Gentilly, Ninth Ward and New Orleans East

Diverse neighborhoods welcome visitors

New Orleans East is the New Orleans few know, but many should. Between the shotgun houses of the Seventh Ward and the wild and watery bayous fronting Lake Borgne are a series of communities – Gentilly, New Orleans East, Holy Cross, Versailles, Chalmette – as diverse as the city they call theirs. Discover the Lower Ninth Ward, where new architecture and a new hope rise from Katrina. Watch for alligators while walking the boardwalks of Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge and learn the relationship between the city and the watery world it’s built upon. Tour one of the last remaining Art Deco air terminals in the country lovingly restored at Lakefront Airport. Sample Vietnamese restaurants and food markets or visit the House of Dance and Feathers, a Seventh Ward Museum celebrating the Mardi Gras Indians and social aid and pleasure clubs, both centuries-old African-American traditions. Both history and home, New Orleans East is a place to explore.