Orleans (/ɔːrˈliːnz/ or-LEENZ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, situated along Cape Cod.

Orleans was settled in 1693 by Pilgrims from the Plymouth Colony who were dissatisfied with the poor soil and small tracts of land granted to them.

As the fishing industry grew, salt works sprang up to help preserve the catches.

The town's tourism industry was helped in 1961 with the creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F.

Rock Harbor, bounded by and shared with the town of Eastham, is located in the "crease" of the inner elbow and provides boating access to Cape Cod Bay.

Other than two small non-outleted lanes, only Route 6 and Bridge Road pass northward into Eastham.

The plant hardiness zone is 7a, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 4.0 °F (−15.6 °C).

The average snowiest month is February, which corresponds to the annual peak in nor'easter activity.

[21] On the national level, Orleans is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by William R. Keating.

Orleans, along with Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet, belongs to the Nauset Regional School District.

The town is home to Nauset Regional Middle School, which serves students from sixth through eighth grade for the district.

The team plays at Eldredge Park, and has featured dozens of players who went on to careers in Major League Baseball such as Frank Thomas, Nomar Garciaparra, and Marcus Stroman.

Nauset Beach was the only United States site hit by foreign munitions during World War I; the shells were apparently aimed at barges close off shore.

This was the first time that a foreign nation had fired artillery on United States soil since the Siege of Fort Texas in 1848.