Don’t forget to bring your camera when visiting this atmospheric cemetery with its crumbling tombs.
Established in 1833 amid the stately southern mansions of the Garden District, Lafayette Cemetery No.1 has been the final resting place for generations of New Orleanians. It may be small in size, but it's rich in history, and visitors can spend hours here, exploring and delving into the past.
The cemetery took its name from the original settlement of Lafayette, which over time was annexed by New Orleans. Within the cemetery walls are people from the original Creole settlement, and they are joined by every other group of people who have called New Orleans home. Major figures from the Civil War are buried here, as are victims of plague and war. Just like the city itself, the cemetery is a melting pot of different people and cultures.
The cemetery features many types of graves in varying states of disrepair, from the simple ovens or wall vaults, which line the cemetery, to family tombs and group memorials. The stone tombs are a picturesque necessity. They allow for above-ground burials and prevent caskets from floating away during flooding, as much of New Orleans is below sea level.
This is viewed as one of the most haunted burial grounds in the country and plenty of photographers, writers and film-makers have appreciated its charms. Gothic fiction author Anne Rice (a New Orleanian) has used the cemetery as a setting for several of her novels, and the grounds have appeared in a number of films, including Interview with the Vampire and Double Jeopardy.
The number of visitors and tour guides has made the cemetery safer than it was in the past when tourists were occasionally mugged, but it's still best to visit during the day.
Lafayette Cemetery is maintained by the Save Our Cemeteries Group, which runs informative one-hour tours from Mondays to Saturdays. The cemetery is open every day except Sunday. Take the St. Charles Streetcar.
