The Crescent City or "Big Easy" or whatever name you give it, refers to New Orleans. Several visitors from across the globe are drawn towards this mystic city and are captivated by its sightseeing and attractions.

New Orleans is a city in southern Louisiana located on the Mississippi river. Major portion of the city is situated on the east bank between the river and Lake Pontchartrain. As it is built on a great turn of the river, it is known as the Crescent City.

New Orleans was founded in the year 1718 by Jean Baptist Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville. It remained a French colony until 1763 post which it was transferred to the Spanish. In 1800 Spain ceded it back to France, in 1803, New Orleans along with the entire Louisiana Purchase was sold by Napoleon 1 to the United States.

This city now is one of the largest cities in Louisiana covering a land area of 518 sq km. New Orleans experiences mild winters and hot summers with an average temp of 13 deg in January and 28 deg in July. The economy of this city is typically dominated by petrochemical, aluminium, food processing industries and tourism industries.

Mardi Gras is one of the most popular annual tourist event celebrated in the city for almost a week before the start of Lent. The city of New Orleans is now noted for its wide variety of restaurants, Dixieland jazz and several other cultural and educational events.

One of the legacies of this city is the six month long world's fair held in the convention center. Although residents and businesses took over the task of rebuilding this city, the damage caused by hurricanes had left a devastating affect on the economy and demographics of this city. However by March 2006, more than half of New Orleanians returned back to this city thus bringing back its lost lustre.

The city of New Orleans is a very fascinating place that has a rich history of different cultures that ruled it at different times in the past. A mix of Indian, French, Spanish and other races have resulted in the city having a unique history and culture of its own that is colorful and exciting.

Awash in history this city has been the delight of thousands of tourists through out the year. New Orleans travel includes tours to historic places and areas like the famous plantation homes and museums that are home to myths and legends.

Many books on the history of New Orleans give you an educational and entertaining idea of what happened transpired in the past in this quintessentially US city."Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans" is a book by Joan B Garvey.

Critics say that this book is one of the most readable books on the history of this city. The Series "New Orleans in the 40, 50, 60s etc" by Ms Widmer also gives you an idea of New Orleans' exciting past.

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Books-About-New-Orleans/lm/12ZDJ1Q59OU7V

Lyle Saxon's "Gumbo Ya-Ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales" is undoubtedly a valuable source of reliable information regarding the old customs of New Orleans. Peter Hernon's A Terrible Thunder: The Story of The New Orleans Sniper also details the violent history of New Orleans.

The very first sight of the city of New Orleans is sure to leave any tourist to the city puzzled upon the fact that it is an American city. This is due to the fact that the city has varied cultures and histories, intermingled into one another. The houses as well as old buildings and hotels reflect a strong French influence. The culture is a mix of the modern values as well as virtues of Jews as well as native Indians. You are bound to come across these in your New Orleans travel.

http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/history/people.html

The following are the various prominent events in the history of the city of New Orleans, which had an everlasting effect on its overall culture.

1. The French Influence

The city of New Orleans was founded for the first time by the French Mississippi company, and this is the reason that most of the old buildings in the city have a strong French influence upon them.

2. The Spanish Touch

After the Treaty of Paris which commenced in 1763, the colony of New Orleans became a Spanish property. This in turn left a great impact upon the people, ways of living as well as the culture of New Orleans.

3. The United States Purchase

The United States was successful in including New Orleans into its territories; from Napoleon in 1803.Tis was the onset of the Americanization of the culture of New Orleans. This has led to the prominent acceptance of the English language, as well as the overall American touch to the culture.

The historical happenings in the city of New Orleans are elucidated in the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans