New Orleans is the largest city in Louisiana. It is famous for its rich history, stunning French architecture, and colourful culture: it is the home of the legendary Mardi Gras, the birthplace of jazz, and one of the ten most visited cities in the United States.

 

New Orleans was founded in 1718 as a French colony. It was handed to the Spanish Empire in 1763 in the Treaty of Paris. The city came back under French control from 1801 until the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

 

Nineteenth Century New Orleans was a rich, flourishing city. It benefited greatly both from its position as a major port and from the large sugar and cotton plantations on its outskirts. The city had a remarkably diverse population, and was home to Americans, French, Creoles, Irish, Germans and Africans. This map shows New Orleans in 1817.

 

The Battle of New Orleans in 1815 saw an army of New Orleanians defeat the British army. It is often considered to be the greatest land victory of the War of 1812.

 

By 1840, New Orleans was one of the wealthiest and most populous cities in the United States. Louis, Lestat and Claudia would have lived there during one of the richest and most exciting periods in the city's history.

 

By the twentieth century, however, New Orleans had started to lose some of its vigour and growth. The last sixty years have seen the city suffer badly at the hands of a series of natural disasters. Hurricane Betsy caused a great deal of damage in 1965, and there was severe flooding in 1995. In 2005, the city was struck by the devastating Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,500 people and destroyed parts of the city.

 

New Orleans is now fighting hard to recover from this disaster. Tourism remains a key industry, and the city is regaining its position as a popular destination for visitors.

 

The city has played host to more than just Anne Rice's vampires. Poppy Z Brite's vampires are regular visitors to New Orleans. The city's role in works such as these has seen it become a popular destination for fans of vampires and horror, with events such as the Endless Night Vampire Ball drawing thousands.

The map below shows some of the key places mentioned in Interview with the Vampire.

 

A shows the Rue Royale, the home of Louis, Lestat and Claudia during their time in New Orleans.

B shows the St Louis Cemetery, where Louis's brother is buried. This is also the cemetery Claudia refers to on page 119 when she describes the Feast of All Saints.

C  shows the famous Lafayette Cemetery.

D shows Jackson Square, just off Decatur Street, and F shows The Cabildo. Claudia and Louis pass these places on page 135 as she makes her decision to murder Lestat.

E Shows Conti Street, or the Rue Conti, where Louis encounters a potential victim but warns him to flee (page 138).

G shows the Rue Dumaine, the home of Lestat's musician friend.

To the North of the map is Lake Pontchartrain, mentioned on page 152 as Louis and Claudia dispose of Lestat's body.

Rice's rich knowledge of New Orleans brings this setting to life. Her vampires wander through streets she herself knows well, giving this part of the novel a particular credibility.

 

Paris is the capital of France, and sits on the banks of the River Seine. Occupying an area of approximately 34 square miles, it is home to around 11 million people, making it one of the most densely populated areas in Europe. It is also a very popular tourist destination and a leading cultural city, associated with the arts and fashion. It has retained this reputation for centuries, and today Parisians are known for their sense of style.

 

The city was the centre stage for the French Revolution, which is referred to fleetingly during Interview with the Vampire. It saw the overthrow of the French Monarchy, the rule of Napoleon, and the Storming of the Bastille.

 

Today, Paris is famous for the Eiffel Tower, built in 1889, and the city's beautiful wide streets and stunning neo-classical facades. These boulevards and avenues are the result of the extensive remodelling that took place in the mid-19th century, replacing the former narrow, winding streets.

 

The map below shows some of the key landmarks in Paris that appear within Interview with the Vampire.

 

 

A shows the Boulevard des Capucines, where Louis and Claudia live in the Hotel St Gabriel.

 

 

B shows Notre Dame Cathedral, which Louis mentions on page 223 as a place he visits whilst Claudia is out hunting.

 

 

C shows Montmartre, where Louis allows the drunk man to paint his portrait on page 278.

 

 

 

 

 

 

D shows the Louvre, a famous museum and art gallery, where Armand finds Louis following the burning of the Théatre des Vampires.

 

 

 

 

The interview takes place in a small room on Divisadero Street.

 

Indigo, cultivated for its rich blue dye, was grown on vast plantations and harvested by slaves. It was a source of great wealth for plantation owners, but is often thought to have caused serious health problems for the slaves who worked with it.

Further information on Indigo Plantations

The capital of the Dominican Republic, on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, Santa Domingo was Spain's first capital city in the New World. 

The Lafayette Cemetery was established in 1833 by the city of Lafayette, a neighbouring city that was later incorporated into New Orleans. Most graves within the cemetery are above-ground tombs or vaults contained within the cemetery walls. The cemetery remains open to the public and is an important part of the city's history.

Lafayette Cemetery Research Project

The Mediterranean is linked to the Black Sea by the Sea of Marmara in Turkey (or the Ottoman Empire, as it then was).

 

 

From the port of Varna (bottom right of map) in Bulgaria, they travel northwest to Transylvania, a mountainous region long associated with vampires.  Bran Castle (pictured) is thought to have been an occasional home to Vlad Tepes, the original Dracula.  At the time, Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so it is not surprising Louis finds German speakers.  Transylvania is now part of Romania.

A district of northern Paris, named after the hill it sits upon. It has long been famous as an artistic area, favoured by the likes of Monet and Picasso. It is also the home of the infamous clubs Le Chat Noir and Moulin Rouge. At the top of the hill sits the stunning white dome of the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, built between 1876 and 1912. The site remains popular with artists and is a key tourist destination.

 

 

Fontainebleau is a town 30 miles south of Paris.  Surrounded by thick forest, it was a country retreat for the kings of France.  Curiously, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) France secretly ceded Louisiana and New Orleans to Spain.  France took Louisiana back in 1800, only to sell it to the USA three years later.