There aren't many places in the USA that wear their history as openly on their sleeves as New Orleans. This city's very facade is an architectural study par excellence, but New Orleans is as much about history as it is about hedonism. As their motto goes, 'Let the good times roll'.

Called by some 'The City That Care Forgot,' New Orleans has a well-earned reputation for excess and debauchery. It's a cultural gumbo of African, Indian, Cajun and Creole influences. Katrina caused a mass exodus and the population stands at only two-thirds of pre-Katrina levels. Only time will tell how the city will ultimately repopulate.