Cities of the Dead: Private Half-Day Tour of New Orleans' Hidden Cemeteries

Cities of the Dead is a half-day guided tour that takes you through the lesser-known cemeteries around New Orleans, Louisiana, with pickup options in Mandeville and the metro area. Skip the crowded St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and instead travel by car and on foot to quieter burial grounds—Holt Cemetery, Metairie Cemetery, and several of the city’s 33 historic interment sites—to read the city’s history in stone. The trip runs roughly four hours and is designed for small groups (up to six guests), which keeps the experience intimate and respectful. Your guide handles driving and navigation while you listen for the stories behind family vaults, paupers’ plots, cast-iron fencing, and the marble mansions many locals call tombs. Above-ground burial is the rule here because of the city’s high water table; the result is a dense neighborhood of wall-lined alleys, elaborate cornices, and inscriptions that map migration, epidemics, free people of color, and Creole customs. Highlights include Holt Cemetery’s simple in-ground plots that reveal the city’s socio-economic divides, and Metairie Cemetery’s grand sculptural monuments and mausoleums — where the sculptural styles range from classical angels to modern bronzes. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is discussed in context: its high visitation has made some parts off-limits, but its history remains central to understanding New Orleans’ burial traditions and the ways private families have memorialized their dead. Beyond architecture, the tour surfaces cultural notes: the influence of Catholic ritual, the role of mourning processions, and the language of epitaphs and iconography. Expect to hear local legends and documented histories about notable figures interred in these sites and about the city’s unique challenges with water, land use, and preservation. Practicalities are straightforward: transportation and a knowledgeable guide are included; bring closed-toe shoes for gravel paths, respectful clothing for active cemeteries, and water for humid days. Photography is generally allowed but observe posted rules and moments of quiet reflection. The route weaves between car segments and short walks, so it’s accessible to most visitors who can manage brief uneven surfaces. The tour is explicitly billed as "America's Necropolis" by the guide, a name that frames the walk as both urban archaeology and social detective work. Meeting point is flexible — "Choose Pick up location" — which makes it easy for visitors staying on either shore of Lake Pontchartrain or in downtown New Orleans. Small group size also helps preserve fragile sites safely.