Metairie

Understand

At the start of the 20th century, most of what is now Metaire was a mixture of farmland and swamp. In the 1910s and 1920s, suburban development from neighboring New Orleans spread along Metaire Ridge, natural high ground along winding Metaire Road. Most development, however, occurred in the boom following World War II. While lacking the history and architecture of New Orleans, Metairie is an economic center in Greater New Orleans.

Get in

• Louis Armstrong International Airport, the main airport of the Greater New Orleans area, is in suburban Kenner, which borders Metaire just to the west.
• I-10 Interstate Highway 10 is the main auto route in the area.

Get around

By car; while there are some bus routes public transit is poor in Metairie.

Wide Veterans Highway is the main commercial avenue, running east to west. Narrow winding Metaire Road runs through the older part of town, flanked by more upscale small businesses. Causeway Boulevard runs south to north, connecting with the causeway across Lake Pontchartrain leading to the North Shore.

Go next

• The attractions of central New Orleans are about a half hour drive east (though it can take longer during rush hour).
• Baton Rouge is about a 75-minute drive west on Interstate 10.
• Covington and the Lake Pontchartrain North Shore are within an hour's drive north over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.