New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana.

The Central Business District of New Orleans is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi River, and was historically called the "American Quarter or American Sector." Most streets in this area fan out from a central point in the city. Major streets of the area include Canal Street, Poydras Street, Tulane Avenue and Loyola Avenue. Canal Street functions as the street which divides the traditional "downtown" area from the "uptown" area. Every street crossing Canal Street between the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, which is the northern edge of the French Quarter, has a different name for the "Uptown" and "Downtown" portions. For example St. Charles Ave., known for it's world-famous street car line, is called Royal Street below Canal Street. Elsewhere in the city, Canal Street serves as the dividing point between the "South" and "North" portions of various streets (e.g., South Broad becomes North Broad once you cross Canal Street into downtown). In the local parlance "downtown" means "downriver from Canal Street," while "uptown" means "upriver from Canal Street." Downtown neighborhoods include the The Vieux Carré or French Quarter , Treme, the 7th Ward, Faubourg-Marigny, Bywater (the Upper Ninth Ward), and the Lower Ninth Ward. Uptown neighborhoods include the Warehouse District, Garden District, the Irish Channel, the University District, Carrollton, Gert Town, Fontainebleau, and Broadmoor. In common language, however, the Warehouse and Central Business Districts, despite being above Canal Street, are frequently called "Downtown" as a specific region, as in the Downtown Development District.

Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East, and Algiers.

The state of Louisiana is divided into parishes, rather than counties like most other U.S. states. Parishes located adjacent to the city include St. Tammany Parish to the north, St. Bernard Parish to the south and east, Plaquemines Parish to the south and southeast, and Jefferson Parish to the south and west.

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