The city of New Orleans is celebrating its 295th birthday. Founded on May 7, 1718, it was named after Orle’ans, a city located on the Loire River in France. New Orleans is well-known for its culinary delights, great music, many festivals, perhaps most notably Mardi Gras. It’s the birthplace of jazz, home of the Saints, and French Market do-nuts.
As a New Orleans native, turned Montanan (8 years ago), I thought I’d take a moment and celebrate the city’s uniqueness by listing some trivia and a few of my favorite things.
- Food
- Seafood, gumbo, jambalaya
- Coffee & chicory and beignets
- Snowballs – nectar, spearmint, and chocolate (nobody makes the ice as fine as in New Orleans)
- Po-boys and muffalettas
- Ponchatoula Strawberries
- Music and Festivals
- Rock
- Blues
- Jazz Fest
- Mardi Gras
- Strawberry Festival
- Architecture
- French and Spanish style in and around the French Quarter
- Creole cottages
- Shotgun house
- Stately mansions.
- Alligators
- Old Hard Hide
- Flowers and trees
- Azaleas
- Magnolias
- Spanish Moss
- Oak Trees
- Parks
- City Park and Storyland
- Audubon Park and Zoo
- The Lakefront and Old Beach
- Monikers
- The Crescent City
- The City That Care Forgot
- The Big Easy
Please visit our column New Orleans Roots for more insight about life in New Orleans.