“The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds - the cemeteries - and they're a cold proposition, one of the best things there are here. Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres- palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay - ghosts of women and men who have sinned and who've died and are now living in tombs. The past doesn't pass away so quickly here. You could be dead for a long time” ― Bob Dylan

St. Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans is one of the most viewed and visited cemeteries in the world. This is our very own City of the Dead. This still-active cemetery was established in 1789 by Spanish Royal Decree, and it is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans and the final resting place of many prominent New Orleans families and colorful individuals. These are the tombs of the people who settled and built the city of New Orleans.

While the beautifully eerie walled cemetery spans only one square block it contains over 700 weathered above-ground tombs and is the resting place of thousands including voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, chess champion Paul Morphy, Homer Plessy of the famed Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court Case, U.S. Capitol architect Benjamin Latrobe, Barthelemy Lafon, the architect and surveyor who allegedly became one of Jean Lafitte's pirates, local and national politicians, war heros, and many others. Scenes for the movies Cincinnati Kid (1965) and Easy Rider (1969) were filmed in the St. Louis Cemetery.