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What We Do

The story of New Orleans begins here. No city celebrates life, or death, quite like New Orleans. Come learn about jazz funerals. Find out why most of our dead are buried above-ground. Hear tales of the famous soldiers, statesmen, musicians, and even Storyville madams who rest in our Cities of the Dead. Our tours are both historically accurate and entertaining. (You can’t make this stuff up!) Most importantly, proceeds from our tours go to preserving our unique cemeteries.

BOOK A TOUR

Taking a Tour with Save Our Cemeteries is a window into what makes New Orleans tick. You'll learn about language, geography, food, traditions, celebrations, and personalities. 

What can you expect from a Save Our Cemeteries Tour?

  • Always a little bit of lagniappe.  A word that means "a little extra" and is part of what makes New Orleans, New Orleans.  
  • Meaningful and historically accurate storytelling
  • A friendly & knowledgeable local tour guide
  • Small intimate groups of people from all over the United States and the world!
  • Genuine conversations
  • You’ll get your steps in at a relaxed pace.
  • Insights into rich and complex history and characters of New Orleans
  • Supporting a nonprofit dedicated to cemeteries!
  • Good memories!

We will work with you to make your ultimate Private Tour!

Tell us what you'd like to learn or share with others, and we'll work with you to put together a memorable experience!!  Whether for a solo person, a school outing, or private party, Save Our Cemeteries can put together an engaging Cemetery Tour just for you. 

Contact us via email tours@saveourcemeteries.org or call us at 504/525-3377 to start the conversation.   

Combo Tour of the Historic Pitot House and St. Louis Cemetery No. 3

Tour Pitot House & St. Louis Cemetery No. 3

2 hours | Thursdays and Fridays at 10 am 

Pitot (Pee-toe) House: Take a tour of a 19th century West Indies-style home. Built in 1799 by Spanish merchant and ship owner, Bartholome Bosque, during the Spanish Colonial Period, The Pitot House has witnessed centuries of cultural history. Eleven families occupied the house; Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart used the home for a convent, and preservationists have cherished the building for its architectural beauty and historical significance.  If you'd like to learn more about Pitot House, click here 

Saint Louis No. 3: . This beautiful Catholic cemetery near tranquil Bayou St. John known for its statues and creative tombs.  You'll hear the real stories of some of the most notable and influential citizens of New Orleans. Among them are notable architect James Gallier, Storyville photographer E.J. Bellocq, and New Orleans chefs Leah Chase and Paul Prudhomme.   

General Information:

  • Accessible to wheelchairs and scooters. 
  • All walking is on paved surfaces.  
  • If a tour does not meet the four (4) minimum guests you'll be notified by email/text
  • Requests for private tours are always welcome!   
  • Did you enjoy your tour?   You are welcome to tip your guide, and by all means leave a review!

Tickets: 

  • $50.00 per person
  • Kids under 6: free

Stroll through Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery

Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery Walking Tour

2 hours | Sundays at 10 am | Named by Forbes as one of ten of “America’s Best Cemeteries.”

Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery, founded in 1872, and following the path of its former incarnation as an antebellum horse trace, contains some of the most profound monumental architecture and world class sculpture in the world that can be found in a cemetery. Live oaks surround Greek temples, gothic and Islamic style tombs, obelisks, and marble monuments with beautiful ironwork and stained glass. 

Hear the stories of New Orleans' most influential and notorious citizens, including nine Louisiana governors, seven New Orleans mayors, 49 kings of Carnival, musicians Louis Prima and Al Hirt, and writer Anne Rice, rest alongside madams, brothel owners and other infamous characters.  Metairie Cemetery holds the graves of over 9,000 people on 65 landscaped acres.

General Information:

  • Accessible to wheelchairs and scooters. 
  • All walking is on paved surfaces.  
  •  If a tour does not meet the four (4) minimum guests you'll be notified by email/text
  • Requests for private tours are always welcome!   
  • Did you enjoy your tour?   You are welcome to tip your guide, and by all means leave a review!

Tickets: 

  • $35.00 - Adults (ages 13 and over)
  • $17.50, Ages 7-12
  • Free, Ages 6 and younger

Book a Tour

Tour St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 near City Park

St. Louis Cemetery No. 3

1.5 hours | Mondays and Saturdays at 10 am

Just a short walk from City Park is St. Louis Cemetery No.3, is located on stately Esplanade Avenue in the tranquil Bayou St. John neighborhood.  It's an ideal place to stroll among the tombs as you learn about the burial customs of New Orleans and hear the real stories of the famous and infamous that fascinate the world and locals alike.  You'll see an impressive array of angels and names found on streets throughout New Orleans.  St. Louis No. 3 is the final resting place of notable architect James Gallier, Storyville photographer E.J. Bellocq, and chefs Leah Chase and Paul Prudhomme. 

General Information:

  • Accessible to wheelchairs and scooters. 
  • All walking is on paved surfaces.  
  • If a tour does not meet the four (4) minimum guests you'll be notified by email/text
  • Requests for private tours are always welcome!   
  • Did you enjoy your tour?   You are welcome to tip your guide, and by all means leave a review!

Tickets:      

  • $25.00  per person
  • Kids under 6: FREE

Book a Tour

St. Roch Cemetery

St. Roch

1.5 hours | First Friday of the month at 10 am

St. Roch Cemetery, founded in 1874, was established by the Rev. Peter Leonard Thevis, and was named for the medieval Saint Roch of Majorca. This cemetery hosts a chapel that New Orleans Magazine cited as "one of the most best examples of Gothic architecture in the United States."   The chapel is used regularly for worship and funerals, and contains a room where believers have left polio braces, glass eyes, dental plates, other prosthetics and organ replicas as tributes to Saint Roch since the 19th century. The chapel is open to visitors on the last Friday of the month. 

The cemetery also features the fourteen Stations of the Cross depicted with statuary tableaus carved in Italy by the workshop of Italian sculptor Enrico Arrighini. An annual procession through the stations is celebrated every year on Good Friday.

General Information:

  • Tours are held the first Friday of each month when the chapel is open, also at 10 am
  • Accessible to wheelchairs and scooters. 
  • All walking is on paved surfaces.  
  • If a tour does not meet the four (4) minimum guests you'll be notified by email/text
  • Requests for private tours are always welcome!   
  • Did you enjoy your tour?   You are welcome to tip your guide, and by all means leave a review!

Tickets:

  • $25.00 per person
  • Kids under 6: FREE

Book a Tour

MPORTANT INFORMATION   

  • Tours typically last one and a half hour. Please allow at least two hours to take Save Our Cemetery tours.

  • All tours leave on time, rain or shine.

  • There must be a minimum of 4 guests per tour.    Requests for private tours that allow for fewer guests are always welcome!   We are happy to work with you!   If a tour does not meet minimum guests you'll be notified by email/text. 

  • Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the tour begins. Guides start the tour at the scheduled time. Be aware:  Streetcars do not keep strict time tables and may cause you to be late or delayed.   Please be sure to include travel time/parking to and from the cemetery when making your plans!   

  • Suggested items to bring: bottled water, sunscreen, comfortable shoes, hats, and umbrellas (to protect from rain and provide shade).

  • Please reserve your tour in advance.  It's not always easy getting wifi while you are visiting another city.  Booking your tour in advance takes that care off your shoulders. You can also call 504-525-3377 to arrange a tour or confirm your reservations.   

  • Requests for private tours are always welcome!  We are happy to work with you!  Do you have something special in mind?  Do you have a group of friends, bachelor/bachelorette party, just yourself, or you have a class that want to learn about cemeteries, tell us about it!  Email tours@saveourcemeteries.org or call 504-525-3377.

  • New Orleans' Cemeteries are sacred ground.  All cemeteries where Save Our Cemeteries conducts tours are active, and funerals may coincide during the tour. The Guide will provide instruction to respect the services being held.  Please remember that tombs are where deceased family members remains reside. 

  • Marking/altering a tomb is strictly prohibited and is against the law and causes damage to the tomb.  Marking and scratching causes permanent damage to the exterior and increases the structural vulnerability of a tomb. Removing brick pieces from tombs to use as markers can completely destroy what is left of an already crumbling tomb. Save Our Cemeteries asks that if you see vandalism occurring in any of the cemeteries, please photograph the tomb if possible and contact Save Our Cemeteries and/or the cemetery owner/operators to report the activity.  

  • Cancellations: Please use the booking app (Fareharbor) to cancel, email tours@saveourcemeteries.org or call 504-525-3377  Cancellations must be made more than 24 hours in advance of your tour to be refunded.

  • If Save Our Cemeteries has to cancel the tour due to unforeseen emergencies, you will be provided a full refund or an opportunity to reschedule for another day/time.  You will be notified by text/email 24 or more in advance whenever possible.