in American history. Floodwalls and levees constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers failed below design specifications and 80% of the city flooded with some parts under 15 feet (4.5 m) of water. Tens of thousands of residents who had remained in the city were rescued or otherwise made their way to shelters of last resort at the Louisiana Superdome or the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. Over 1,500 people died in Louisiana and some are still unaccounted for.
The hurricane had a massive effect on the population of New Orleans and by 2008 the population was around 336,000, which is only about 60% of what it was pre-hurricane. The city is well on its way to recovery though and it has hosted several large sporting events and tourist festivals in the last couple of years. When we were here the place was heaving with tourists and I couldn't imagine it being any busier and I would imagine the money being brought in from tourism is helping the city get back to normal.
One of the key areas to see is the French Quarter which is the oldest and most famous neighborhood in the city. Many of the buildings date back to before the city was part of the USA and ironically most of the French Quarter's architecture was built during the Spanish rule over New Orleans. The Great New Orleans Fire (1788) and another great fire in 1794 destroyed most of the Quarter's old French colonial architecture. French was still widely spoken around here as late as the 1920's.
We spent a couple of days taking in this area and it was amazing to how French the place actually seemed. With the street names and architecture you could easily be forgiven for thinking you were in Paris or Old Nice. A lot of the roads were all closed off and there were many street entertainers and jazz bands playing on every corner. The most famous street here, Bourbon street (named after the old French monarchy) was packed with bars and clubs and reminded us a bit of Ashton Lane in Glasgow, except 10 times bigger.
From here we took a walk along through Jackson Square, which is modeled on the famous Place des Vosges in Paris. The square originally overlooked the Mississippi River, but the view was blocked in the 19th century by the building of larger levees, which saved the French Quarter from the floods of Hurricane Katrina. The riverfront was long given to shipping, but the administration of Mayor Moon Landrieu put in a scenic boardwalk along the river across from the Square; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor.
On the opposite side of the square are three 18th‑century historic buildings which were the city's heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is St. Louis Cathedral. After sitting basking in the sun in the square we took a walk along the river which was cool to see.
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