New Orleans Cemeteries in New Orleans, LA

Only in New Orleans, which is unique in so many ways, could cemeteries be major tourist attractions. However, because the city is built on a swamp, the deceased have to be buried above ground here in elaborate stone crypts and mausoleums. Over time the cemeteries, with elaborate sculptures and other decorative artwork embellishing the tombs, have come to come to resemble small villages. They are known by the nickname of “Cities of the Dead.”

 

The most famous cemetery, St. Louis Cemetery #1, is walking distance from the French Quarter and the Downtown area. Located on historic Basin Street, it is the burial place of Marie Laveau, the legendary “voodoo queen.” Believers and non-believers alike make pilgrimages to her tomb to make offerings to her spirit in return for what they hope will be blessings. The many “X’s” scrawled on the tomb attest to the power she is believed to wield, even long after her death. Many other New Orleanians who achieved world fame are buried there as well, including 19th century chess champion Paul Morphy, Homer Plessy of the landmark Supreme Court segregation decision Plessy vs. Ferguson, and members of Impressionist artist Edgar Degas’ New Orleans-based family.

New Orleans Cemeteries

• Cypress Grove Cemetery
• Gates of Prayer Cemetery No. 1
• Gates of Prayer Cemetery No. 2
• Greenwood Cemetery
• Hebrew Rest Cemetery
• Holt Cemetery
• Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
• Masonic Cemetery
• St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
• St. Louis Cemetery No. 2
• St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
• St. Patrick's Cemetery No. 1
• St. Patrick's Cemetery No. 2
• St. Patrick's Cemetery No. 3
• St. Roch Cemetery