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A visit to New Orleans
www.neworleanscvb.com
www.louisianatravel.com
New Orleans is brimming with atmosphere in its
old city centre, The French Quarter. Here there is
live jazz music in the streets, cast-iron balconies,
horse-driven carriages, and old Southern charm
that is each year spiced up with the Mardi Gras
celebrations. Under the name Nouvelle Orléans,
the city was the main city of the French territory
of Louisiana, which has left traces in the French
street names, the language, and the restaurant
menus that have an entirely different composition
than in the rest of the USA.
Along the French Quarter and the rest of central
New Orleans runs the Mississippi River, where
you can take a steamboat to the historical
plantations in the upland and dream away to 19th
Century rural and urban living as well as enjoy the
mix of American and French-Creole culture.
Have a great trip!
A visit to New Orleans
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New Orleans
6
Historical outline
The area around New Orleans had been populated
by Native Americans for a long time before the
Europeans arrived here in 1518. The original
village was called Tchoutchouma and was located
close to present-day New Orleans. The Europeans
were led by the Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez
de Piñeda, and the group travelled up the
Mississippi River, which they called Espiritu Santo,
The Holy Spirit River. However, an actual
colonisation would not be for many years.
In 1682 Robert Cavalier arrived at the areas by the
mouth of the Mississippi and claimed the area for
France. It was named Louisiana after the French
Sun King, Louis XIV. The 1690's saw several
clashes between the newly arrived French and the
indigenous tribes.
In 1699 the first real town, Biloxi, was founded,
and soon it became the capital of the territory
instead of the bridgehead at Mobile. In the same
year France made Louisiana a crown colony.
The following year saw a breakdown in the peace
negotiations between France and the Native
Americans, and this resulted in 8 years of
hostilities. In 1708 the indigenous resistance was
crushed with a certain stability as the result.
The French founded Nouvelle Orléans in 1718 as
the primary city of the new colony. The place had
been chosen because it was one of the few high
grounds near the Mississippi before it exits into
the Gulf of Mexico, and furthermore the location
provided easy transport across the large Lake
Pontchartrain. Shortly thereafter, in 1722,
Nouvelle Orléans formally replaced Biloxi as the
main city of Louisiana.
The French presence did not last many decades.
The first French traders had arrived in the early
18th Century, and in 1762 Spain won the colony in
connection with the French defeat in the Seven-
Year War. When the Spanish took over New
Orleans, a city centre had already been established;
the present French Quarter.
In 1788 and again in 1795, the city was struck by
devastating fires that ruined more than 1,000
buildings. The Spanish rebuilt the French Quarter,
and many of the present characteristic buildings of
the district were constructed at this time, including
the St. Louis Cathedral and Cabildo.
After the peace agreement at San Ildefonso, New
Orleans became French again in 1801. Napoleon
envisaged a large new state with New Orleans as
its centre. This French rule only lasted until 1803,
when the USA purchase of Louisiana from France
was effectuated. This purchase almost doubled the
area of the USA, as French Louisiana stretched
from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains and
from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The price was
15 million dollars for the 2,145,000 km
2
that would
eventually become 13 American states.
Through the first half of the 19th Century, New
Orleans developed as a centre for the increasing
number of large plantations that were established
North and West of the city. The plantations
generated development and prosperity in the city
and the region, and many fine buildings were
constructed during this time. New Orleans was
one of the wealthiest cities in the country during
this period, when the predecessor of the present
tram system was created, and today it is the oldest
operating rail-based transportation system in the
world.
New Orleans and Louisiana was part of the
American Southern States and were thus part of
the Confederate States of America in the
American Civil War against the Union army from
the North. In 1862 Union forces occupied the city
and remained there until 1865.
Historical outline
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From 1915 onwards the New Orleans jazz music
began spreading, first to Chicago and later to the
entire world, where the music has brought fame to
the city and to Louisiana. Some of the world's
best-known jazz musicians began in various clubs
in the Storyville area, including Louis Armstrong
and King Oliver.
1956 saw the opening of the bridge across Lake
Ponchartrain, then the world's longest bridge, and
helped to further develop New Orleans' status as
the regional centre. Only two years later the
Greater New Orleans Bridge across the Mississippi
opened.
In the late 1950's, a move towards equality
between the city's ethnic groups began, and the
segregation in first buses, then schools and
elsewhere was abandoned. In 1977 the city elected
its first mayor of African, rather than European,
descent.
A World Exhibition about the world's water
supply was held here in 1984 and became a huge
success with more than 7 million visitors. Other
great events are the many Super Bowl Finals that
have been played in the impressive Louisiana
Superdome.
During the last few decades the historical French
Quarter has been revitalised, and visitors from
around the world enjoy the Quarter's atmosphere
with jazz clubs and countless restaurants with
especially delicacies from the French-Creole Cajun
cuisine. The height of festivities is the traditional
Mardi Gras festival.
In 2005 New Orleans was hit by a hurricane,
which caused vast destruction throughout the city,
which was also largely flooded. The city was
evacuated, and a great project of reconstruction is
undergoing in the city and along the coastal areas
by the Gulf of Mexico.
Historical outline
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Tour 1: New Orleans
1. French Quarter
Bourbon Street
The charming French Quarter is the greatest
attraction in New Orleans. The entire district is
steaming with a mood that is unique in both North
American and the entire world. The French Quarter
was known as the Vieux Carré during the French rule
and is located between Canal Street, Esplanade
Avenue, Decatur Street, and Rampart Street.
The French Quarter was the original French city
of Nouvelle Orleans, but the majority of buildings
were constructed during the Spanish rule as the
French houses had burnt down in 1794. Even
after the American purchase of Louisiana, the area
continued to have a large population of French
origin, and French was spoken commonly up to
the early 20th Century. Even today the street signs
are in French, like the famous Bourbon Street that
is called Rue Bourbon.
The Quarter is characterised by the many buildings
with balconies in several storeys and galleries in
cast iron. Horse-driven carriages drive in the
streets, and especially at night there is real New
Orleans jazz in the many cafés.
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New Orleans
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2. Jackson Square
Jackson Square
Jackson Square is the centre of the old part of
New Orleans, the French Quarter. It was called
Place d'Armes until 1851, when it was renamed in
honour of the American president Andrew
Jackson, whose statue stands in the middle of the
square. It is a lovely little square with a small park,
and it is also worth visiting in the evening, when it
is beautifully lit up.
3. St. Louis Cathedral
Jackson Square
www.stlouiscathedral.org
The present St. Louis Cathedral was built in 1949
as the third church in this location, as the two
predecessors were destroyed by a hurricane and a
fire respectively. The cathedral is the oldest
Roman-Catholic church in the USA and had the
honour of being visited by the Pope in 1964.
4. The Cabildo
701 Chartres Street
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabex.htm
The Cabildo is one of the most important
historical buildings in New Orleans. This was
where the American Louisiana purchase was
signed in 1803. The building was originally the City
Hall of New Orleans, and now it is the main
building of the Louisiana State Museum.
The Cabildo was built from 1795-1799 to house
the Spanish administration in the city, and in the
19th Century it also functioned as the courthouse.
In 1988 the Cabildo was ravaged by a fire, but
after five years of restoration the building
appeared as new because of the use of the original
building techniques. It now displays the history of
New Orleans in an exciting way.
5. The Presbytere
751 Chartres Street
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us
This building was originally known as the Casa
Curial and was constructed as a parallel to the
Cabildo on the opposite side of the St. Louis
Cathedral of the time. These three buildings were
all financed by Don Andres Almonester y Roxas.
The 1st floor was not finished until 1813, and the
Mansard roof was added in 1847. Up to 1834 the
Presbytere housed various commercial institutions,
and afterwards it was turned into a courthouse.
Since 1911 the Presbytere has been part of the
Louisiana State Museum.
6. 1850 House
523 St. Ann Street
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/1850ex.htm
Across from each other - on St. Ann and St. Peter
Street respectively - are the Pontalba Buildings that
were built in 1850 by Baroness Micaela
Almonester de Pontalba. The baroness requested
that the buildings be built in a Parisian style, and
they were originally designed to contain both
housing and shops.
In 1921 the Pontalba family sold one building to
the Irishman William Ratcliff, who six years later
transformed it into a museum under the Louisiana
State Museum.
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New Orleans
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The museum displays the interior of a wealthy
middleclass family in 1850 and has been decorated
as a true copy of Baroness Pontalba's decorating
style. The objects on display include furniture, arts
and crafts, and other interesting artefacts.
7. Jackson Brewery
600 Decatur Street
www.jacksonbrewery.com
In 1891 the German Dietrich Einsiedel built the
largest brewery in the Southern part of the USA,
Jackson Brewery. The monumental building is no
longer used for brewing beer but has been
transformed into an exciting mall.
8. Steamboat Natchez
Toulouse Street Wharf
www.steamboatnatchez.com
One of the trademarks of New Orleans and of the
Mississippi is the traditional steamboats that used
to be a common means of transportation between
the larger towns and plantations along the river.
New Orleans is home to the beautiful Steamboat
Natchez, and besides admiring the look of it, you
can also try sailing on it on one of the river cruises
that are arranged for tourists. The present steamer
is the 9th by the name of Natchez and was built in
1975.
9. The statue of Joan of Arc
Decatur Street
When the French president Charles de Gaulle
came on a state visit to the USA in 1959, he
presented the city of New Orleans with a statue of
Joan of Arc on behalf of the French people. This
golden statue is a copy of Emmanuel Fremiet's
1880 statue that stands at the Place des Pyramides
in Paris
10. French Market
1008 North Peters Street
www.frenchmarket.org
The French Market is the oldest urban market in
the USA and was established in 1791. The open
market halls are lovely and today offer produces
for tourists as well as for restaurants. This was
originally the food market of New Orleans.
11. Old US Mint
400 Esplanade Avenue
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/mintex.htm
The Old US Mint in New Orleans is the only place
where coins have been struck for both the
Confederate States of America and for the Union,
which has become the present USA.
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The building was erected in 1835 under President
Andrew Jackson, who supported the construction
to ensure financial development in the Western
regions of the USA. The architect was William
Strickland, and the style is neo-Greek.
The first coins were struck in 1838. In 1861 the
building was taken over by the Confederate army
who briefly minted confederate coinage before the
mint reverted to Union coins up to 1909.
Throughout the 20th Century various public
offices were housed here until 1981, when the
present museum was opened. The museum houses
various exhibitions, including one about New
Orleans jazz.
12. Degas House
2306 Esplanade Avenue
www.degashouse.com
This house was the home and studio of the French
impressionist Edgar Degas between 1872 and 73.
He completed 22 pieces during his time here.
The Degas House was built in 1852 by the
architect Benjamin Rodriguez, who used it as his
private residence. The house is considered one of
the finest in the area. In the 1920's, the building
was split up and partly moved, and both facts are
still showing.
Tour 1: New Orleans
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Tour 1: New Orleans
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Tour 2: New Orleans
13. Old Ursuline Convent
1114 Chartres Street
www.ursulineneworleans.org
This previous convent from 1752 was built during
the French rule and is the oldest preserved
example of French colonial architecture in the
USA. It is at the same time the oldest building in
the Mississippi Delta.
The beautiful setting is now used for church
archives, and guided tours are arranged to give
visitors an impression of the beautiful
craftsmanship and the previous function of the
place as a convent, orphanage, and hospital
14. Madame LaLaurie Mansion
1140 Royal Street
Several locations in New Orleans are said to be
haunted, though perhaps none more than Madame
Lalaurie’s house in Royal Street. The story begins
in 1832, when Louis and Delphine Lalaurie move
into the stately house.
Madame Lalaurie is a leading society lady and
throws lavish parties where many staff and slaves
serve the guests. The truth about Madame
Lalauri's many slaves emerges after a fire in 1834,
when her rather gruesome torture chamber is
discovered. Madame Lalaurie escapes the angry
mob that wants to see her punished. She was
never seen again, but after her escape, the house
became haunted. For many years, people refused
to live in the house, and several strange incidents
were never investigated. Today the house has been
turned into apartments.
15. Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop
Bourbon Street/St. Phillip Street
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is counted as the oldest
working bar in the USA. The building was erected
in 1772 and is thought to be the oldest in New
Orleans.
Legend has it that the bar once belonged to the
pirate Jean Lafitte who roamed the Gulf of Mexico
in the early part of the 19th Century.
16. Historic Voodoo Museum
724 Dumaine Street
www.voodoomuseum.com
The Historic Voodoo Museum describes the
traditional use of the Voodoo religion in the
region. You get an insight into the Voodoo
techniques of yesteryear as well as their modern
uses. The museum also displays stories about
Voodoo as well as artefacts used in the religion.
17. Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street has been the main street of the
French Quarter since the early days of the city, and
it still is. During the French period, it was called
Rue Bourbon.
Tour 2: New Orleans
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New Orleans
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Besides the beautiful houses, there are many shops,
bars, restaurants, and entertainment establishments.
You might also be lucky enough to hear some jazz
in the street or in one of the clubs in the street.
18. Musée Conti Wax Museum
917 Conti Street
www.neworleanswaxmuseum.com
The Musée Conti Wax Museum was founded in
1963 as a historical museum that tells the history
of New Orleans through more than 300 years by
displaying wax figures.
Through more than 150 figures, you see the
founding of the city, the Battle of New Orleans,
and the world of the Voodoo religion. Andrew
Jackson and Louis Armstrong are among the
displayed personalities.
Tour 2: New Orleans
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