New Orleans becomes sister city with namesake

New Orleans, LA - New Orleans and the city of Orleans in France have become sister cities.

It was made official on Friday as part of the New Orleans tri-centennial celebrations, just a day before the birthday of the heroine of Orleans, Joan of Arc.

The decision to join the cities was announced in November.

New Orleans already has several sister cities, including:

• Caracas, Venezuela
• Durban, South Africa
• Innsbruck, Austria
• Juan-Les-Pins, France
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
• Matsue, Japan
• Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico
• Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo
• San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
• Tegucigalpa, Honduras
• Isola del Liri, Italy

New Orleans celebrates its tri-centennial this year with events around the city throughout the year, but the official 300th birthday is May 7, 2018.