Carnival Season is in full swing and Fat Tuesday will soon be here. If you're planning to hit the parades, these are the top 3 in New Orleans.

The Nefertiti parade will roll along Lake Forest and Read boulevards in New Orleans East starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16. With Endymion, NOMTOC and Zulu, it is one of the few Orleans Parish float parades that roll through neighborhoods beyond the standard St. Charles Avenue parade route.

You don't have to visit the Big Easy to go big for Mardi Gras. From Alabama to Washington, D.C., check out these 14 places to join the fun outside of New Orleans.

Mardi Gras, which began as a religious holiday, has become a weeks-long celebration, one that gives millions the chance to let loose before Lent.