New Orleans Cemeteries

Not as ghoulish as they sound
Word to the wise: The cemeteries are generally quite remote and contain plenty of alleys and blind corners - for safety and peace of mind, visit in a group.

Talk of the town: The white pyramid in St. Louis Cemetery No.1 has reportedly been built for actor Nicolas Cage's eternal rest.
New Orleans' early residents discovered that those buried 'six feet under' would often unexpectedly reappear - floating on the high water table during rains or floods. Since then, New Orleaneans have been buried above ground in somewhat eerie but fascinating 'cities of the dead', among whose crumbling tombs and air of decay lie some very impressive sepulchres.

The oldest and most accessible is St. Louis Cemetery No.1 on Basin Street just north of the Quarter. Here lie slave torturer Delphine LaLaurie and voodoo queen Marie Laveau - her grave is marked by votive offerings.

Reached by the Canal Street streetcar, Greenwood and Cypress cemeteries in Mid City contain impressive tombs and monuments to the Confederate Civil War dead.

Nearby, the gothic chapel at St. Roch's Cemetery No.1 (1725 St. Roch Avenue) is famous for its shrine in which people leave votive tokens of illnesses or afflictions - plaster feet, crutches, spectacles - to ask for help or give thanks.