New Orleans is known for their unique above-ground cemeteries, which were designed to be this way due to the massive amounts of flooding the city gets. We took a tour through the St. Louis Cemetery #1 with the group Historic New Orleans Tours. The group met up at the Cafe Beignet on Royal Street and were given a brief history of New Orleans during the walk to the cemetery.
Once we reached the cemetery, the tour guide gave us a good overview of the cemetery's history and then showed us numerous specific graves and gave us the history behind them. This included the grave of Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo Priestess from the 19th century, which unfortunately had graffiti on it despite being re-painted only weeks earlier.
Another interesting grave was a pyramid shaped one (shown below) that is owned by Nicolas Cage to use as a burial spot for him and his family. It is symbolic of his American Treasure movies and the only gave that is not square.
After the cemetery tour, we were allowed to stop in at a gas station to get water and use the restroom. From there, we were taken to an Mardi Gras Indian gallery, which showed us beautiful Mardi Gras Indian costumes, that each take over a year to make. This is a very niche part of Mardi Gras that only some people of African descent practice and it makes it all the more intriguing.
From there, we went to a Voodoo temple to hear the Priestess speak and give "words of wisdom". This portion wasn't very interesting or entertaining as she was really just babbling on. However, getting to view her voodoo temple was at least something unique to see.
The tour was supposed to last 2 hours, but went to over 2 and a half hours, so be aware that this may occur if you're planning things for later in the day. Overall, for $20/person, it was well worth it.
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