New Orleans

Called by some 'The City That Care Forgot,' New Orleans has a well-earned reputation for excess and debauchery. It's a cultural gumbo of African, Indian, Cajun and Creole influences. Katrina caused a mass exodus and the population stands at only two-thirds of pre-Katrina levels. Only time will tell how the city will ultimately repopulate.

New Orleans' climate is influenced by its subtropical latitude and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. It's hot, wet and sticky for most of the year - other times it's just wet. February through April is the best time to visit, when easygoing weather coincides with the city's two most spectacular events, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. The city is hoping both will be start the engines of recovery and return. May sees the heat begin to intensify, and June marks the official beginning of hurricane season, which lasts through September. The oppressive heat and humidity of the summer months are a misery, driving many residents away from the city.

If you're visiting in summer, prepare for the 'oven' effect of going from chilly air-conditioned interiors to overwhelmingly tropical 35°C (95°F) streets. September and October tend to be much more agreeable. Christmas is an off-peak period with discounted accommodation, although the winter temperatures during the large New Year's Eve celebration can be chilly.

At the big toe of boot-shaped Louisiana, New Orleans is wedged between the Mississippi River to the south and Lake Pontchartrain to the north. The historic French Quarter (Vieux Carré), encircling Jackson Sq, runs from Esplanade Ave to Canal St. Canal St separates the Quarter from the CBD and Warehouse District, which extends to the freeway. Continuing upriver along St Charles Ave are the Lower Garden District, a ramshackle neighborhood with a bohemian enclave, and the lovely Garden District, well known for its historic mansions. St Charles Ave follows the hooked course of the river into Uptown and the Riverbend area, anchored by Tulane and Loyola universities. The Tremé, across N Rampart St from the French Quarter, is a historically rich, predominantly African American residential neighborhood. Downriver from the French Quarter, the streets of Faubourg Marigny, a diverse and especially gay-friendly community, form a triangle bisected by lively Frenchmen St. The artsy Bywater neighborhood lies downriver. Though the quaint Algiers District sits across the river, it is also part of New Orleans. Neighborhoods closer to the sites of the levee breaches, such as Lakeview, Gentilly and the Lower 9th Ward, were hard-hit by posthurricane flooding, and are best explored only by car.

New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is 18km (11mi) west of the city centre, while trains and buses share New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal ('Union Station') on Loyola Ave in the CBD, between the French Quarter and the Uptown area.

West of New Orleans you'll find the Cajun wetlands, an area of French patois-speaking rural people who still depend on the natural resources of the swamps. The Cajuns' Spanish counterparts, the Isleños, live in the coastal fishing villages south of New Orleans. Upstream along the Mississippi River, antebellum sugar plantations attract visitors who marvel at elegant plantation homes. The occasional slave cabin remains as a reminder of how the wealth was gained.

Spanish has effective dual-language status in parts of southern California, New Mexico, Texas and Miami.

There are 400,000 speakers of Native American dialects.

American English encompasses a multitude of regional accents of differing degrees of intelligibility.

All US visa information is highly subject to change. US entry requirements keep evolving as national security regulations change. All travelers should double-check current visa and passport regulations before coming to the USA. Although you can also access visa information through www.usa.gov, the US State Department (www.travel.state.gov/visa) maintains the most comprehensive visa information, providing downloadable forms, lists of US consulates abroad and even visa wait times calculated by country.

Apart from most Canadian citizens and those entering under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), all foreign visitors will need to obtain a visa from a US consulate or embassy abroad. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after the end of your intended stay in the USA.

Currently under the Visa Waiver Program, citizens of EU countries, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea may enter the USA without a visa for stays of 90 days or fewer. If you are a citizen of a VWP country, you do not need a visa only if you have a passport that meets current US standards and you have gotten approval from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) in advance. Register online with the Department of Homeland Security at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov at least 72 hours before arrival; once travel authorization is approved, your registration is valid for two years.

At the port of entry, visitors from VWP countries must still demonstrate that their trip is for 90 days or less, and that they have a round-trip or onward ticket, adequate funds to cover the trip and binding obligations abroad (the same conditions that nonimmigrant visa applicants must meet).

For a complete list of US customs regulations, visit US Customs and Border Protection (www.cbp.gov); the downloadable 'Know Before You Go' brochure covers the basics.

US law permits you to bring in, or take out, as much as $10000 in US or foreign currency, travellers checks or money orders without formality. There's no maximum limit, but larger amounts of money must be declared to customs.

There are heavy penalties for attempting to import illegal drugs. It's also forbidden to bring in to the US drug paraphernalia, lottery tickets, items with fake brand names, and most goods made in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar (Burma), Angola and Sudan.

Any fruit, vegetables, or other food or plant material must be declared or left in the bins in the arrival area. Most food items are prohibited to prevent the introduction of pests or diseases.

US Customs allows each person to bring 1L of liquor (provided you are at least 21 years old) and 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes (if you are at least 18) duty-free into the USA. US citizens are allowed to import, duty-free, $800 worth of gifts and purchases from abroad, while non-US citizens are allowed to bring in $100 worth.

Because of the high level of hygiene in the US, infectious diseases will not be a significant concern for most travellers. The high cost of medical care could leave you feeling a little poorly though.

New Orleans has a high violent-crime rate, and neighborhoods go from good to ghetto very quickly. Be careful walking too far north of Faubourg Marigny and the Bywater (St Claude Ave is a good place to stop), south of Magazine St (things get dodgier past Laurel St) and too far west (Rampart St) of the French Quarter. Stick to places that are well peopled, particularly at night, and spring for a cab to avoid dark walks. In the Quarter, street hustlers frequently approach tourists - just walk away. With all that said, don't be paranoid. Crime here, as in most of America, tends to be between people who already know each other.

While it's hard to imagine people coming to this playground to work, a good resource for business folk is the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce (tel: 799-4260; neworleanschamber.org/.

The Gulf of Mexico provides New Orleans with plenty of moisture - the city receives about 150cm (60in) of rainfall annually and no season is immune from it. In March, April and May the weather is quite variable, with plenty of rain; but spring has sunny, mild days that are perfect for the festivals. Summer is hot, sticky and steamy, often with thundershowers. September and October days are the most likely to offer clear, temperate weather. Winter temperatures average a comfortable 12°C (54°F), yet occasional drops in temperature, combined with the damp atmosphere, can chill you to the bone. Snow is rare but December's short days, fog and rain conspire to allow only a few hours of daily sunshine.

504

Nomadic Paleo-Indians probably spent time in the New Orleans area over 10000 years ago. By the time the French founded the city in 1718, seven small tribes known as the Muskogeans inhabited the Florida Parishes north of Lake Pontchartrain and, occasionally, the banks of the Mississippi River. Other tribes south of New Orleans inhabited the bayous in Barataria and the lower course of the Mississippi River.

In 1699, brothers Pierre Le Moyne and Jean-Baptist Le Moyne de Bienville became the first Europeans to ply the Mississippi upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. Guided by a Native American, they sailed north, pausing to note the narrow portage to Lake Pontchartrain. Less than 20 years later, Bienville returned to lay out Nouvelle Orleans on that same spot.

Early settlers arrived mostly from France, Canada and Germany, while the French imported thousands of African slaves. Despite the influx, however, colonial mercantilism proved an economic failure in New Orleans and the harsh realities of life there kept further civilian immigration at a minimum. The colonists developed an exchange economy based on smuggling and local trade, while their city earned a reputation for its illegal enterprise and swarthy character.

In 1762, the French ceded the Louisiana territory to the Spanish in exchange for help in France's war against England. During this time, French refugees from Nova Scotia (Acadia) began arriving, following the British seizure of French Canada. (The British deported thousands of Acadians for refusing to pledge allegiance to England.) Unfortunately for the Acadians - or Cajuns, as they are now called - no one had told them they were to become Spanish subjects. Creole society turned their noses up at them and banished the Acadians to the bayous west of the city, where they continued their livelihood of raising livestock.

France regained possession of New Orleans in 1800 and took up an offer to buy it from Thomas Jefferson, who coveted the river capital to proceed on a path of western expansionism. Preferring it fall into American rather than British hands, Napoleon sold the entire Louisiana Territory at a price of $15000000. On 20 December 1803, the French tricolour on the Place d'Armes was quietly replaced by the American flag.

In town, the response to American control was less than welcoming. Protestant American culture was seen as domineering and vulgar. In 1808, the territorial legislature adopted elements of Spanish and French laws - especially the Napoleonic Code - elements of which persist in Louisiana to the present.

By 1840 it was the nation's fourth city to exceed 100000 inhabitants. Americans gained control of the municipal government in 1852 and by 1850, New Orleans had become the South's largest slave-trading centre. Though Louisiana was the sixth state to secede in 1860, New Orleans actually voted three-to-one to preserve the Union and became the first Confederate city to be captured.

After the fall of New Orleans, about 24000 Louisiana blacks served in the Union forces and played a key role in the Reconstruction. After occupying troops left in 1877, many civil rights gains were lost as Jim Crow segregation became commonplace, with skin colour serving as the ultimate arbiter for people who chose not to trace their lineage. Governor Huey Long reportedly summed up the distinction by noting that all the 'pure whites' in Louisiana could be fed 'with a nickel's worth of red beans and a dime's worth of rice'.

By the early 20th century, New Orleans was ripe for the musical revolution that gave birth to jazz. Blacks had long congregated at Congo Square every Sunday to dance and sing to an African drumbeat - the only place in the South where this was permitted. Eventually, the indigenous musical genre called jazz took shape, with many early jazz musicians performing in the red-light district.

As the 20th century dawned, New Orleans struggled to get itself back on track after the turmoil of Reconstruction. It snapped out of the Great Depression as WWII industries created jobs, and its continued prosperity in the 1950s led to suburban growth around the city. Desegregation laws finally brought an end to Jim Crow, but traditions shaped by racism were not so easily reversed. As poor blacks moved into the city, many middle-class whites moved out. New Orleans' population quickly became predominantly black. The city's tax base declined, and many neighbourhoods fell into neglect. However, the French Quarter, which had become a dowdy working-class enclave after the Civil War, was treated to restoration efforts, and it emerged primed for mass tourism, which was becoming one of the city's most lucrative industries. Even as the oil and chemical industries boomed in Louisiana, spurred on by low taxes and lenient environmental restrictions, New Orleans fastened its eyes on the tourist dollar. In the mid-1970s the Louisiana Superdome opened. The home of the city's NFL team, the Saints, it has also hosted Super Bowls and presidential conventions and sparked a major revenue-earner for New Orleans: trade shows. All around the Superdome, new skyscrapers rose in the Central Business District, but by the end of the 1980s, the local oil boom went bust.

In recent years, the steady growth of tourism - despite reports of the city's high crime rate - made up an increasing share of the employment opportunities in New Orleans. Like most US cities at the end of the millennium, New Orleans benefited from trends toward urban revival, and crime had dropped. Still, New Orleans remained largely a poor city with a small tax base to support public schools and social programs. Gentrification mostly highlighted a growing divide between the haves and have-nots. And, still, the divide was defined primarily by race. Everything changed, however, on those fateful days in August 2005 when Katrina roared ashore.

At that time, a man-made disaster occurred when Katrina, a relatively weak Category 3 hurricane, overwhelmed New Orleans' federal flood protection system in over 50 places. Some 80% of the city was flooded, over 1800 people lost their lives, and the entire city was evacuated. Today, the population level stands at only two-thirds of pre-Katrina levels, with an altered demographic face that has the potential to impact the city's essential character in the years ahead. Although much of the city has rebuilt and tourists are back with a bead-throwing vengeance, the city has irrevocably changed, in ways good and bad.

New Orleans

468 sq km

1200000

Central Time

second Sunday in March

first Sunday in November

US Dollar

American-style plug with two parallel flat blades above a circular grounding pin

Japanese-style plug with two parallel flat blades

Baby Cakes

King cakes, which are made only during Mardi Gras, are sponge cakes covered in purple, green and gold sugar, with a small, inedible baby doll inside. Whoever gets the piece with the baby has to buy the cake next Mardi Gras.

The New Orleans area code is 504, which includes Thibodaux and the surrounding area. Baton Rouge and its surrounding area use the area code 225. Area code 318 applies to the northern part of the state. When dialing another area code, you must dial 1 before the area code. For example, to call a Baton Rouge number from New Orleans, begin by dialing 1-225.

At pay phones, local calls start at 50¢, but long-distance charges apply to 'non local' calls even within the same area code - to Thibodaux, for example - and costs rapidly increase once you dial another area code. Hotel telephones often have heavy surcharges.

Toll-free numbers start with 1-800 or 1-888 and allow you to call free within the USA. Dial 411 for local directory assistance, 0 for the operator, or 00 for international operator assistance.

America uses the tiny RJ-11 snap-in phone jack.

North American cell phones use GSM 1900/CDMA 800, operating on different frequencies from other systems around the world. The only foreign phones that will work in the USA are tri-band models. You can usually rent a mobile phone, but it might be cheaper to buy a prepaid SIM card for the USA from carriers such as AT&T, Virgin mobile or T-Mobile, which you can insert into your international mobile phone to get a local phone number and voicemai.

New Orleans' print media is often progressive and usually of high quality. Its radio stations reflect the city's many-coloured musical life. Television, as in the rest of the US, soars between the sublime and the ridiculous.

White (65%), African American (13%), Asian American (4%), Hispanic (15%), Other (3%)

Intoxicated bands of men in the Quarter and along parade routes are a particular nuisance. Otherwise respectable students and professionals can be transformed by New Orleans in ways not particularly flattering. Women in almost any attire are liable to receive lewd comments. More provocative outfits will lead to a continuous barrage of requests to 'show your tits.' (This occurs on any Friday or Saturday night, not just during Mardi Gras.) Many men assume that any woman wearing impressive strands of beads has acquired them by displaying herself on the street.

Any serious problems you encounter (including assault or rape) should be reported to the police (911). The YWCA offers a Rape Crisis Hotline (483-8888), as well as a Battered Women's Hotline (486-0377).

The gay community in New Orleans is most visible in the French Quarter, to the lakeside of Bourbon St. While there is a strong gay scene in the city, as regards nightlife there is a lot of integration of the straight and gay worlds. This especially applies to live music shows, which are an integral component of going out in New Orleans. Gays are present but keep a lower profile in Faubourg Marigny, Bywater and elsewhere in town.

For gay visitors, finding a place to stay, eat or party in New Orleans will not be a problem. Southern Decadence is a gay festival that draws a huge crowd to the Quarter in late August or early September. Halloween and Mardi Gras also have a strong gay component in New Orleans.

The Faubourg Marigny Book Store (600 Frenchmen St) is the South's oldest gay bookstore and is a good place to learn about the local scene. Several websites provide information geared toward the gay community in New Orleans, as well as gay travelers. Check out Ambush Mag www.ambushmag.com and Gay New Orleans www.gayneworleans.com.

New Orleans is somewhat lax in this department. Sidewalk curbs rarely have ramps, and many historic public buildings and hotels are not equipped to meet the needs of the wheelchair bound. Modern hotels adhere to standards established by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, with ramps, elevators and accessible bathrooms. A few of the Regional Transit Authority buses offer a lift service; for information about paratransit service (alternate transportation for those who can't ride regular buses), call the RTA Paratransit Customer Service on 827-7433 or visit their website (www.norta.com.

The Riverfront streetcar line features Braille kiosks, platform ramps and wide doors that allow anyone to board easily. However, the St Charles Ave streetcar line has not been modified for wheelchair passengers. While these old cars continue to be used on the Canal St line, wheelchair accessibility will not be available there either.

New Orleans is easy on kids. Stuffed as it is with zoos, museums, riverboat cruises and the like, wee ones should rarely feel left out of the fun that defines this town. Kid-friendly options include the Audubon Zoo (one of the best zoos in the coutry), Aquarium of the Americas, the Insectarium. Mardi Gras World and City Park - the nation's fifth-largest urban park (bigger than Central in NYC) and New Orleans' prettiest green lung. Probably the most kid-friendly site in the city, Louisiana Children's Museum is like a high-tech kindergarten where the wee ones can play in interactive bliss till nap time. Also check out the 'kid stuff' listings in the Times-Picayune newspaper's 'Living' section on Monday.

Most major hotels can offer on-site babysitting arrangements. Smaller hotels are also familiar with parents' needs and can usually provide the name of recommended child-minding services. It's worth inquiring about such arrangement when you make your hotel reservations.

US Dollar

American banknotes (bills) often confuse visitors: they're all the same size and the same colour. Be especially careful not to hand over too much cash, and always check your change carefully. Be careful not to accept incomplete or severely torn notes, as they can be refused; small rips are usually not a problem. Bills come in denominations of 1, 2 (rare), 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars.

The US dollar is divided into 100 cents. Coins come in 1 (penny), 5 (nickel), 10 (dime), 25 (quarter) cent and 50 cent (half-dollar) denominations; there is also a dollar coin.

If you can't use your credit card in the US then you probably can't use it anywhere. It's highly recommended that you carry at least one credit card, if only for emergencies. Visa and MasterCard are the most widely accepted. ATMs are available 24/7 and are hard to miss. Most ATMs charge a service fee per transaction and your home bank may impose additional charges. Ask your bank or credit card company for exact information about using its cards in stateside ATMs.

Since the advent of ATMs, travellers checks are becoming obsolete, except as a trustworthy backup. If you carry them, buy them in US dollars.

Major credit and debit cards are widely accepted. You can also access your bank account using US ATMs, which are ubiquitous. Travellers cheques are easily converted to cash at any bank; banks are also the best option for exchanging foreign currencies.

Only the creatively thrifty backpacker or road-tripper will spend less than $100.00 a day. A comfortable midrange budget ranges from $150.00 to $250.00 a day.

Sales taxes vary from state to state but are typically 4-8%, though some states have no sales taxes at all. Hotel accommodation also often attracts a bed tax, which can be as high as 15%. When booking, always ask for the rate including taxes.

Tipping is not really optional. In bars and restaurants the waitstaff are paid minimal wages and rely on tips for their livelihoods. The service has to be absolutely appalling before you consider not tipping. Tip at least 15% of the bill or 20% if the service is good. You needn't tip at fast-food restaurants or self-serve cafeterias.

Taxi drivers expect a 15% tip. If you stay at a top-end hotel, tipping is so common you might get tennis elbow from reaching for your wallet. Hotel porters who carry bags a long way expect $3.00 to $5.00, or $1.00 per bag; smaller services(holding the taxi door open for you) might justify only $1.00. Valet parking is worth about $2.00, and is given when your car is returned to you.

There's an information booth at the airport's A&B concourse; most visitors take the Airport Shuttle to and from the airport. The Regional Transit Authority runs the local bus service. The RTA also operates three streetcar lines.

Try to avoid bringing a car to downtown New Orleans as it can be a costly and frustrating proposition, dealing with the narrow one-way streets, congestion and parking. Don't forget, you can always rent a bicycle too!

New Orleans is flat and relatively compact, but watch out for heavy traffic, potholes and bad neighborhoods. Bikes can be rented at Bicycle Michael's (622 Frenchmen St) in Faubourg Marigny.

The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) offers decent bus and streetcar service. No buses run through the heart of the French Quarter, so most visitors only use them when venturing Uptown or out to City Park.

A car is a good thing to have in New Orleans, but if you're planning to spend most of your time in the French Quarter or CBD, don't bother. You'll just end up wasting money on parking. That said, all the big rental companies can be found in the city or at the airport.

The Canal St ferry operates between Canal St and the West Bank community of Algiers daily www.friendsoftheferry.org. Another ferry stops at Jackson Ave, near the Irish Channel, and leads to the suburb of Gretna. The ferries are free for pedestrians and cyclists, and just $1.00 for vehicles.

If you are travelling alone or at night, taxis are highly recommended. United Cab is the biggest and most reliable company to call for a pick-up, unless you are in a central part of the French Quarter, where it is relatively easy to flag down a passing cab.

The RTA operates three streetcar lines. The historic St Charles streetcar is running only a short loop in the CBD due to hurricane damage to the Uptown tracks. The Canal streetcar makes a long journey up Canal St to City Park, with a spur on Carrollton Ave. The Riverfront line runs 2 miles along the levee from the Old US Mint, past Canal St, to the upriver convention center and back.

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, 18km (11mi) west of the city, handles mostly domestic flights. Greyhound buses run from the Union Passenger Terminal, with regular services to other southern cities. Amtrak trains also operate from the Union Passenger Terminal.

Visitors to New Orleans during Mark Twain's time arrived by boat via the Mississippi River, but for now, the days of paddle steamboats plying the Big Muddy are over.

Greyhound buses arrive and depart at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (1001 Loyola Ave), which is also known as Union Station. It's seven blocks upriver from Canal St. Greyhound regularly connects to Baton Rouge, plus Atlanta (Georgia) and Memphis (Tennessee), en route to essentially every city in the USA.

Interstate 10 is the nation's major east-west route along the southern boundary linking Jacksonville with Santa Monica via New Orleans. The north-south routes, I-55 to Chicago and I-59 to Chattanooga, meet I-10 to the west and east of New Orleans on either side of Lake Pontchartrain.

New Orleans is not a major airline hub and it is not a big center for national commerce, so direct flights are not always available, even from major travel centers like the Bay Area. International travelers will almost certainly need to change flights somewhere else within the USA before connecting to flights to New Orleans (and the connection may require an additional stopover en route).

Three Amtrak trains serve New Orleans at the Union Passenger Terminal (aka Union Station). The City of New Orleans train runs to Memphis, Jackson and Chicago; the Crescent Route serves Birmingham, Atlanta, Washington DC and New York City; and the Sunset Limited rolls between Los Angeles and Miami.