Metairie Cemetery self-guided audio tour: New Orleans

Walk through a City of the Dead built on a racetrack, guided by your phone

Metairie Cemetery Stories is a self-guided audio tour in New Orleans that uses GPS on your smartphone to play narration automatically at each stop. You walk past over 50 Carnival kings and queens, military monuments, and religious memorials across the grounds of the former Metairie Race Course at your own pace. The tour takes about 35 minutes, works offline, and you keep lifetime access to it after booking.

Step-by-step itinerary

Self-guided audio tour of cemetery

• Enter Metairie Cemetery grounds
• Listen to audio guide via smartphone app
• Walk past Washington Artillery Park
• Explore tombs and mausolea
• Observe memorials of soldiers and saints
• Discover Carnival kings and queens graves

The experience

Metairie Cemetery sits where a horse racing track once stood, and the audio tour walks you through the transformation, from the earthly speed of the track to the unhurried landscape of tombs and mausoleums that replaced it. The tour plays automatically on your phone using GPS and the VoiceMap app, which means the narration starts exactly when you arrive at each point. You don't need to hunt for stops or wonder what you're looking at. The audio meets you there.

The route passes the final resting places of Carnival royalty (over 50 kings and queens of the season) alongside soldiers, saints, and others whose memorials tell the military and religious history of New Orleans. Obelisks, pyramids, and society tombs rise around you as the narration reveals the stories behind them. You set the speed: pause to read an inscription, linger at a monument, or move through in the time the operator suggests.

The app works offline, so you don't burn data or worry about signal in the cemetery. You get lifetime access once you book, which means you can return to Metairie Cemetery months or years later and pick up where you left off. Directions to the starting point come with your booking, and the tour is wheelchair accessible.

What’s included

• Lifetime access to the Metairie Cemetery Stories audio tour.
• VoiceMap mobile app with offline audio, maps and geodata.
• GPS-guided narration that plays automatically at each stop.
• directions to the starting point at Washington Artillery Park.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (6 and older) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Audio guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 6 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by VoiceMap Audio Tours

Is this one for you?Solo travelers and small groups who want to explore at their own speed will find this tour ideal. There's no fixed schedule, no group to keep pace with, and you can pause, linger or return another day without affecting anyone else. If you prefer a guide walking alongside you or a set departure time, a traditional cemetery tour would suit you better.

Traveler reviews

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Top questions

How does the audio tour know where I am in Metairie Cemetery?

The VoiceMap app uses your smartphone's GPS to detect when you reach each stop on the route. The narration plays automatically at the right moment and place, so you don't have to manually start each section.

Can I use this tour if I don't have a data plan?

Yes. The app works completely offline: the audio, maps, and location data all download before you start, so you can tour Metairie Cemetery without using any cellular signal or data.

What are the Carnival kings and queens buried in Metairie Cemetery?

Metairie Cemetery holds the tombs of over 50 Carnival royalty: the kings and queens crowned during Mardi Gras season in New Orleans. The tour narration explains their significance to the city's culture and points out their memorials as you walk.

How long does the tour take to walk?

The tour is designed for about 35 minutes, though you control the pace entirely. You can move faster, pause longer at monuments, or return another day and resume where you stopped.

Do I need to buy a ticket to enter Metairie Cemetery before the tour?

Metairie Cemetery is open to the public and does not charge admission. The tour itself is what you book. Any personal expenses during your visit are separate.

What happens if I get lost or miss a stop on the route?

The app shows your location on the map and guides you to each stop. If you wander off the route, the GPS will track your position and help you find your way back to the next point on the tour.