How does New Orleans look now?

I am from California and deciding whether to go to New England or the South for our 1st Anniversary in Sept. How much has New Orleans restored since Katrina?

Glenn

How does New Orleans look now?

Glenn, the ';tourist'; areas of the city generally DID NOT FLOOD and look better than they did pre-Katrina. Nearly every attraction is open. And there are even MORE restaurants open in the city than pre-K according to Tom Fitzmorris, our local food critic. Bourbon Street is still Bourbon Street and visitors are having a great time--just read through the tripadvisor forum trip reports!

Some of the outlying residential neighborhoods are still devastated (and I question if they will ever come back as ';dense'; as they were) while many others are in rebuilding mode. Most visitors wouldn%26#39;t see these neighborhoods as they aren%26#39;t near the Quarter.

How does New Orleans look now?

I can verify that in the CBD and FQ there are practically no signs of Katrina. All the businesses seemed to up and running in FQ and a very few were closed in the CBD (at least the part that is close to the Mississippi and FQ).

There%26#39;s no reason to avoid NOLA since all the restoration that needs to be done is outside the touristy areas. Hard to imagine that the things would have been any better in the main tourist areas pre-Katrina.

Resident people seemed to be genuinly happy to have visitors in the city. I don%26#39;t know is this the std southern hospitality or something post-Katrina. Anyway, we enjoyed the city.

I%26#39;ll join in with the recommendation to go to New Orleans, though as a New Englander it%26#39;s a bit tough to send you south instead of having you head my way. It%26#39;s a wonderful city and you%26#39;ll find something enoyable to do no matter what your interests are.

Carey

CajunWave,

Do you ever get tired of having to tell people New Orleans isn%26#39;t a total disaster area anymore?

A little bit, to be honest. It%26#39;s amazing what people around the country (and probably the globe) think about New Orleans, really. I believe many of them think that the city is under water and that they will literally be held up at gunpoint on every street corner. Sigh... The good news is that forums like this help them learn the reality of what%26#39;s happening and how it affects them as visitors to the city.

Just a little followup...Yes tourism is needed and the tourist sites are up and operating. The French Quarter and CBD are fine. The residential areas are still in %26#39;disaster%26#39; mode in many areas. We need the tourists to come and to go back and tell others to come.

But we also need volunteers for the various social agencies, churches, and groups like Habitat to help clean and rebuild. I%26#39;m afraid as time passes this is forgotten as the volunteer force has lessened and is so needed and will be for an unknown period of time.

CajunWave you%26#39;ll like this. My daughter 5%26#39;3 and I%26#39;m 5%26#39;4 kinda little people. Two women headed to NOLA alone and on the plane we sit next to this 40ish man who is twice the size of us and he asks. Do you think its safe? We giggled and said as safe as NYC where my daughter works. He moved his seat. Your city is beautiful, immaculate, charming and safe we loved every minute we spent there and hope to return someday. Thank you to the kindest and warmest people in the world.

Thanks for the nice words, NJ. I happened to sit next to a woman last week on a flight from Atlanta to New Orleans who was literally frightened to be %26#39;forced%26#39; to take a business trip to New Orleans. She was staying at the Intercontinental downtown and had been ';warned'; about the area, etc.

Got an e-mail from her this morning as we exchanged business cards on the plane. She had a GREAT visit and can%26#39;t wait to bring her husband. She said she walked everywhere, ate very well and found it to be a ';magical'; place.

She also mentioned that she%26#39;s literally angry with the media for their constant focus on negative reporting. I told her she was preaching to the choir in that regard!