A resonant, romantic and
extraordinary physical
presence, the
Mississippi
River is New
Orleans' lifeblood and
its raison d'être. In
the nineteenth century,
as the port boomed, the
city gradually cut
itself off from the
river altogether,
hemming it in behind a
string of warehouses and
railroads, but as the
importance of the port
has diminished, a couple
of downtown parks,
plazas and riverside
walks, accessible from
the French Quarter and
the CBD, have focused
attention back onto the
water-front.
Crossing Decatur
Street from Jackson
Square brings you to the
Moon Walk , a
wooden promenade where
buskers serenade you as
you gaze across the
water. Upriver from
here, long thin Woldenberg
Park is strung with
benches - perfect for
passing an hour or two
with a picnic, watching
the river traffic drift
by. At the upriver edge
of the park, the superb Aquarium
of the Americas ,
near the Canal Street
wharf (daily from
9.30am, closing hours
vary; $13, children
$6.50; IMAX $7.75/$5;
aquarium and IMAX
$17.25/$10.50; aquarium
and zoo, $17.50/$9.25),
features a huge glass
tunnel where visitors -
rampaging infants,
mostly - come
face-to-face with
rippling rays and ugly
sawfish. There's also a
swamp complete with
white gators, along with
an Amazonian rainforest,
petting tank and IMAX
theater.
