The laid-back city of New Orleans has been called "The Big Easy" and "The City that Care Forgot." They say that, at any given time, everybody in New Orleans is either attending a party, planning a party, or recovering from a party. Known for its wild, free-wheeling festivities that habitually spill out into the streets, this is the city that gave birth to jazz and jambalaya, and made Mardi Gras a household word. The city of New Orleans is an eclectic mix of cultures - European, African, and Caribbean - that have fused together to create something altogether unique.

Founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the settlement was named Nouvelle-Orléans in honor of the Regent of France, Phillip II, Duc d'Orleans. From the beginning, the settlement was intended to be an important colonial city that would command the trade route through the Mississippi Valley. Nouvelle-Orléans was established on a rare stretch of high ground at a bend along the lower Mississippi. Surrounded by river, lake, and swamp, it was an oasis of civilization in an otherwise hostile territory. In 1722, Nouvelle-Orléans replaced Biloxi as the capital of French Louisiana. In 1763, in the aftermath of the French and Indian War, the colony was ceded to Spain as a part of the Treaty of Fontainebleau to keep it out of British hands. Napoleon regained the territory for France in 1801, and sold it to the U.S. in 1803 as a part of the Louisiana Purchase. Now known as New Orleans, the city grew rapidly with an influx of immigrants and new settlers. In addition to the Creoles (who were descended from the original colonists), and the Cajuns (who were descended from the Arcadians, who had fled there from Nova Scotia in 1755), the population was infused by French nationalists immigrating from Cuba or fleeing the revolution in Haiti.