New Orleans offers a great variety of tours, from dinner cruises on the Mississippi to ghost tours to voodoo tours to architectural tours.

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Every year visitors flock to New Orleans for the Annual Celebration of Mardi Gras (”Fat Tuesday”), an event that includes parades, masquerade balls, and a carnival. But this year is different. After the devestation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, continuing with this annual celebration as scheduled is New Orlean’s way of saying, “We Refuse to Be Beat”.

For 10 days, the city of New Orleans will play host to visitors from all over the world, for one of the biggest and best Mardi Gras celebrations in the world. Mardi Gras is traditionally celebrated exactly 47 days before Easter, and was first brought to Louisiana by early French settlers. Mardi Gras was so named because it falls on the day before Ash Wednesday.

Purple (symbolic of justice), Gold (symbolic of power), and Green (symbolic of faith) are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras, and were chosen during the Rex Parade in 1892.

As a less traditional aspect of the celebration, tourists often walk up and down Bourbon street handing out mult-colored beads to women who are willing to bare their breasts.

Author: Raynor James

Obviously, Louisiana had a rough year in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. The state will recover as will Louisiana real estate.

Louisiana

Louisiana has obviously been in the news because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. To say the entire episode is a tragedy is to understate the obvious. Louisiana is a state that has overcome problems before and it will do it again. For the purposes of this article, I am going to discuss the state pre-hurricane because, frankly, the state will recover within a year or so. It has done it before.

Louisiana is a state with an absolute ton of character. In fact, you will find no other state in the country that can match it. There is a heavy French influence and the people, towns and cities are eclectic to say the least. From plantations to Mardi Gras to funky little towns to incredible food and music, Louisiana is state that can capture your imagination.

New Orleans

Yes, New Orleans took a beating in the hurricane and subsequent flooding. This was not the first hurricane to cause damage and the city will recover. If you base your opinion of the city on the things you saw on the television or heard in the media, you are making a mistake. This is a city with extremes in many areas, from food to music to lifestyles and so on.

New Orleans is like no other city in the country. Here you will find fire-eaters and street artists, old river steamboats, food to die for, old plantation homes and a music scene that can’t be beat. The French Quarter is beautiful and chaotic, particularly during Mardi Gras. Walking through the city, you’ll find little street markets, walk up eateries and eclectic little spots like the Voodoo Museum. The redeveloped River Walk area on the Mississippi River is a good spot to while away the hours as are the tours around the city. Keep in mind, New Orleans is the home of author Anne Rice and the location of her Vampire Chronicles book series. Words will never accurately describe New Orleans, it is just a place you have to investigate. You will either love the chaos or hate it.

Baton Rouge

The state capitol of Louisiana, Baton Rouge is New Orleans without the edge. An easygoing city with a heavy French influence, the city feels more like a place you could actually live in compared to New Orleans. Although the city was hit by Hurricane Katrina, it did not suffer the devastation seen in other locations. Home to Louisiana State University, the city has a college feel with college football being the name of the game.

Silver Lining

If there is a silver lining to Hurricane Katrina, it is the redevelopment that will occur throughout the state. Hundreds of billions of dollars are flowing into the state, which will lead to a major makeover. New Orleans, in particular, is going to get a major face-lift with as many as 40,000 structures being replaced.

Raynor James is with www.FSBOAmerica.org - a FSBO homes for sale by owner site. Visit our “Sell My Home” page to list your FSBO Home or visit our home buying page to see fsbo homes for sale.

Here’s a great article on New Orleans Travel:

The lowdown on new orleans travel

Author: Mansi gupta

The beautiful city cuddled around the curve of the Mississippi River, known for its cuisine, music and culture, is the metropolis New Orleans. This vibrant city summons many a visitors every year. Its more than a few attractions are cherished by tons of people across the globe. Getting Acquainted With the Place New Orleans is quite an old city that has a profound sense of art and architecture, culture and people. Certain historic buildings like the U.S Mint Building and the Lousiana History Museum have always accepted attention of the visitors. The French Quarter is an eminent area in New Orleans. The Quarter speaks about the marvelous European architecture, history, legends and the like. The Bourbon St. bars is an all time entertainment bar or club for the adults. Once you step out of French Quarter, a horde of hotels and restaurants welcome you. The IMAX theatre, Riverwalk shops and Harrah’s casino are particularly very famous here. The Storyland at the City Park of New Orleans is believed to be a wonderland park. The Six Flags amusement park, the Audubon Park and the Zoological Gardens that have more than a thousand animals are amongst the magnets of New Orleans. The Jackson Square area of New Orleans is teeming with artists, musicians, mimes and fortune tellers, needs no introduction. People from all over the world visit this place on their vacation to New Orleans. The French Quarter is brimming with shopping malls and shops. From glittering jewelry to exclusive souvenir, everything is readily available. There are also antique shops for those who have a taste of antiques. The French Market at New Orleans is known for the bargain. The market is basically devoted to the farmers as well as to flea. Once you are tired of running around to shop, enjoy a wonderful coffee at the Café Du Monde. The café is considered to be the home of beignet and chicory coffee. The ‘shotgun’ houses at New Orleans are meant to admire the exclusive and peculiar architecture. The rooms in these houses are lined one behind the other such that a single shot fired from outside the front door would go out from the back door without hitting anything. The D- Day Museum at New Orleans that exhibits the history of World War II, has its own glory and charm. There are different tours to explore New Orleans to the fullest. Thses tours are quite informative and adventurous. For instance on a swamp tour you get to know the concept behind the above ground cemeteries in the city. You also get an opportunity to feed the alligators, see the grand homes and gardens in the Garden District and many such things. A ghost tour, relished especially by the kids will take you to the haunted St. Philip Street. While on a Southern Comfort Cocktail Tour you will enjoy the restaurants, bars and hotels of the city along with the fables attached to them. The Honey Island Swamp tour is specifically meant for the kids to enjoy this nature preserve and eerie houses like Gris-Gris. The distinguished pulls of New Orleans are incomplete without the festivals celebrated here. The principal festival of the year is the Mardi Gras in February. This is followed by the crawfish festival in March, the Jazz Heritage festival and the French Quarter Festival in April or May. The July visitors can enjoy the fireworks that happen to be on the 4th of July, Satchmo festival in August subsequent to which are the festivals for tomatoes, catfish, plants etc. in September. Finally there is the grand Christmas celebration that draws everyone’s thought and concentration. Almost all the festivals are festooned at least with fireworks and parades. New Orleans has earned a significant name in the area of sports. The city is a host to many sports concerts all round the year. These festivals make New Orleans a destination worth vacationing all round the year. Mansi gupta writes about new orleans travel topics.