Louisiana tourist information with details about
travel to and around the state. Where to stay and what to see is made easier with insider
tips and hand-selected Louisiana links, by dedicated editors and visitors to
TravelNotes.org - The Online Guide to Travel.
Louisiana is also known as the Pelican State; a tribute to the brown
pelican, native to Louisiana.
It may not be the official capital of Louisiana, but New Orleans
is the cultural capital of Cajun, Dixieland Jazz, and Mardi Gras; with a spicy helping of
lacy architecture stirred in.
Don't miss a visit to the Vieux Carré.
French Quarter:
Sound files, maps and a walking tour of the Vieux Carré that you can print out and use on
your visit to New Orleans.
Bourbon Street can seem a little sleazy at night, and the wait to get
in to to hear some jazz at Preservation Hall is lengthy.
The Garden District has many attractive 19th-century houses, some of
them converted into hostels and B & B accommodation. Take the St. Charles Streetcar.
Visit New Orleans in the Spring or Autumn for the lower humidity.
Big Easy Tours:
There's so much to do in and around New Orleans that you could select a tour for every day
of the week: walking tours, plantation tours, haunted and ghost, swamp tours, river boat
cruises, city tours, airplane and helicopter tours, air boats and cemetery tours. 5% discount to Travel Notes members.
Hurricane Katrina
In the early hours of Monday, August 29th 2005 Hurricane Katrina
slammed into the Gulf Coast of America - with New Orleans judged (at the time) to be
somewhat lucky that the eye of the storm seemed to veer east of the city.
However, the low-lying, slowly sinking city suffered widespread
flooding when the 17th Street levee at Lake Pontchartrain gave way.
The swift rebuilding of New Orleans means that many of your favourite
French Quarter restaurants, shops, bars, music clubs, museums and attractions up and
running.
Located in the heart
of the French Quarter, the Bourbon Orleans, a Wyndham Historic Hotel, features classic
Southern charm with styling reminiscent of the French opulence of the early 1800's.
With
its centralized location, directly behind the famed St. Louis Cathedral, the hotel offers
direct access to the upscale shopping on Royal Street, the fortune tellers and street
performers of Jackson Square, cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde, and of course
the decadence of Bourbon Street.
Once the 1815 Orleans Ballroom, a venue for the city's masquerade and carnival balls,
the lobby has kept its 19th-century charm; complete with marble floors, a grand spiral
staircase, columns, chandeliers and Queen Anne style furniture.
The pool, in the middle of the hotel's courtyard, is an enchanting place to relax.
Located on Royal
Street, in the centre of the French Quarter, Hotel Monteleone is just a block from the
sights and sounds of Bourbon Street and Canal Street.
The Hotel St. Marie
offers a warm and accommodating atmosphere deliberately designed and maintained to give
guests a feeling for the real style of its historic neighborhood.
Many guest rooms enjoy
balconies that overlook the scenic vistas of the Quarter and hotel guests can relax in the
lush, tropical courtyard or take a cool break from French Quarter fun in the hotel pool.
The Hotel St. Marie is equipped with the latest amenities and business services
including high speed internet access in all guest rooms and wireless access in all public
spaces.
Built in 1907, Le
Pavillon New Orleans French Quarter Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of America and
maintains membership in the exclusive Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.
In a world
of steel-and-glass skyscrapers and cookie-cutter design, the age of grand hotels seems
long gone. A rare exception: Le Pavillon New Orleans Hotel is where guests can instantly
conjure the days of genteel luxury, romantic evenings and glittering nights.
With a history stretching back to the Gilded Age and impeccable décor throughout, Le
Pavillon New Orleans Hotel piques the imagination in a way that even the Emperor Napoleon
himself would applaud.
Hotel amenities include the rooftop spa tub, 30-foot heated pool, and fitness center.
Parisian woodwork, Italian marble flooring, and crystal chandeliers decorate the lobby.
Crystal Room provides fine dining. Le Gallery Lounge is set in a private-club atmosphere
and has a variety of liquors and an extensive selection of cigars.
The Place d'Armes
Hotel is an intimate, historic hotel property located at Jackson Square; in the heart of
New Orleans' fabled French Quarter.
The hotel is one of three distinctive and unique AAA
triple diamond rated French Quarter hotels owned and operated by the Valentino family of
New Orleans.
The Place's 83 guest rooms are set in group of 18th-century, renovated and restored
townhouses which surround a lushly planted courtyard.
Without losing its historic charm, the Place d'Armes is discreetly equipped with the
latest amenities and services including high speed internet access in all guest rooms and
wireless access in all public spaces.
The Royal Sonesta
Hotel is located in the French Quarter and is built in the traditional French Quarter
style; complete with gabled windows, French doors and wrought-iron lace balconies.
The
courtyard features an outdoor pool and deck, and there is a fitness room with a
Stairmaster, Universal equipment, treadmill and Lifecycle.
All 500 guest rooms (including 35 suites) offer a mini-bar, individual climate control,
colour TV, radio, and phone with voice mail, dataport and conference call features.
The Royal Sonesta also offers 35 luxurious suites, including a honeymoon Jacuzzi suite
and the distinctive Presidential and Royal suites. Lace wrought-iron balconies allow
guests to enjoy the charm of Bourbon Street.
The Royal St. Charles hotel features luxuriously- appointed rooms and suites, which
include Bath and Body Works amenities, voice mail, in-room safe, in-room fax and modem,
and mini-bars as well as many other amenities including an exercise room and airport
shuttle services.
Located blocks away
from the French Quarter and the Mississippi Riverwalk, the Windsor Court Hotel is across
the street from Harrah's Casino.
The hotel successfully combines traditional English
decor with modern amenities; providing soothingly appointed rooms with soft, subtle
colours and comfortable upholstered furnishings.
All accommodations are unusually spacious with either a private balcony or bay window
overlooking the Mississippi River or the city skyline. Some of the suites have two
bedrooms, and there are two spectacular penthouses on the 22nd floor; with their own
landscaped terraces.
Hotel amenities include the outdoor swimming pool, whirlpool, fitness center, saunas,
art collection, restaurant, cocktail lounge, and Le Salon's daily afternoon tea service.
Louisiane was the name given to the former French territory west
of the Mississippi River by the French explorer Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, in
honour of King Louis XIV.
About Louisiana:
Find out more about Louisiana before you travel there. Order tourist brochures and look at
where you'd like to stay.
Louisiana Travel:
Get the scoop on everything from casinos and nightlife, to plantations and museums, to
restaurants, music venues and marinas. There's a lot to do on vacation in Louisiana.
Close enough to New Orleans for some spicy sightseeing, Covington
is far enough to offer a more relaxing taste of the South's turn-of-the-century,
country-style charm.
City of Covington:
Recreational opportunities and numerous special events attract thousands of visitors
annually to Covington.
The Best Western
Northpark Inn offers complimentary continental breakfast to its guests, complimentary
24-hour coffee in the lobby, free parking and free high-speed Internet access.
Guest
rooms feature satellite/cable TVs, telephones, dataports, coffeemakers, hairdryers, irons,
ironing boards and the all important air-conditioning.
The red stick, in French, moved up from stick in the mud to state
capital when evangelical politicos made it the capital of Louisiana in 1849.
State Capitol
Every American capital has one, but the one in Baton Rouge is extreme.
Huey P. Long, Franklin D. Roosevelt's biggest political threat,
ordered the construction of a massive 34-storey State Capitol in 1931. It was completed in
14 months.
The big cat was gunned down in one of the back corridors of power, and
his body is buried here too.
