Welcome to the SIGIR Louisiana Hot Links page! This site was developed for purpose of providing all of you participating in the SIGIR Conference with resources so that you enjoy your stay in Lousiana.

Location

Located near the mouth of the Mississippi River, New Orleans is a big city with a lot going on. The city "that care forgot" is the home of "a streetcar named Desire", that you can actually take from the famous French Quarter uptown past the Garden District, the Audubon Zoo, Tulane and Loyola University, and more.

The conference hotel, the Hotel Radisson New Orleans, is located on Canal Street, just above the French Quarter, which is walking distance, although the hotel does offer shuttle service during the day and evening. New Orleans is home of great music, including Dixieland jazz, modern jazz, blues, rock and roll, Cajun, and much, much more. New Orleans is home of great food, both Cajun and Creole, with a plethora of fantastic restaurants. Moreover, there are a variety of clubs, including Pat O'Brien's (home of the famous Hurricane) that are a must. And, right next to Pat O'Brien's is the famous Preservation Hall, where $1 gains you admission to the greats of Dixieland jazz just doing their thing as great as they always do.

New Orleans can offer access to swamp tours and tours of the antebellum mansions, as well as cruises up and down the Mississippi River. The concierge at the conference hotel will be more than glad to help you make reservations, for dinner, for entertainment, for tours, and more.
Check out the conference web site, http://www.sigir2001.org, to find links to the best that New Orleans has to offer.

Weather

New Orleans in September can be warm, and as always, a bit humid. The normal high in September is 888F (318C), and the average low is 708F (218C), with an average of 5.5 inches of rain for the entire month. Bring clothing that is light, perhaps an umbrella, just in case. Incidentally, there are very few places (restaurants or clubs) that are so formal as to require a tie and jacket or skirt or dress.