Gretna, LA

Gretna is a Jefferson Parish city on the west bank of the Mississippi River, directly across from New Orleans. Its history reaches back to plantation land and a 19th-century settlement that grew with river trade, ferries, and nearby rail connections. Today Gretna serves as the parish seat and has an older, compact downtown around government buildings, churches, and local businesses. It is close to New Orleans in distance and culture, but it has its own west-bank rhythm and a more residential scale.