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City of New Orleans is a city of southeast Louisiana between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was founded in 1718. As per the New Orleans History, the city became the capital of a French colony in 1722 and passed to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The largest city in Louisiana and one of the largest in the South, New Orleans is a major U.S. port of entry. It has long been one of the busiest and most efficient international ports in the country. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are among its imports; exports include oil, petrochemicals, rice, cotton, and corn.
The picturesque French quarter of the old city of New Orleans, north of broad Canal St., is a major tourist attraction. In the heart of the quarter is Jackson Square, fronting upon the square are the Cabildo (formerly the government building, it now houses part of the Louisiana state museum); St. Louis Cathedral (1794); and other 18th-century and 19th-century structures. Several world-famous restaurants, specializing in shrimp, oysters, and fish from nearby waters, uphold the New Orleans tradition of good living, and the annual Mardi Gras is perhaps the best-known festival in the United States. Besides, there are many New Orleans hotels to make you visit and chill out over there.
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