New Orleans

"Let the good times roll" is the unofficial motto of New Orleans, one of the United States' oldest cities. New Orleans is a city with a legendary appetite for all the good things in life - music, food and celebration. The iconic French Quarter is the heart of the city, its Creole architecture still lived-in and home to a staggering array of bars and restaurants. This is the site of the annual Mardi Gras, but there's always something to celebrate in New Orleans. Birthplace of Jazz, music is an essential part of the day to day life its citizens. Bars host live music daily featuring everything from Blues, Rock and Jazz to genre-defying compilations. Along the way are eateries doling out local cuisine - fluffy beignets dusted with sugar, steaming bowls of gumbo and crocodile sausage - easily one of the nation's most distinctive and ethnically diverse. Top attractions include the National WWII Museum, Jackson Square, the Garden District and St. Louis Cathedral. Built on the banks of the Mississippi River, the surrounding swamps and bayous of New Orleans are the setting for safaris of a different kind, where close encounters with crocodiles are common amid the cyprus trees.