New Orleans Fun Facts

• New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz music.
• Poker was invented in New Orleans in the 1700s.
• The name "Uncle Sam" was coined in New Orleans while Louisiana was still a territory. Goods that came from the United States were said to be from "Uncle Sam."
• More than 500,000 king cakes are sold each Mardi Gras season in New Orleans.
• Each year, the two largest Mardi Gras parades, Endymion and Bacchus, include 2,300 float riders who throw more than 1.5 million cups, 2.5 million doubloons, and 200,000 gross of beads.

Notables from New Orleans

• Harry Connick, Jr., musician
• Lil Wayne, rapper
• Louis Armstrong, musician
• Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer
• Bryan Batt, star of the TV series "Mad Men"
• Patricia Clarkson, actress
• Truman Capote, writer
• Anne Rice, Gothic fiction writer
• Ellen DeGeneres, comedienne and talk show host
• James Carville, political consultant and pundit
• Mary Matalin, political consultant
• The Manning Family, NFL quarterbacks
  

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Top Things to Do in New Orleans

Arts and Culture

• New Orleans Museum of Art
• National World War II Museum
• Mardi Gras World
• The Backstreet Cultural Museum
• Voodoo Museum
  
  Ride the Natchez Steamboat
• Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
• Audubon Zoo
• Self-guided day tour of one of New Orleans' cemeteries (St. Louis Cemetery is closest to the French Quarter)
• Walking tours of the French quarter
  

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Shopping

• French Market
• Riverwalk Shopping Center
• Shops at Canal Place
• Magazine Street
  

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Recreation

• City Park
• Audubon Park
  

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Dining in New Orleans

• Café du Monde
• Datdog
• Rum house
• Camellia Grill
• Port of Call
• Remoulade
• Café Maspero
• Seafood

• Acme Oyster and Seafood House, Landry's, Bubba Gump Shrimp and the Gumbo Shop

• Snowballs (New Orleans Snow Cones)

• Plum Street Snow Balls and Hansen's Sno-bliz

• Mahony's Po-Boy Shop, Parkway Bakery and Tavern and Johnny's Po-Boy café

Nighttime Activities for Those Under 21

• Ghost Tours
• Rock and Bow—bowling and Cajun dancing
• Hard Rock Café
• Music venues
• House of Blues
• Snug Harbor
• Preservation Hall
• Movie Theaters
• The Theatres at Canal Place
• Prytania Theater
• AMC Clearview Palace 12