New Orleans is more than the city that brought most of us cajun, creole, cayenne peppers, jambalaya, gumbo and zydeco music, it's a burgeoning coastal city built around the 5th most active port in the United States. However, "The Big Easy" is most famous for its enthusiastic and boisterous nightlife centered around Bourbon Street. Mardi Gras starts every January with with occasional parades, parties and masquerades which become larger and more frequent until a grand climax on "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French), which is the day before Ash Wednesday. In my opinion you don't need to wait for Mardi Gras to experience a party-like atmosphere New Orleans, it's a year round party there.

Bourbon Street: Anytimes a good time to go there, just don't do anything out of character in your quest to accumulate the most beaded necklaces, or you might end up in the background of a some cheesy $19.99 video!

French Market: Originally a Native American trading post, a good marketplace for produce, shopping and wacky street performers.

Jackson Square: Scenic park situated amongst historic buildings including St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest active cathedral in the United States. Many artists can be seen throughout park selling their wares.

Carousel Gardens: Located in City Park in Mid-City, this park has a roller coaster, bumper cars, an original 1906 carousel, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, New Orleans Museum of Art and Storyland, a must see children's fairly tale theme park.

New Orleans has pleasant weather year round so traveling there is always a comfortable experience. From October through May, travel to New Orleans is a lot cheaper and better deals are to be had. Also, hotel rooms, flights and car rentals during the weekdays are drastically cheaper than on weekends. Find cheap flights to New Orleans and its surrounding areas (such as Baton Rouge), including cheap vacation packages, hotels and car rentals. The airport code for New Orleans International Airport is MSY and for Baton Rouge Ryan Field is BTR.