Description:

Walk just outside of the French Quarter, to the corner of St. Louis and Basin Streets, and you’ll be at the oldest cemetery in New Orleans. Founded in 1789, the iconic St. Louis Cemetery is maze-of-a-space, filled with some of the city’s most illustrious and notorious former residents. Many are from prominent Creole families; others represent those of French, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian society. One of the most visited is the tomb of the storied local, Voodoo Queen Mary Laveau.

From wall vaults to magnificent and elaborate tombs, the cemetery is a grand display, rich in history and steeped in the unique cultures of New Orleans. To best appreciate it, sign up for one of the guided tours. They run 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sundays. Most tours last approximately 1½-hours. Reservations are recommended. You’ll find the entrance gates are at Bienville and Conti Street.

This is actually St. Louis Cemetery Number One —and the most famous—but there are actually two more St. Louis cemeteries. When yellow fever and other contagious diseases struck the city in the early 1800’s, the City Council insisted on a new cemetery away from the city’s prime center and established St. Louis Cemetery Number Two (on north Claiborne Avenue), followed by St. Louis Cemetery Number Three (near the end of Esplanade Avenue).