Woldenberg Riverfront Park

The riverfront in New Orleans has been working ground since before the French arrived. Native Americans created a portage between Bayou St. John and the Mississippi that became an important trade route. Bulbancha — the Choctaw name meaning "place of many tongues" — was a trading hub for thousands of years. Bienville founded La Nouvelle-Orléans in 1718. The Mississippi delivered silt that made the delta. The city sent cotton and farm products back out to Western Europe and New England. By the start of the Civil War, New Orleans was the largest port in the South. The park opened in October 1989 on land that had been occupied by old wharves and warehouses. Sixteen acres, connecting the Aquarium of the Americas to the Moon Walk across from Jackson Square, all of it riverfront walk that didn't exist a generation ago. It's named for Malcolm Woldenberg, the philanthropist whose foundation helped fund the transformation from wharf to park. You go to see what the Mississippi actually is — ocean-going freighters, towboats pushing 40-barge tows, the Natchez steamboat. The Moon Walk promenade puts you on the levee. The park holds the New Orleans Holocaust Memorial, a sculpture by Yaacov Agam that presents different images from various angles — a Star of David, a menorah — depending on where you stand. Franco Alessandrini's Monument to the Immigrant was installed in 1995. There's a stainless steel piece called "Ocean Song." Best at sunset. Free. Open daily.