Not just a destination, an experience: Why New Orleans - aka 'The Crescent City' - is holiday heaven for foodies, music fans and those who just love a good time
Ad Feature by British Airways Holidays and New Orleans
Filled with colour, culture and toe-tapping spirit, there is nowhere quite like New Orleans.
This is a city of spicy Creole and hearty Cajun cooking, cool jazz culture and soulful rhythm and blues. Part European, part Caribbean, part African and older than the US itself, this Louisiana city is a seductive mix, from the vibrant French Quarter to the surrounding, wildlife-filled swamps.
It's easy to reach, too, with direct flights to New Orleans from London Heathrow with British Airways.
And when you book with British Airways Holidays you can make the most of a range of hotel options to suit all budgets as well as the ability to add a car to your package to explore beyond the city.
A vibrant city like no other: New Orleans, aka Nola, boasts a seductive mix of different cultures
And if you book your whole trip with British Airways Holidays, you'll enjoy everything wrapped up in one ATOL-protected package. It includes your flights, a generous baggage allowance, plus hotel options from budget-friendly to five-star luxury and even car hire so you can explore at your own pace.
You can book with deposits from just £75pp with no balance due until seven weeks before travel for long haul*. And if you're a British Airways Club member, you can use your Avios Points for part payment on holiday packages**.
A fabulous foodie scene
With mingling cultures as diverse as Spanish, Haitian, African, French and Native American, New Orleans knows how to cook up a melting pot of mingling flavours.
The locals were doing fusion before it even had a name. The city's blend of immigrants from different backgrounds has given rise to its incredible cuisine, from Creole to Cajun and everything in between.
Indulge in fabulous cuisine: Shrimp and grits is classic Southern comfort food
Jambalaya is a twist on Spanish paella with a blend of meat and fish; crawfish etouffee comes from the French word 'to smother'; while gumbo is a blend of French and West African influences – a rich stew you'll find bubbling away in many a kitchen.
Don't miss the chance to eat a po-boy sandwich, born of sandwiches handed out for free to striking streetcar workers in 1929, or a sugar-coated beignet - a sort of doughnut invented by French-Creole colonists in the 18th Century - with your coffee.
Amazing music
Dance all night and all day, and you'll never hear the same tune twice.
The city's rich and vibrant history has culminated in one of the most distinctive musical cultures on the planet. Dynamic communities, meeting and mingling, provided the root source of American music.
Music is a way of life in New Orleans: Jazz and blues, rock and gospel, R&B and brass bands
New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz and all the genres it inspired. The beat of a musical drum is the beating heart of the city.
The music scene is at its liveliest during Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and one of the many other festivals and events, but there's always live music in the background.
Blues, rock and gospel, soul, R&B, and brass bands – whatever your jam, you'll find the notes to sing along with. Live music features instruments and performers from all over the world for an utterly unique New Orleans sound experience.
Wonderful wrought iron: The Big Easy has a beautiful architectural style all of its own
Incredible events
New Orleans is known for its party atmosphere, and they sure know how to show you a good time.
The calendar is absolutely packed with cultural events, live Louisiana music and fabulous festivals. Mardi Gras is the biggest one, of course, followed by both The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and The French Quarter Festival, showcasing local music and food a little later in the spring.
Skip forward a few months to the summer for enormous celebrations from the city's diverse communities.
ESSENCE Festival is a celebration of Black culture, promoting food, spirituality, style, and entertainment; while the vibrant LGBTQ+ community hosts New Orleans Pride and Southern Decadence.
Expect street parades and impromptu dancing, live music breaking out onto the porches of the bars, and friendly strangers grabbing your hand to twirl you down the steps.
Easy exploration
The Big Easy, or Crescent City, in honour of the curve of the Mississippi River around which the original settlement was built, is one of the most walkable cities in the country, with atmospheric European architecture lining the streets as you stroll through the French Quarter.
Iconic Armstrong Park is the entrance to the Lafitte Greenway, a linear park that takes you into the heart of the mid-city, enjoying farmers markets, outdoor shows and beer gardens en route.
Jump on a rattling streetcar along the Canal Streetcar Line to explore the city. Visit the New Orleans Museum of Art, enjoy the greenery of City Park, and indulge a sweet tooth at Brocato's gelato store, a New Orleans institution for over a century.
Iconic St Louis Cathedral: The oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the US
For grand mansions, leafy spaces and the historic St Charles Streetcar line - the oldest continually operating streetcar line in the world - head Uptown. The Arts/Warehouse district is great for museums and fabulous restaurants, while charming Algiers with its hundred-year-old houses and jazz heritage is just a ferry trip across the Mississippi.
Outside the main city, there are activities such as kayaking along the bayou, biking through City Park, or taking a swamp tour of the wetland ecosystems. The plantations that line the mighty Mississippi provide tours with fascinating and poignant insight into the lives and Antebellum homes of those who lived there.
New Orleans sight: There are five streetcar lines, and a trip on one is a great way to see the city
All together, it makes for a fascinating trip. A place where you can blend carnival spirit and graceful architecture, city and green spaces, and accompanied by New Orleans' unique musical heritage and its melting pot of cultural cuisines.
British Airways Holidays makes it easy to explore the Big Easy. A direct flight from the UK, a hotel to suit your budget and a car so you can explore the city and beyond, you'll have everything you need for a New Orleans adventure.
