Your city and cemetery sightseeing tour begins at central meeting location in New Orleans. Sit back and relax as you wind through the historic French Quarter, enjoying a guided tour of the area’s cultural and architectural history. Cruise past French and Spanish‐inspired buildings, gorgeous Creole townhouses and shotgun homes, a highly popular Southern style in the 1860s. Glimpse cloistered courtyards and the occasional voodoo specialty shop that vends voodoo ritual materials such as herbs, candles, oils and amulets. Your guide will offer tales of New Orleans’ voodoo history and more insight into the largely misunderstood religion that still enjoys a formidable presence in the city.
Leaving the French Quarter, you’ll pass Jackson Square, an honorary landmark to New Orleans’ war hero Andrew Jackson. See Louisiana’s Cabildo and Presbytere museums and the Pontalba Apartments, the oldest apartment buildings in the United States!
Next, continue to the famous Tremé neighborhood, known historically as a rich cultural melting pot and jazz hotspot, and more recently as the setting for the popular HBO series Tremé. Then visit the opulent Garden District to view a beautifully preserved collection of gorgeous antebellum mansions and pristine gardens. From here, get a great view of Lake Pontchartrain Causeway – the world’s longest bridge.
You’ll soon arrive at St Louis Cemetery No 3, the oldest and most famous cemetery in New Orleans. Marvel at the thousands of 18th‐ and 19th‐century tombs and mausoleums of varying extravagance. Your guide will explain the reason for above‐ground burial and introduce some of the site’s famous residents such as Marie Laveau, New Orleans’ beloved voodoo priestess. Wander through the labyrinth of graves to locate her tomb, a spiritual destination for people from across the world.
At the end of your tour, you'll be dropped back off at the original starting location.
