New Orleans ( ; French: La Nouvelle-Orléans ) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. It is the center of the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area.

New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River. It is coextensive with Orleans Parish, meaning that the boundaries of the city and the parish are the same. It is bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany (north), St. Bernard (east), Plaquemines (south), and Jefferson (south and west). Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, and Lake Borgne lies to the east.

The city is named after Philippe II, Duc d'Orléans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is well known for its multicultural and multilingual heritage,Cultures well represented in New Orleans' history include African American, Creole, Cajun, French, German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Latino, Spanish, and Vietnamese. cuisine, architecture, music (particularly as the birthplace of jazz), and its annual Mardi Gras and other celebrations and festivals. The city is often referred to as the "most unique" city in America.Institute of New Orleans History and Culture at Gwynedd-Mercy CollegeBehind the Scenes: Hurricane on the BayouNew Orleans: A Choice Between Destruction and Reparations, by David Billings, The Fellowship of Reconciliation, November/December 2005Bring New Orleans BackSpike Lee offers his take on Hurricane Katrina, by Damian Dovarganes, Associated Press, July 14 2006

History

main: History of New Orleans

Beginnings through the 19th century

La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans) was founded May 7, 1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of France at the time; his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris (1763) and remained under Spanish control until 1801, when it reverted to French control. Most of the surviving architecture of the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) dates from this Spanish period. Napoleon sold the territory to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, and Creole French. Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city.