New Orleans Historical Cemetery Guided Tour

Join us on a journey through two of New Orleans’ hallowed historical cemeteries. On this tour, your master storyteller will lead you through a maze of above-ground tombs in Masonic Cemetery #1 and the Katrina Memorial at Charity Hospital Cemetery.
From burial customs and traditions, to the history of the Masons and Catholics in New Orleans, to the deaths of thousands buried in the graveyard behind the Katrina Memorial, this tour will leave you with feelings of trepidation and excitement, as well as with a reverence for our city’s incredible history.

This is a narrated 2-hour guided bus tour.

Meeting Point

Voodoo Tavern and PoBoys

1140 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA

We meet at VooDoo Tavern & Poboys
1140 Decatur St. New Orleans La. 70116
Please arrive 30 minutes prior tour time for check-in

What's included:

• Tour Guide

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours

Masonic Temple Cemetery #2

400 City Park Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119, USA

Founded in 1865 by the Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana Free and Accepted Masons, the Masonic Cemetery expresses a character distinct from the Catholic cemeteries that dominate the city. It is known for its many unusual, elaborate tombs, a reputation due in part to the cemetery’s communal nature: members of lodges pooled resources to purchase large group tombs. Occupying two oddly shaped city blocks, the cemetery is triangular in plan, with Conti Street bisecting it. The triangular footprint of the bordering streets overlaid with the cemetery’s angular internal walkways mimics the Masonic emblem of the square and compass. Cast-iron picket fences enclose its two distinct sections, while oak allées line its northern and western edges. Tombs are compactly arranged in rows parallel to Bienville Street, with a wide, paved promenade cutting through the center to provide access to smaller walkways between rows.

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Hurricane Katrina Memorial

5056 Canal St, New Orleans, 70119-5835, Louisiana

On the former site of Charity Hospital’s paupers’ field, this ominous but oddly affecting circle of tombs holds the bodies of 85 unclaimed victims of the 2005 levee failures and the names of others who perished. It’s an unfussy place that’s easily missed, the better for contemplative solitude, perhaps. Surrounded by a storm-shaped series of pathways, the memorial does its duty in giving one substantial pause.

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included