Explore New Orleans Culture as a Guest of Bed and Breakfasts

New Orleans Culture
Home > Find a B&B > New Orleans Culture

What is the culture of New Orleans? Is it Spanish or French? Creole or Cajun? It is certainly unlike any other city in the United States. To understand why, it is necessary to learn something about the history of the city.

The French settled New Orleans in 1718, but the Spanish ruled from 1765 to 1802. The French and Spanish from Europe were joined in the mid 1700s by many Acadians, or Cajuns. Thrown out of Acadia (present day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) by the British, they eventually ended up in what is today Louisiana, where their culture flourished.

Unique at the time, the Europeans of New Orleans did not try to suppress the American Indians who lived in the region. Instead, the French allowed them to keep their freedom and culture. Also interesting is the fact that the Spanish, in an effort to gain support over the French, allowed many slaves to buy their freedom. Many of those slaves were West Africans who had come directly to New Orleans from West Africa; their descendants are known as Creoles.

Cajun and Creole, Spanish and French, Native American and Catholic - this was New Orleans. The city was geographically and culturally far removed from the Anglo-Saxon settlements in New England and Virginia, and remained so until after the Louisiana Purchase, in 1803. Even after the Louisiana Purchase, French was spoken - not English. Protestantism  did not rule the souls of the citizens - Catholicism did. From the beginning, there was a spirit of inclusion and freedom that horrified some travelers from the north while fascinating others.

Today, the rich and varied culture of New Orleans is evidenced in its food, music, and architecture. It is easy to fall in love with this complex city - it's the type of place that can take a lifetime to truly understand. Start with a few days or a week at a New Orleans bed and breakfast… you'll be back for more.

	B&W Courtyards Phone: 504-324-3396 Toll Free: 800-585-5731 We are the third owners of our 1854 Creole compound.
	La Dauphine, Residence des Artistes Phone: 504-948-2217 Ray is a local of French and Spanish (Creole) heritage. He has a whole page printed on "What is Cajun and What is Creole?" for guests who are interested. (Cajun is not Indian, and Creole is not necessarily black.) Ray speaks French and is connected to the local French community, and a member of the French-American Chamber of Commerce. We know the food and music of our culture intimately :-)
	Elysian Fields Inn Phone: 504-948-9420 Toll Free: 866 948 9420
	The Burgundy Bed and Breakfast Phone: 1-504-942-1463 Toll Free: 1-800-970-2153 Your innkeeper at The Burgundy is a native Louisianan and grew up in Cajun country west of New Orleans. He is knowledgeable and willing to help you plan excursions from New Orleans (swamp tours, plantation tours) or further afield (for example, the Cajun heartland).
	Chez Nous Guest House Phone: 504-432-7072 New Orleans... a place with civic pride whose residents so ferociously love, breath and embrace their city, eating and drinking its spirit with gusto at every opportunity, and letting it drip from their grinning chops.
	Terrell House Phone: 504-247-0560 Toll Free: 866-261-9687 The people and culture of New Orleans have made New Orleans, Louisiana unique among and distinct from other cities in the United States, including other Southern U.S. cities. New Orleans in modern times has been described as being not a Southern city but a Caribbean city. In a locale once used by Choctaw, Houmas, and other Indians,prominent cultural influences date to the French and Spanish colonial periods and the introduction of African slaves in the 18th century.
	Southern Comfort Phone: 504-895-3680 Toll Free: 888-769-3868 New Orleans is like no other city in the United States. A wonderful blend of many diverse cultures and ethnicities make New orleans unique, interesting and alive with tradition. This is a city with a soul. Your innkeeper is a native New Orleanian and is eagar to share her love of the city.
	1870 Banana Courtyard Bed & Breakfast Phone: 504-947-4475 Toll Free: 800-842-4748
	Creole Inn Phone: 504-941-0243
	HH Whitney House on the Historic Esplanade Phone: 504-948-9448 Toll Free: 800-924-9448 The HH Whitney House sits on the Esplanade Ridge which divides the 6th Ward's Faubourg Treme from the Historic 7th ward - two of New Orleans' most culturally rich neighborhoods - home to countless musicians, artists, Mardi Gras Indians and other performers throughout the years. Experience for yourself what it is like to live in a real New Orleans neighborhood. Stay at the HH Whitney House.
	Degas House Phone: 504-821-5009 Toll Free: 800-755-6730
	Oakview Bed & Breakfast Phone: 504-4957405 The Crescent City Classic (yearly) 5 mile race and walk begins in the french quarter and ends right here in the park. All of the festivities are a short 3 minute walk from the house and the trolly back to the city is an even shorter walk from the house.
	1896 OMalley House Phone: 504-488-5896 Toll Free: 866-226-1896 What can I say but we are located in New Orleans! You can't get better than that.
	B&W Courtyards Phone: 504-324-3396 Toll Free: 800-585-5731
	Chez Palmiers Phone: 504-208-7044 Toll Free: 877-233-9449 Music and food. These are two of the main cultural icons of New Orleans. The Faubourg Marigny, our neighborhood is teaming with both. The epicenter of the Marigny is Frenchmen street. Along Frenchmen you'll find unique restaurants, bars, and music clubs. This is not Bourbon Street cover band music, this is mostly local musicians. Any night of the week you can stroll down Frenchman and either pop in to one of the clubs or stand on the sidewalk and listen for a spell. Frenchmen street is four short blocks away.