New Orleans, Louisiana has long been a favorite destination for many due to its Cajun and Creole food, iconic music, historic architecture, party scene and events like Mardi Gras and the Essence Fest, but the southern city just received the ultimate compliment by being named the #1 place to visit in 2018 by The New York Times.
The honor is even more significant as 2018 marks the city’s tricentennial. For its 300th anniversary, New Orleans will host countless events throughout the year to celebrate the city’s past and future including the Voice of Congo Square performance on April 20, a citywide block party/style family reunion on April 22, the New Orleans Jazz Fest and Tricentennial Fireworks Show May 6, the Nola4Women Global Summit on Women and Girls in June. The full list of events can be found here.
Colombia came in at #2 on the list followed by Basilicata, Italy, the Caribbean, Vierwaldstättersee, Switzerland, Chile’s Route of Parks, South Korea’s Gangwon Province, Cincinnati, Ohio, Bhutan and Glasgow, Scotland to round out the top 10.
Other notable destinations on the list of 52 places to visit this year include Zambia’s Liuwa Plain National Park (#14), the African island nation São Tomé and Príncipe (#22), Kigali, Rwanda (#31), Tangier, Morocco (#47), and Montgomery, Alabama (#49).
View all of the 52 destinations selected by The New York Times here.