New Orleans has long seduced with its Caribbean colour, sultry Southern heat, sweet-tasting cocktails and voodoo potions. The unofficial state motto, laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll), pretty much says it all. Then in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck, toppling levees, flooding much of the city and drastically changing everything.

Called by some 'The City That Care Forgot,' New Orleans has a well-earned reputation for excess and debauchery. It's a cultural gumbo of African, Indian, Cajun and Creole influences. Katrina caused a mass exodus and roughly 40% of New Orleans' residents have reportedly returned, but only time will tell how the city will ultimately repopulate.