New Orleans Cemetery Tour: graves of the notorious

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.99 (478 reviews) 99% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellation

1/18

Duration1h 30m

GroupUp to 18

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

The Stories Behind the Tombs

You walk St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 with author Sally Asher for 90 minutes, learning burial practices and the untold stories of notable citizens — from a secret photographer to the turducken's inventor. The tour covers less than a mile, includes insider cultural tips, and meets at the Esplanade Avenue gate.

1h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Guided walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 3

Meet at 3421 Esplanade Ave gate
Learn about burial practices and tomb types
Visit graves of notable citizens
Hear stories of the hunchbacked photographer
Discover the woman behind the quirky castle
Explore tales of the famed architect
Learn about legendary chefs and civil rights
Complete 1.5-hour walking tour under a mile

The Experience

What do a hunchbacked photographer, a woman who built a castle, and the inventor of the turducken have in common? They're all buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, and Sally Asher knows exactly why their graves matter. She's the local author who wrote the book on this place — literally — and on this walking tour she doesn't just point at marble and move on. She tells you the scandal, the ambition, the small rebellions that made these people worth remembering. The tour runs about an hour and a half, covers less than a mile, and meets at the gate on Esplanade Avenue under the trees.

You'll walk past tombs shaped like houses, learn why New Orleans burials look nothing like anywhere else in America, and hear about the architect whose ship sank in a hurricane with over a hundred passengers, the first woman to get a public statue in her own honor, and the chefs who quietly changed the city's food and politics at the same time. Sally doesn't treat history like a list of dates — she treats it like a story that's still alive, full of contradictions and weirdness and the kind of detail that makes you actually care about a person who died a hundred years ago. The cemetery itself is quiet, lined with angels carved into stone, and walking through it with someone who understands what you're looking at changes how you see the whole city.

The tour includes insider tips for where to eat and what to listen for in New Orleans music and culture, so you leave with more than just cemetery knowledge. Sally's passionate about the unusual and outrageous parts of the story — the parts most tours skip — which means you get the real version, not the polished one. It's accessible for all fitness levels, strollers are fine, and public transit gets you there without a car.

What’s included

Your tour includes the expert-guided walk through St.
Louis Cemetery No. 3 with Sally Asher, insider tips for local food, music, and culture, and stories about the burial practices and notable citizens buried there.
The tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes and covers under a mile of walking.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Red Sash Tours

Is this one for you?Right for travelers who want the real New Orleans history — the scandals and contradictions, not the sanitized version — and don't mind a slow walk through a cemetery to get it. Expect 90 minutes on your feet with no rushing; that's what makes room for the stories that actually stick with you.