New Orleans, Louisiana

Mardi Gras isn't just a single day — Fat Tuesday, the last day before Lent — but a nearly entire month of festivities. It all starts on Twelfth Night, January 6, when the city becomes obsessed with eating, costuming, bead-tossing and parading, which all increase in intensity as Ash Wednesday nears. All weekends leading up to Fat Tuesday see parades roll all over town. Bands, marching groups, boats, and costumed riders toss beads and other accessories to the crowds. The celebration is also child-friendly: the Uptown parade route and suburban parades are entirely family oriented.

The annual Satchmo SummerFest aims to commemorate the legendary Louis Armstrong by putting on a splendid jazz festival that coincides with the great artist's birthday, August 4. Jazz performances take place across multiple stages at the Old US Mint.

The Halloween weekend extravaganza of VooDoo brings together live music, culinary offerings from the region, art installations and shopping in a fiery three-day escapade featuring over 65 performing bands, attracting hundreds of music lovers every year.

Christmas is a very special time in New Orleans, a time when carols and live jazz resound in the air, all to welcome Louisiana's Santa Claus known as Papa Noël, who travels by an alligator-pulled boat rather than a sleigh dashing through the snow. Take the opportunity to savor a four-course Réveillon Dinner and soak up the festive atmosphere underneath the lit up centuries-old oaks of the City Park.