NEW ORLEANS NOW New Orleans’ tourism industry is thriving. Airlines are adding new flights to Louis Armstrong International Airport; the city has one of the freshest hotel products in the country; the French Quarter is cleaner than it has been in decades and we continue to receive extremely positive testimonials from visitors. Major corporations such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Southwest Airlines and others are investing in New Orleans’ hospitality industry; new restaurants are opening; and festivals are enjoying record-breaking attendance.    Christmas New Orleans Style, a celebration of uniquely New Orleans holiday activites, runs through December and culminates in New Year’s Eve festivities. Kicking off the New Year, the University of Georgia Bulldogs will take on the University of Hawaii Warriors in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, January 1, 2008. The following week, the Louisiana State University Tigers and the Ohio State University Buckeyes will meet for the Allstate BCS National Championship, January 7, 2008. The Allstate Sugar Bowl is expected to have an economic impact of $150 million and the Allstate BCS National Championship is expected to have an economic impact of $250 million.    Mardi Gras festivities will begin January 25, 2007 and conclude on Fat Tuesday, February 5, 2008. In 2007, Mardi Gras saw crowds reaching 800,000 people. On February 17, 2008, New Orleans will host the 57th NBA All Star Game, with a projected economic impact of $80-90 million. The time to visit is now!		The time is now to visit "The Big Easy."
THE VOTES ARE IN! NEW ORLEANS VOTED AMERICA’S FAVORITE CITY In the Maison DuBois Summer Newsletter we featured information on how you could vote New Orleans as your favorite city in the CNN and Travel + Leisure Magazine’s “America’s Favorite Cities” Survey. The results are in and New Orleans places in the top three of the country’s best in many categories, including best live music, friendliest people and great food/dining. New Orleans was voted best in the following categories: • After Dark • Antiques • Cheap Eats • Cocktail Hour • Flea Markets • Fun • Girlfriend Getaway • Live Music • Wild Weekend New Orleans was voted second-best in the following categories: • Big-Name Restaurants • Business Trip   (That’s Secretly Fun) • Food/dining • Friendly • Gay-friendliness • People Watching • Vintage (Clothing and Jewelry) New Orleans was voted third-best in the following categories: • Affordability • Coffee • Diverse • Ethnic Food • Singles Scene!		What's not to like?
NEW ORLEANS RIDES AGAIN City Park's 101-year-old carousel opened to the public on November 23 after being shut down for more than two years. Nearly a half a million dollars was spent to restore the carousel and its building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After Hurricane Katrina hit and levees broke, the carousel steeped in 10 inches of water for about three weeks. The platform and deck buckled and had to be replaced, and the horses were sent to Connecticut to be restored. The carousel at City Park has now been fully restored and is equipped with 54 animals: a 400-pound lion, a giraffe, a camel and 51 horses. Come take a ride!    Visit our Attractions area of our site for more information.		Take a ride Nawlin's style!
BRAD PITT IS MAKING NEW ORLEANS RIGHT “Make It Right” project is an effort to build affordable, environmentally friendly, storm-safe houses for residents of the Lower 9th Ward on the same lots where their old homes once stood. In announcing the project in September at a meeting of world leaders on global warming, Pitt and philanthropist Steve Bing pledged $5 million each to jump-start the project.    A vast public art display of hundreds of enormous pink blocks, 8-foot-high boxes and huge triangular wedges, representing the uprooted foundations and dislocated roofs that littered the area beside the Industrial Canal for months after Hurricane Katrina are now on display in the Lower 9th Ward.    Donors are invited to make smaller gifts -- from $5 to $45,500 -- to sponsor the individual elements of the houses' eco-friendly designs.    More information is on our web site.		The Make It Right art display in the Lower 9th Ward. Photo by Matt Hinton/ The Times-Picayne
ENTER TO WIN A FREE NIGHT STAY AT MAISON DUBOIS Win a free night stay in New Orleans. Come see us and celebrate! Your visit will not only ensure you the unique cultural travel experience but you will also be a part of the REBIRTH of New Orleans. So here is hoping that we will see you soon and be able to say Bienvenue New Orleans.    Click here to enter.		Click here to enter.