Metairie is located in Jefferson Parish, below sea level. The city is New Orleans’s first suburb and it features the world’s longest bridge, the twin span, large annual Mardi Gras celebrations, and Lake Pontchartrain Causeway which connects Metairie to the towns Covington, Mandeville, and Madisonville.
The name Metairie comes from a French Language term for a tenant farm that paid the landlord with a share of the produce. This was the main activity of the area in the early 19th century.
Metairie was first settled by the French during the late 18th century along a naturally higher land known as Metairie Ridge. The wealthiest area of Metairie is known as “Old Metairie.” Here, upscale housing tracts were constructed off the road. “Veterans Boulevard” is Metairie’s commercial center. Also, Metairie is known to have a more family-friendly version of the New Orleans Mardi Gras.
