AMERICAN travelers can experience the most romantic city in the world without ever leaving the United States.
The French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, boasts the influence of Paris in its music, food and architecture – and visitors don’t need to pay the price of European airfare to experience the City of Love.
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Known as the crown jewel of New Orleans, the historic French Quarter is the city’s oldest neighborhood.
Nola was developed in 1718 around the neighborhood’s central square, called Vieux Carré, or Old Square in English.
The area, especially famous for Mardi Gras celebrations, is reminiscent of France because the city was founded by French settlers so they could control trade on the Mississippi River.
While it may not be as chic as walking along the Seine or seeing the Eiffel Tower, travelers can still have a bohemian adventure wandering Bourbon Street.
Visitors can start the trip with coffee and pastries from the historic Café Du Monde, famous for its French-style beignets.
For dinner, you can try the iconic French-Creole cuisine at Antoine’s Restaurant, considered the oldest restaurant in the city since its opening in 1840.
You’ll likely hear French-influenced music from street performers or venues as you walk the roads of New Orleans, considered the birthplace of jazz.
The origins of jazz music began in the 18th century, when slaves from the New Orleans area gathered in the city’s Congo Square to socialize and dance.
In the early 1800s, thousands of refugees from the West Indies came to Nola. Many of them were originally from French-speaking Haiti.
Southern Louisiana genres began to transform with unique rhythms and clear French influence as Creole and Cajun musicians added fiddle, accordion, and triangle to their music.
Visitors to New Orleans can listen to live music in the French Quarter, visit the New Orleans Jazz Museum, or even take a stroll free walking tour down Frenchman Street to learn about the city’s jazz roots in Creole culture.
However, you don’t have to go to Frenchman to see performances, as Fritzel’s European Jazz Bar on Bourbon Street, founded in 1969, plays live jazz and blues every night of the week.
Bourbon Street has more Paris flavors with its restaurants and bars – including one of the oldest bars in America.
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street was built between 1722 and 1732 by French brothers Jean and Pierre Lafitte.
French Quarter Highlights
Some historic sites to visit in New Orleans’ French Quarter include
- Jackson Square
- St. Louis Cathedral
- Pirate Alley
- French Market
- Bourbon Street
- Lafitte blacksmith shop
- Toulouse Theater
- Café Du Monde
- Blues house
City legends say the pair used the house as a base for their smuggling operations.
The former bar isn’t the only impressive structure in the French Quarter, as the neighborhood, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark, has French influences in many of its buildings.
A stroll through the city’s historic alleys will show you buildings with steep roofs, cast-iron balconies and tall windows.
Visitors can also visit the outdoor art gallery in Jackson Square, which is across from Saint Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in North America.
The city also emulates Paris in its world-famous open-air shopping market, opened in 1791.
The French Market spans six historic blocks in the French Quarter, open daily at 10am, even on holidays.
The market includes a flea market with daily vendors open until 5pm and a farmers market with Parisian-style food and cafes until the market closes at 6pm.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
