"It is in New Orleans that one must come, I often said to Manon, when one wants to taste the true sweetness of love, it is here that one loves without interest, without jealousy, without inconstancy." It is in these words that the Abbé Prévost, novelist and historian of the eighteenth century, described New Orleans in 1731. Almost three centuries later, in 2022, this admirable assertion shines with relevance! As the southern gateway to Louisiana, New Orleans is a unique city where life is good! But, if it concentrates many assets of the state, it does not summarize it. Here is a suggestion of itineraries in a region like no other
Roadmap
If you're not coming from West Texas, Mississippi to the north or Alabama to the east, chances are you'll enter the city via the Louis Armstrong Airport. Does your heel start to beat as soon as you step on the tarmac? Don't worry, that's the normal reaction! Whether you like it or not, something is stirring in the Louisiana air. Something sensual and hectic at the same time. Something reassuring, bewitching. Carried by a tropical heat, the cab - whose radio distributes the news between two jazz standards - is already going between the meanders of the Mississippi and the placid Lake Pontchartrain to drop you in the middle of the French Quarter in about twenty minutes!
The vibrant heart of the city, the French Quarter, with its antique facades lined with elaborate balconies and its shops with an old-fashioned charm, seems to never sleep. A tired piano hums a blues on this side here, from the windows of this diner escapes a playful or romantic melody, while on the other side of the street a big band parades for a wedding... or a funeral perhaps? New Orleans has so many events to celebrate! So many people to celebrate!
To better understand this unique city in so many ways, it's worth delving into its history. A history whose modern origins coincide with that of the United States. Once we've gone back in time, we'll enthusiastically look at the delightful facets of New Orleans today: its unique architectural heritage, its very special culture, its breathtaking music scene and of course its spicy gastronomy!
If New Orleans is the cultural capital of Louisiana, one could not grasp the essence of this corner of America without going a little deeper into its hinterland. The Cajun country first, whose myriad of small towns and villages seem to float on the swamps of the famous Louisiana bayou. It is on the creaky floors of the fais-dodo, a kind of Cajun saloon where the wild zydeco music has been played for a long time, that we will get to know an endearing people expressing themselves in a delicious French accent and expressions
Another facet of the Louisiana state that cannot be ignored: slavery. Like many other regions of the world, the economy of the regions conquered by the European powers three centuries ago was based on a particularly cruel and well-oiled slave system. By walking the paths leading to the splendid colonial mansions of Plantation Road, we will be able to approach a little more closely the architectural finesse of these exceptional places, but also the complexity of the relationships between masters and slaves in the cane and cotton fields. An immersion in the Deep South! To finish, we will push the excursion further north of the state, where nature is king. In the end, wherever they are, whether they are from the Cajun countryside or from cities like Baton Rouge (the capital) or Shreveport (north), Louisianans share the secret of the good life. A sort of tacit law inviting to the joy of living, that a simple formula summarizes: Let the good times roll!
New Orleans, a city with an ancient history
It is to the Frenchman Sieur de Bienville that we owe the "discovery" by Europeans of the Louisiana land. A little more than three centuries ago, the man entered the mouth of the mighty Mississippi and sailed upstream. Facing the mosquitoes (a kind of mosquito fly so named by the Cajuns) and the difficulties to move in the swamps and flooded plateaus of these lowlands, man sensed the strategic dimension of the site. Soon, on his initiative, a trading post was established here and named New Orleans, in honor of the Duke of Orleans. The nascent colony needed manpower to develop. It attracted French trappers and Canadian hunters, but also a large squadron of French convicts who were offered to trade their sentence in the Bastille for the swamp prison. Little by little, this corner of the Mississippi was populated and the trading post came to resemble a small town: 1718 marked the official birth of the French colonial city!
The walls of the famous French Quarter were built thanks to the hard work of the black slaves bought by the colonists. Then the streets, orderly, rational, were drawn and stretched. They were named after the supposed illegitimate sons of Louis XIV: Conti, Toulouse and Maine were indeed among the oldest arteries of the colonial urban center, distributed around Jackson Square, the perfect center of New Orleans. The three sides of this Creole agora (the fourth being covered by the Mississippi) are home to architectural marvels
The St. Louis Cathedral first, a perfect example of the French style of the late 18th century (1793 to be exact). There is also the Presbytery, where a group of Capuchin monks once resided. And finally, the Cabildo. This emblematic building was for a long time the political headquarters of the French colony. It was within its walls that the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803, the act of sale of French Louisiana to the United States. Also worth mentioning here is the remarkable Ursuline Convent: located on Charles Street since 1745, the building was once home to nuns from Rouen.
Paradoxically, the French Quarter is not - with a few exceptions - that French in terms of architecture. The Spaniards, who arrived in the city in 1762, are certainly the ones who left their most lasting imprint on the New Orleans skyline. It must be said that when the conquistadores landed, most of the buildings were made of wood, a fragile material that was not spared by the Great Fire of March 21, 1788: 856 of the approximately 1,100 buildings went up in smoke! For the rebuilding, brick was favored. Soon, arcaded portals opening onto interior courtyards with elegant fountains - typical of Spanish colonial architecture - became more common. The balconies of the residences and villas of the Vieux Carré (the other name of the French Quarter) were adorned with subtle wrought iron scrolls, thanks to the know-how of the free people of color who had just arrived in New Orleans following the insurrection of Saint-Domingue initiated by Toussaint Louverture in 1791. At the end of the century, the city on the water amalgamates populations, mixes them, and begins to build its Métis identity. The French Market is a symbol of this melting pot of cultures. If its stalls were first reserved for the Amerindians for the sale of herbs and spices, German growers soon invited themselves, before being joined by Italian merchants
Fed by the raw material from the plantations upstream, the city was quite prosperous at the end of the 18th century. So much so that saloons began to flourish in the four corners of the city. Practicing Christians and much more puritanical than the rest of the inhabitants of New Orleans, the Americans, who were the new owners of the place, were however not seduced by the decadent turn that the morals were taking here. The matter was quickly settled: on January 8, 1815, the young American nation, under the command of General Jackson and aided by the Creoles, the free Blacks and pirates of all stripes, won the battle of New Orleans! The English were defeated. The golden age of steamboats begins! Hundreds of steamboats began to unload bales of cotton, tobacco and indigo in the port of the city in an uninterrupted manner. The economic blossoming was then prodigious, attracting new immigrants. Later, New Orleans became the largest cotton market in the world
A legacy of this era and now a tourist attraction, the paddlewheelers plying the Mississippi River - the City of New Orleans is perhaps the star of the show - welcome visitors for a musical dinner at sunset or for real cruises on the river! An experience not to be missed!
Some time later, between 1853 and 1858, a yellow fever epidemic took the lives of nearly 20,000 people (mostly workers from Ireland and Germany). It is to this disastrous episode that we owe the construction of the most edifying city of the dead in New Orleans: the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (while strolling through its alleys, we will surely come across the tombstone of the famous voodoo priestess Marie Laveau!) Then, in the spring of 1862, while America was in the midst of the Civil War, Louisiana, in the camp of the Confederacy of Southern States, fell into the hands of the Union. Three years later, slavery was abolished. The city then went through a dark period of reconstruction that would lead it to the dawn of the next century. It was during this period that the debauchery district of Storyville developed, not far from Congo Square (today's gateway to Treme). The good Creole and commercial society crowded into its cabarets to attend, hidden behind a festive mask, the excesses of Mardi Gras. This saucy den of gambling and prostitution, cleaned up after the First World War, was the breeding ground for an unprecedented movement that would soon spread to the rest of America, and then the world. Its famous names were Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Fats Domino... Yes, jazz was born !
NOLA: culture, jazz and Creole cuisine
Joel Lockhart Dyer, a New Orleans artist, gave us this attempt to define his city: "New Orleans is the Venice of North America. Like the Venetians, we live a little out of time. We fight the mud, the heat, the rain and the bugs, trying - if you look hard enough - to create a 'Paris-on-the-swamp'. Our architecture and our way of life are like that because we have a certain attitude, a different conception of time than anywhere else in the United States. New Orleans will not change - that would be the beginning of its decline - and yet it is evolving."
Undeniably, New Orleans is not like any other major North American city. It's a fact: New Orleans has its attitude, its stamp, its signature. The relationship to time and space is different here. It must be said that the very location of the city induces a certain fragility which in turn results in a certain "urgency to live". The difficult and humid weather, the permanent proximity of water and the danger that the aquatic element represents (hurricane Katrina did not hesitate to remind the residents in 2005) are indeed elements that contribute to create a singular atmosphere. Perhaps it comes from a blissful fatality, but the sweetness of life is very real. As if life was too dangerous to be taken seriously, we are used to letting small pleasures come to us. It is this epicurean philosophy that has earned the city its most famous nickname: The Big Easy! Where life is easy!
In terms of culture, the city is full of epinal images. Each district has its institutions, its legends, its restaurants and its musical bars. Let's start with the Café du Monde, right in the French Quarter. Since 1860, under its green and white striped arbors, it has been serving sugar donuts and coffee with milk and chicory. A must-see! The city's green spaces are also worth a visit, like the maze of City Park or the more peaceful Audubon Park with its hundred-year-old oaks
You can reach the latter via a streetcar, one of these antique streetcars running noisily along St. Charles Avenue and which certainly evokes Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire! On the Faubourg Marigny side, you can stroll along Frenchmen Street, a street of musical bars that is the successor to the famous Bourbon Street, which has now become a much too touristy version of itself! On the other hand, on the side of Frenchmen, the legend of New Orleans jazz continues to be written, at the Snug Harbor or the Spotted Cat, to name but a few temples of live music. We sit here or there, order a hot coffee and let ourselves sail, carried by the notes heated by the copper of a nostalgia that only New Orleans can give birth to. Not far away, the Preservation Hall, a wooden concert hall bathed in its own juice, seems on the verge of collapsing. Yet it is here that the best musicians and brass bands keep the soul of the city alive! In short, whether you're into jazz, blues, rockabilly or the more local zydeco (whose name comes from the charming linguistic distortion of the Cajun phrase "Les z'haricots sont pas salés!"), music lovers will be satisfied!
The walk will continue on Esplanade Avenue, whose two sides are lined with absolutely sumptuous Victorian mansions and whose ceiling is made up of a more than centennial canopy of vegetation. Among the most noteworthy is the one occupied by the painter Edgar Degas in 1872. Next door, a no less majestic villa in Greek Revival style houses the Museum of f.p.c. it traces the fascinating history of the city's Free People of Color. On the way back down to the old town, you will come across the colorful shotgun houses of the Bywater. Once a working-class neighborhood, this area is becoming more and more gentrified and is home to art galleries and other conceptual and trendy commercial spaces, as well as trendy cafes and other living culture venues. On the other side of Canal Street, the central artery of the new city, you can stroll through the streets of the CBD and its luxury restaurants. If you go a little further west, you will find Magazine Street and its surroundings, a very busy area on weekends because of the many gourmet and chic addresses that are concentrated there. The district does not miss hyper sharp record shops and chic thrift stores either!
It's impossible to talk about New Orleans without mentioning its carnival. To learn more about the backstage of one of the craziest carnivals in the world, go to the colossal warehouse of Mardi Gras World, where the workshops for the creation of the costumes and floats of the big party are located since 1947! Another must-see event in the Big Easy: the Jazz Fest of course! It is simply one of the most important jazz festivals in the world. It is around these two major festive events that the city finds its rhythm throughout the year. There is no doubt that partying is an outlet here, as are the blues sung by buskers on the corners of boulevards, gospel music in churches on Sundays (the negro spirituals of St. Augustine Church are striking) or voodoo practiced in hidden temples. All these practices were born from the encounter between Christianity imposed by the segregationists and the tribal beliefs of the West African slaves brought here against their will. It was a painful encounter whose intimate links are certainly at the root of a number of social and racial challenges that Louisiana - but also America as a whole - continues to face
Another essential aspect of New Orleans is the food!
Just like its population, just like the multitude of influences that gave birth to jazz, Louisiana cuisine is the result of a clever mix that will seduce gourmets of all stripes. The result of 300 years of borrowing, incorporating and slow simmering, it is unlike any other in the world. Thus, the French are at the origin of sauces (étouffée, piquante, bisque, etc.) and bread
Spain is responsible for the iconic jambalaya (a typical spicy paella). The Africans added the okra and the grill. The Caribbean imported its tropical fruits and vegetables. The Germans introduced cold cuts and mustard. Native Americans brought herbs and corn to the table. Italy contributed to the melting pot with its pasta, of course, but also its sandwiches, of which the muffuletta is the most hearty version! Last but not least: the considerable contribution of the Cajuns. Driven out of what is now Nova Scotia in Canada by the British, this French-speaking people had to take refuge in the bayous and survive as best they could. They began to cook bullfrog legs and spicy gators. Spicy crawfish is also a classic Cajun pot recipe. These are just a few of the main ingredients of Louisiana's tasty Creole cuisine! Oh, and don't forget to order a po'boy (a local baguette filled with Delta meat or oysters) and try a gumbo (a soup made with okra, shellfish, pork sausage and spiced rice), two of the most common recipes in the state!
Cajun Country
To discover Cajun Country, we will head to the southwest. Between land and water, here reigns the swamp! The best way to get to know this unique and surreal environment is to rent a kayak. Breaux Bridge, capital of the crayfish and temple of the antique dealers is a good starting point in this respect. Around the bridge, the Atchafalaya basin, whose first inhabitants were the Cajuns, can be seen with its numerous fauna (foxes, bears, otters, snakes, alligators, bullfrogs and not far from 300 species of birds !). At the quiet rhythm of the paddle delicately piercing the peaceful surface of the troubled waters, we evolve in a ghostly decor woven of Spanish mosses, almost spectral, suspended from the tortuous arms of the immersed cypresses
A truly ecstatic moment! Historically, the region was first populated by trappers around 1760. At the same time, the French-speaking people of Acadia (now part of Canada), recently conquered by the English, were expropriated: this was the episode known as the "Great Upheaval". Thousands of them settled in Louisiana, a French territory that had become a Spanish colony
In Vermilionville, you will see authentic traditional buildings or reconstructions brought to life by costumed artisans, presenting in charming French the services of the time. For a more contemporary version of this culture, head to Lafayette, capital of Cajun Country. Peaceful during the week, the parquet floors of its fais-dodos start to squeak happily to the sound of violins when the weekend comes. And what about the lively atmosphere of the International Louisiana Festival in the spring? If you catch your breath between dance steps, a local is sure to give you a hearty "Don't give up" before saying goodbye with a sweet kiss. It should be noted that Louisiana officially joined the Francophonie family in 2018! Lafayette is also a first-rate gastronomic center. Must-tries include the gumbo at Bon temps Grill, Cajun brunches at French Press and po-boys at Pop's! Foodies will want to take their culinary experience to the next level by walking the Cajun Boudin Trail, a local delicacy!
From Lafayette, it will be easy to explore the area, discovering the villages one by one. Towards the southwest, we find Mamou, Opelousas and Rayne (city of the frog!), villages as green as they are wet and where swamp pop was born! In Arndaudville, you'll be swept away by the combined effect of a two-step (a dance derived from the polka) and a locally brewed beer before knocking on the door of Nunu's, a huge and very old farmhouse housing a Cajun cultural café!
Discover also St. Martinville, which owes its name to its Catholic church dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. The Acadians found a home here after the Great Upheaval and there are many places that highlight this history, like the Acadian Memorial & Cultural Center Museums.
Not far from here is the watermelon capital: Deridder. The town is also known for its baroque doll museum and its haunted prison Lake Charles, more southern (40 miles from Texas) and home of the Cajun cowboys, is a crossroads: there are casinos, Victorian villas and coastal plains with a sensational birdlife. Binoculars recommended!
Looking for adrenaline? Then sign up for a swamp tour, put on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and hang on to your seat as airboats speed across the Bayou Tech waterways! The pilots of these specially-designed, hydro-skidding bayou machines are pretty hot-headed and know the terrain like the back of their hand. They are even "friends" with the monumental hosts of these woods: chicken-fed alligators several meters long! Those nostalgic for private detective Dave Robicheaux (a character created by novelist James Lee Burke) and jazzman Bunk Johnson will stop under the oaks of suffocating and phlegmatic New Iberia. To energize the body and mind, we'll go to Avery Island, a small salt mound covered by a powerful tropical vegetation, site of the Tabasco factory. Houma and the seven bayous crossing its downtown are also worth a visit. Finally, to end this little Cajun adventure, we will go to the end of the road, to Cocodrie, "da bottom of da boot"! The mind wanders in front of the brown waves of the Gulf of Mexico, and the heart warms at the idea of returning soon!
The Plantation Road and Beyond
From New Orleans, as you travel up the Mississippi River, you also travel up the passage of time! Between the mouth of the Delta and Baton Rouge, capital of the Pelican State (which is worth a stopover for the Capitol Park Museum), the Great River Road unfolds, also called Plantation Road because of the presence of many old farms
These farms, which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries, were the backbone of Louisiana's economy. The beauty and fascinating history of the mansions in the center of these lands alone justify a trip to Louisiana. From pristine white Greek Renaissance villas to Creole mansions with colorful porches, each has its own character, legends and anecdotes. By taking the time to visit several of them - the majority of them are now museums and/or Bed & Breakfasts - you will have the opportunity to collect precious testimonies that will allow you to get a closer look at the resounding and unforgiving reality of a not so distant era. The Deep South, its glorious homes framed by emblematic and symmetrical avenues of oak trees, the habits and customs of its wealthy planter families, the grim living conditions of captive blacks toiling in the cotton or cane fields... This is where the Plantation Road, popularized by Mark Twain, leads.
The first one you encounter coming from New Orleans, just 30 minutes away, is also the oldest property in the Delta. Destrehan was built in 1787! It is said that the pirate Jean Lafitte hid a priceless treasure there and that when the storm rumbles at night, his ghost prowls in the garden... Further upstream, the illustrious silhouette of the Whitney Plantation is known to all: it is where Gone with the Wind was filmed ! If the building impresses, the stories of the guides coupled with the testimonies of those who were born here in irons are chilling. In the old slave cabins that dot the vast garden, we learn that the owners, the plantation masters, had more than one hundred and fifty ways of naming and treating a black person. We also learn that many years after the abolition of slavery, Blacks were still held in cages. That servitude then only changed its face, but lost nothing of its cruelty. Whitney Plantation, without falling into sordidness, brilliantly fulfills its role as the first museum in the United States dedicated to slavery.
No less well known, the alley planted with 82 bicentennial oaks of Evergreen does not leave you indifferent even if it is closed to the public! It is certainly the most intact and the most filmed of all (it was featured in the films Django Unchained and Twelve Years a Slave). Continuing to Vacherie, we see the attractive and colorful outline of the Laura Creole Plantation, built in 1805. The history of the place is distilled to the rhythm of the memories of Laura, former owner of the place. She reveals the misty arcana of family history, punctuated by more pragmatic considerations. A small space centralizing portraits of former slaves offers a nuanced look at a harsh reality, often misunderstood in hindsight. Also at Vacherie, one can visit the star of the plantations: Oak Alley! Just take a look at the alley planted with 28 antediluvian oaks to make sure it doesn't usurp its name. While walking through the different rooms, one will be surprised by the fixed time given by the clocks of the house: 7:30 am! Let's dispel the mystery here, it is a tribute from the wife of the last owner to her husband who died at dawn.
As we approach Baton Rouge, we can stop in the gardens of the Houmas estate, a romantic plantation par excellence, whose gardens are decorated with sculptures in Carrara marble and flowered with azaleas and fragrant magnolias! Beyond the state capital, other properties worth visiting include Myrtles in St. Francisville. In addition to the beautiful plantation whose villa houses a plethora of tapestries and antique furniture trimmed with gold leaf, the city has 150 charming buildings gathered around Prosperity Street. Finally, 180 miles further northwest, you will find Natchitoches, the very first French colony and the oldest town in Louisiana, founded in 1714!
Now you've arrived in the great region known as the Crossroads! The area is indeed at the crossroads of two cultures: the lively South and the North, land of the reckless pioneers! You will definitely need a personal vehicle to drive through the magnificent landscapes composed of powerful forest massifs crossed by beautiful clear water rivers. The Crossroads is a green Eden for nature lovers! As you drive to Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana's third largest and most culturally vibrant city, you'll enter a region that's usually rarely visited: Sportsman's Paradise! The "Sportsman's Paradise" also has a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts. From fishing to whitewater canoeing, from golf to hiking (Caddo Lake is incredible!), the possibilities are endless. Best of all, the vast majority of parks in this vast Louisiana paradise allow camping. While the fire crackles in the night, the eyes get lost in the Creole firmament..
Smart info
Getting there. Unless you are already on the American continent, you will reach Louisiana by air
The average price of a round-trip flight from Paris to New Orleans varies according to the season, but you can expect to pay an average of €800 to €1,200. Remember to book in advance!
When is the best time to go? There is not really a best season to visit the region. Winter may be a little cooler than the rest of the year and July and August a little sweltering, but on the whole, Louisiana is pretty comfortable year-round. In case you want to attend Mardi Gras (February-March) or Jazz Fest (April-May), a word of advice: book your accommodation several months or even a year in advance!
Get informed. To prepare your stay as well as possible.
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