A cultural guide to New Orleans

“In other places, culture comes down from on high. In New Orleans, it bubbles up from the streets.” So said the late Ellis Marsalis, jazz pianist and NOLA native, and it’s just as true today. Colonized by the French in 1682 and sold “back” to the U.S. government in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans retains a distinctly European vibe.

The impact of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina can still be felt (visit the Living with Hurricanes exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum), but NOLA has now largely reinvented itself, and doubled down on its charm. Visitors still descend en masse for its world-famous Mardi Gras in February or early March, and Jazz & Heritage Festival in April—but are won over by the warm Southern welcome, the ever-present music scene, and unique Creole and Cajun cuisines. 

Art & architecture

The French Quarter feels like a living, breathing museum, with a charming meld of French, Spanish, and Caribbean architectural influences. At the New Orleans Museum of Art, with its grand Greco-Roman columns, find paintings by artists from John Singer Sargent to Joan Miró. Make time for NOMA’s oak and magnolia-tree-lined Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, with over 90 works by Anish Kapoor, Henry Moore, Frank Gehry and more.

If you’re into the city’s occult side, there are plenty of cemetery tours, but equally evocative (and free) is The Historic New Orleans Collection. If you’re looking to spend some time outdoors after museum-hopping, don’t miss a swamp tour, with air boats taking you down canals teeming with inquisitive alligators; you’ll also see raccoons, egrets and pelicans. Just be careful: “If you fall in,” said our captain, “I can’t help you.” 

 

Food & drink

New Orleans is famous for its Creole cuisine, influenced by European, African, and Native American roots: Try gumbo (a rich, heavy stew), jambalaya (a spiced rice dish) and pack-a-larger-pair-of-pants Po’ Boys (massive baguette-style sandwiches). Fried chicken is also iconic here—head to Neyow’s for meltingly soft buttermilk chicken and a vast range of sides.