Culture of New Orleans. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

Each quarter of New Orleans is a piece of unique culture and focus of significant historical monuments and landmarks. One of the highest tourist interest districts of the city is still the French Quarter which has preserved numerous majestic mansions and palaces. The heart of the quarter is the Bourbon Street being a place of concentration of popular night entertaining establishments, restaurants and upscale hotels.

Among other significant tourist spots of the district is the Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral located in close vicinity to the square. The cathedral is one of the most impressive religious sights of the city. Its building features original architectural style and astonishing interior premises decoration. The French Market is as well located in this area. This is exactly the place to hunt various original goods.

Among other spots of tourist interest of French Quarter is the Old U.S Mint which is by now reequipped in a museum. New Orleans features numerous cultural establishments, exhibition centers and art galleries. The National World War II Museum presents an interesting collection of historical artifacts. Painting connoisseurs will love to visit the Contemporary Arts Center which regularly holds exhibitions of amateur artists, painters, sculptors and masters of photography. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The City Park hosts the New Orleans Museum of Arts which keeps a rich collection of paintings of different epochs. Among other significant city landmarks and sights ancient cemeteries named Metairie and Saint Louis are best worth mentioning. The later one is located not far from the St. Louis Cathedral. The cemeteries are of great architectural interest for tourists. But still the cemeteries keep the tombs of many prominent personalities.

The suburbs of New Orleans keep as well several significant historical objects one of which is a location named Chalmette. This was exactly the place of the battle for the city of 1815 which was leaded by Andrew Jackson. The city boasts as well numerous natural attractions as its territory hosts many of amazing parks and gardens. The city offers its guests to visit the Botanical Garden of New Orleans. The suburbs of the tourist destination offer to visit virgin wildlife preservations.

Sightseeing in the homeland of jazz cannot be imagined without visiting cultural institutions associated with it. In the city, you can find many iconic places: New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park showing the evolution of jazz since its origins to the present day, the atmospheric park New Orleans Musical Legends with its magnificent statues of the fathers of jazz, as well as the New Orleans Jazz Museum occupying the already mentioned New Orleans Mint. The collection gathered over decades includes jazz instruments, photographs, posters, live concerts videos, and valuable artifacts for music fans such as personal musical instruments of legendary jazzmen. Music concerts are held here too.

Another great place to visit is a small cultural institution dedicated to jazz. We are talking about Treme's Petit Jazz Museum, which is no less atmospheric than the New Orleans Jazz Museum. It's almost impossible to calculate the number of bars and clubs where jazz sounds. And, of course, it is worth noting that there are especially many of them in the French Quarter. Apart from jazz, New Orleans is known as the center of a special religion - voodoo. Due to this, you can find a number of related attractions in the city. In the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, you can learn a lot about the origin of this religion, as well as its evolution and popularization. Of equal interest are colorful voodoo shops, which are the real local attractions: Voodoo Authentica, The Voodoo Bone Lady Voodoo Shop, and Marie Laveau's House Of Voodoo.

Another distinguishing feature of the city is the tradition of celebrating the Mardi Gras Carnival introduced by the French. The city has as many as three museums dedicated to the colorful carnival. For example, Mardi Gras World (also known as Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World) is a separate universe where parade paraphernalia and costumes are made, and another cultural institution - the Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture - presents a huge collection of costumes that were once worn by carnival participants (as is clear from the name). It is also worth visiting the Germaine Wells Mardi Gras Museum demonstrating the history of the beautiful holiday.

The city is shrouded in a mystical atmosphere: it has a large number of mysterious places about which local residents or guides can tell a lot on special tours. These are not only vampire mansions but also restaurants, cafes, and churches. Among outstanding ones are Faulkner House Books, Le Petite Theater du Vieux Carré, Ursuline Convent, Café Lafitte in Exile, and, of course, Marie Laveau's House - the Voodoo Queen's House. Be sure to explore the Museum of Death with its collection of beautiful "faces of death". Despite the name, however, even overly sensitive people will feel comfortable visiting it. Another great place for fans of mysticism is the Haunted Museum with its special atmosphere that makes even the most avid skeptics believe in a higher power.

You can find wonderful religious sights in the city. First of all, it's worth mentioning the Immaculate Conception Church built in 1930 on the site of an older 1850 church. Its eclectic architecture incorporates neo-Gothic, neo-Byzantine, and neo-Moorish styles, which makes the shrine one of the most original churches from an architectural point of view. The cathedral is also interesting for its rich interior decoration. One should never miss another important religious object - namely, St. Louis Cathedral, which was once visited by Pope John Paul II after the 2005 hurricane Katrina. The cathedral was built in 1794 on the site of an older church of 1727, which, in turn, was a reconstructed version of an 1718 shrine. By the way, many legends are associated with this place.

The Tulane University building, which was originally built in 1834 as a medical college, deserves special mention. Over the years, it has expanded and got many new faculties. Today, it is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Louisiana. Besides the already mentioned Metairie and Saint Louis cemeteries, another peaceful place deserves a walk - Lafayette Cemetery that is characterized by many family crypts striking in their architecture. Those who still prefer more traditional places for walking should go to beautiful parks (there are plenty of them in the city), as well as Spanish Plaza and the Faubourg Marigny Quarter (of course, after the already mentioned French Quarter, a visit to which is an indisputable must-have).

Among the interesting local mansions featuring preserved interiors of past years giving tourists an idea of life in the past, it is worth mentioning Longue Vue House and Gardens striking with its chic appearance and magnificent garden with many unique plants. One more outstanding museum of living history is the Pitot House. However, these are just a few of the mansions interesting for tourists - as already noted, in the French Quarter, all buildings can be considered works of architectural art and 1historical monuments, which have witnessed the formation of jazz and the abolition of slavery. By the way, to get acquainted with the history of slavery, the culture of African-Americans and their struggle for freedom, try to visit the New Orleans African American Museum.

Of great interest to tourists is the atmospheric theme park Music Box Village. This is a unique sculpture garden of modern art where, besides enjoying breathtaking views, you can listen to good music concerts and play jazz yourself. The Backstreet Cultural Museum is also dedicated to African American culture. Among the exhibits, one can find colorful costumes, photographs, and archives. To explore the history of medicine in New Orleans, go to the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, and if you like butterflies and insects, you'd likely be interested in visiting Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. One more interesting museum is the Memorial Hall Confederate Civil War Museum, thanks to which one can learn more about the history of the US Civil War.