Save Our Cemeteries

Just fascinating! Our guide related what she told us about the cemetery to the broader context of New Orleans history. Lots of lore. Explanation of tombs and cemeteries as critical urban infrastructure during the near constant epidemics they had here until the early 1900s was also interesting. Don’t miss!

We were visiting New Orleans for a conference and had one day to pack in as much exploring of this beautiful city as we could. We decided to sign up for this cemetery tour, and we are so glad that we did. Our tour guide was Wanda, and she was a pip! She knew lots of information and kept the tour moving, throwing in personal tidbits here and there which really kept the tour moving. The cemetery is beautiful and full of very interesting history, but without Wanda, I don’t think it would have been nearly as enjoyable. I loved the explanations of voodoo and the pointing out of the tombs who were unmarked, and the stories of who may be in them and what they were known for. Great time had by all — Thanks Wanda!

Great value! Other tours were much more expensive. We reserved tickets ahead of time and it was super quick and easy. Our tour guide, Wanda, was amazing! She was very knowledgeable and made the tour so much fun.

Worthwhile stop for any age group. Unique to New Orleans. Save Our Cemeteries not only does the tour but uses funds to maintain the site. Close to French Quarter and short walk to Louis Armstrong Park & Backstreet Cultural Center.

Great! Just finished a tour with Nancy and it was very well done. Good info and not too long for this very impatient guy from New Jersey.

My daughter and took a tour of St. Louis Cemetary No. 1 and truly enjoyed every minute. Our tour guide was Lisa Smyth, she was very knowledgable and great at answering all our many questions. I wanna go again and would definitely ask for Lisa’s tour. Worth every cent and love the fact the $ is used to restore the tombs to their former glory.

If you are visiting NOLA or live in the area and are looking for something to do, this is it! We met at a martini bar in the Quarter and walked a few blocks to the cemetery. The sky was gray and crows were flying over as we entered into the oldest cemetery in America. St. Louis Cemetery No.1 is magnificent and full of colorful history. This to me is one of the best ways to learn about the city. Our tour guide Nafe was extremely knowledgeable about the cemeteries and Nola. He even had a binder full of pictures to back up his stories. The stories behind these tombs are just enchanting. After we toured the cemetery we walked back to the martini bar for horderves and a complementary cocktail. We stayed for a while talking with the tour guides picking there brains for more information. It was a perfect ending to such a great experience. I’m a local and would suggest this tour to other locals and visitors as well. This is well worth every cent and every cent spent goes to saving these beautiful cemeteries which makes it that much more enjoyable. I

This was an amazing tour! Michael was very well paced and explained everything in a completely engaging manner. I’m so glad that we took this tour and will be talking about it all of the time. We learned so much about cemeteries, the symbols used, and some Louisiana history. I kept wanting to tell the people walking without a tour to come back the next day to get on this tour.

It never occurred to me to take a tour of a cemetery until I recently heard a story on NPR about a cemetery in New Orleans that had closed its doors to the general public. I never even knew such tours existed. My interest was definitely stoked and it was perfect timing as I was heading to New Orleans in a few weeks.
After looking Unilocal,I decided to give Save Our Cemeteries a try because I wanted a serious and educational experience. I ended up touring one of the most famous cemeteries in the world, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, which was the focus of the NPR article. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was worried about being bored, but time went by really fast because our guide was knowledgeable and interesting.
During the tour, I learned the reason behind the raised graves and how the bones in the tombs are shifted around to make room for newcomers. I saw the burial places of many political and historical figures, even soldiers of the Revolutionary War. Of course, you can’t miss Nicholas Cage’s pyramid shaped tomb.
When the allotted time for the tour was up, our guide led us out of the cemetery per the new guidelines. But she offered to take those of us who wanted to go back in for a second look around if we had questions or wanted more pictures.
Definitely bring water, a hat and sunglasses on a hot and sunny day because there is not much shade and the reflection off the tombs can be blinding. Wear good walking shoes as the ground can be uneven in places. The cemetery can also get very crowded.
And finally, I leave you with advice of the utmost importance! There is a very nice restroom located in the Basin Street Station where you meet up with the tour group.

I took the Lafayette Cemetery Tour. The history of the cemetery was so interesting. My guide, Val, was so knowledgable, as well as personable. The tour lasted an hour and a half but it seemed much shorter because Val kept us so entertained and interested. I had visited the cemetery before but with Val’s help I saw so many details that I was unaware of previously. The tour was informative and entertaining. I highly recommend this tour and commend this group for the work they are doing to preserve the history of this jewel. I hope you are lucky enough to have Val as your guide. He will not disappoint!

Six words: nonprofit cemetery tour, so much information!
Not going to lie — I chose this tour group because their tickets seemed affordable and they offered tours at a time that was convenient for me. I had no idea about the damage done to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and I had no idea that St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 was inaccessible unless you had a family plot or were part of a tour group. I just really wanted to go on a tour and Save Our Cemeteries offered one.
But once I got on the tour, I knew we had made the right decision. My friends and I took a Monday afternoon tour with Lisa and greatly enjoyed it. Her relaxed manner made the whole tour seem like a stroll through the park. She had a wealth of information to share about the history of tombs and graves in New Orleans, in addition to the conservation efforts.
Going on a Save our Cemeteries tour not only helps preserve the cemeteries of New Orleans, which are unlike any I’ve ever seen but also ensures you’re getting an authentic view of the cemeteries. This isn’t some hokey, haunted tour. This is a historical tour through a historic cemetery in a part of New Orleans with an incredibly vibrant history. I won’t spoil anything but I definitely think this tour company is worth it. $ 20 + fees is definitely worth it.

I searched the tour options on Unilocal & chose this one since the organization is a non profit & uses tour proceeds for the upkeep on the cemeteries. We did the Lafayette tour — which I now know is the white Protestant side of New Orleans. I will sign up St Louis #1 next time which is an older more historic site. If you want a shorter tour, Lafayette was nice & we were able to enjoy the Garden District. We did our tour at 10:30am the end of October — it was pretty warm right before noon with only small spots of shade so if the heat & sun will bother you, bring water. The tour guide was very informative.

I chose this tour group because they give money back to the upkeep of the cemeteries and even try to restore tombs when possible. Many of the cemetery tours are just out to make a buck but this group is a non-​profit with the main goal of keeping the cemetery in good shape.
Tour groups meet inside of the very large Basin Street station. There is a self-​guided small train museum and a short five minute film about New Orleans, as well as a sparkling clean bathroom and gift shop.
Monique was our tour guide. She looked a little offbeat with her raspberry pink striped hair but Monique’s personality will quickly quell any doubts you may initially feel. She is passionate about telling a good story and keeping you informed plus entertained. I feel lucky that I was in her group. We learned about oven tombs, family plots, the benevolent societies, a little about Napoleon’s soldiers being buried in some plots, and the story of the Musson family and their great scandal. Monique made the stories of the people come to life. She also gave us some realistic information about Marie Laveau really being a devout Catholic, who just happened to also know some voodoo. Marie Laveau’s daughter of the same name was more the vision of dancing with snakes in Congo Square.
If you’re going to choose a cemetery tour, look no further. Select Save Our Cemeteries and you’ll be happy with your decision.

This is a NOLA must-​see. I chose this touring group because the funds from the ticket goes to help restore NOLA area cemeteries, so I was glad to give them my money. As of March of this year, you had to have a registered tour guide/​company to enter the cemetery, since a bunch of no-​goodniks had been defacing the tombs. We were able to use a promo code to save $ 3 a ticket in the month of August, so look around for some deals before you purchase. Book online at least a few hours before your tour.
Anyway, it was SO HOT when we took this tour, so if you are here in the summer I would book the earliest tour available (10 AM). Even on the early tour we were sweating, but there is some shade here and there from the structures. Our tour guide was great, and she provided so much local history that it really enticed me to want to read more on my own! The tombs of many prominent NOLA people are here, including the famed Marie Laveau. Nic Cage has a plot here for when he eventually kicks the bucket, so that was kind of interesting too.
Take this tour! You will learn so much about New Orleans’ past, as well as the current struggles with maintaining a cemetery in a place where you really can’t bury anything. If you are even remotely interested in local history, you will enjoy this tour. Also, you can cool off in the Basin St station next door, and there is even more stuff to check out in there!

I’m so glad I was finally able to visit St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. You need a guide to visit now (unless you have a family plot), and scheduling a tour was so worth it. It was almost 100 degrees last week when I went and yet the tour was informative and interesting. (It was also respectful.)
If you’re an out of towner like I am, and on foot, 501 Basin Street is the large tourist center and former train station.

Our group of 4 took the Wednesday morning tour of Lafayette No 1. Our guide arrived early & made sure everyone had water for the tour as it was already getting pretty warm. I was initially a little worried that we were getting a rushed tour because he was talking SO fast. We figured out quickly though that he was just so chock full of interesting stories information that there was no other way to cram it all into one hour & still have time to answer questions.
Great tour, reasonably priced & a bonus that proceeds benefit restoration efforts. Well done!

I chose this tour company (for a tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1) because of the fact that their proceeds go to restore the graves and I stand by that decision. I feel like it doesn’t matter what company you book because it’s all about the tour guide that you get. Thus, you might as well just book a company that uses the money to help the cemetery.
We had an OK tour guide. She kept hurrying us along when we were taking pictures and coming back to get those who were lagging behind to take photographs. This was a bit annoying but I think she was trying to move things along because it had been raining on and off. She mentioned the usually referenced reason for the above ground burials — high water levels. After doing some independent research, I learned that another explanation is due to tradition. According to the Lafayette Cemetery Research Project in NOLA (
), «These are the tombs which are most common in the cemetery and bring rise to the belief that above-​ground burial is due directly to the city’s inherent water problems. In fact this style originated in the Mediterranean region thousands of years ago and was introduced to New Orleans and other New World colonies by the French and Spanish… Tombs, mausoleums and other raised, non-​earthen, burial styles are common in most regions of the world with a strong Latin, Roman Catholic tradition, and a theory which is logical for anyone familiar with Southern Europe is that it evolved as a result of „rocky“ soil in the region, making it more practical to find or build a burial structure.» Anyway, irrespective of the actual reason behind it (perhaps they are both true), I feel like this explanation should have been mentioned.

FOR A MORE SERIOUS YET FUN TOUR= Despite the impending storm clouds, I swear there were at least six other tour groups wandering inside the mere acre-​wide St. Louis Cemetery with us. Thank goodness our guide Wanda was great at bouncing from one hot area to another if another tour was in our way.
WANDA WAS A GREAT GUIDE= Wanda was a true Southern gal – very informative yet still full of her own funny personality. She’s been a NOLA resident long and added many of her own related stories such as when her older family would also care for their loved one’s graves or looking in the paper and seeing crypt spots for sale.
I PICKED THIS TOUR BECAUSE…= Compared to silly ‘haunted’ tours or carriage themed tours, Save Our Cemeteries is also an organization working to preserve and maintain NOLA’s historic cemeteries. Because they work closely with the Archdiocese (who ‘owns’ the cemeteries) I also assume their tours were more in-​depth.

Because of a new rule, you cannot see St. Louis Cemetery #1 without a tour guide. But I’m really glad we took a tour with Save Our Cemeteries! Our guide, Sheila, was very knowledgeable and interesting. She pointed out all of the major sites and explained their back stories — Marie Laveau’s tomb, Homer Plessy’s, Nicholas Cage’s (future) tomb, etc.
Save Our Cemeteries uses funds from the tours to help restore some of the old tombs in need of repair. We liked touring with a foundation like this — not only does the money go to a good cause, but you know that the tour guides care deeply about the cemeteries, and not just about making money. If you want to see the cemeteries (and you should, they are beautiful and unique), definitely check out Save Our Cemeteries.

I recently did a tour of Lafayette Cemetery through SOC and enjoyed it. It was actually my second experience with SOC– I toured St. Louis #1 last winter and came back to learn more about NOLA’s fascinating cities of the dead.
I dig historic preservation, so I really love that this is an organization providing an important service AND educating the public. I’ll give my money to that. They’re also historically accurate, which is important.
The tours were very informative both times, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The only reason I’m giving four stars, not five, is because the website said my most recent tour would last a little over an hour. We had lunch reservations immediately after the tour and actually had to leave early because the tour guide was still talking after 90 minutes.