City with a Smile

New Orleans’ friendly reputation knows no borders

Recently I endured 26 hours in transit to indulge in some long overdue time in my home country, Australia.

While American’s tend to be limited in their knowledge of Australia, conversely, Australians know a lot about American culture. Our media is saturated with American news and our pop culture mimics the pop culture here.

As such, when I explained my daughter’s accent by her being raised in the States, people seem disinterested, but when I told them that she is my southern belle from New Orleans, I was flooded with questions.

People outside of Louisiana, whether it is within the United States or abroad, are fascinated with this city. Whether it’s the food, music or haunted history – New Orleans is a city that intrigues many travelers, not only for its eclectic culture and history, but because there is something that seems to appeal to all budgets, ages and genders. 

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau recently released a list of recognitions that New Orleans has received in a number of national and international publications, for both business and leisure travel.

The number of recognitions that the city received from Travel + Leisure Magazine says it all about why the Big Easy is one of America’s top destinations.

Travel + Leisure released its list of “America’s Favorite Cities” with New Orleans scoring top spots in a number of categories. In the November issue of the magazine, New Orleans was number one in the categories of “Festivals,” “People-watching,” “Quirky,” “Bars,” “Notable Restaurants,” “Antique Stores,” “Cocktail Bars,” “Dive Bars,” “Sandwiches” and “Wild Weekend.” New Orleans also made the list for the categories of “Historical Sites,” “Live Music Scene,” “Architecture,” “Gay-Friendly Vacation,” “Girlfriend Getaway” and “Romantic Escape.” The rankings were determined by Travel + Leisure readers, who evaluated 38 cities in 67 categories. (NOCVB) 

Part of New Orleans’ charm is the friendly, easy-going nature of the locals – something that is definitely not lost on travelers.

Condé Nast Traveler asked readers to rate their favorite cities to name the “Top 25 Cities in the World” in their November issue. New Orleans was named number 17, one of only five U.S. cities to make the list. The number one city was Florence, followed closely by Charleston and Budapest. Condé Nast Traveler’s 77,000 readers ranked New Orleans as one of the “Friendliest Cities in the U.S.” in a separate survey in August 2014.

New Orleans was also named one of the “Friendliest Cities in America” in the September issue of Men’s Health Magazine. The city ranked number seven. Among other criteria, the list took into account the accessibility of public parks, which make citizens more likely to play sports, volunteer and help neighbors (NOCVB).

The NOCVB list covers everything from cuisine, to music, to meetings and conventions. Click here for a full listing of accolades and recognition visit.