Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans (must see)

New Orleans has many ways of making the past feel unusually present, and its cemeteries are among the most unforgettable. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, set in the Garden District, has long been one of the city’s signature “cities of the dead,” with raised tombs, narrow paths, weathered inscriptions, and just enough atmosphere to make even daylight feel slightly dramatic.

Founded in 1833, the cemetery belonged to what was then the City of Lafayette, before that suburb was absorbed into New Orleans in the 1850s. Its tombs reflect the waves of people who shaped the area, including Irish, German, Italian, and Northern American families. Civil War connections appear in plaques and inscriptions, while the cemetery also carries the memory of the yellow fever epidemics that hit New Orleans with brutal force. In 1852 alone, the disease claimed thousands across the city, and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 became part of that sorrowful record.

This is also the kind of place that explains why New Orleans keeps ending up in Gothic fiction and vampire films. Its raised crypts have the look of small stone houses for the afterlife, arranged with more character than some modern subdivisions. Anne Rice helped strengthen its darkly romantic reputation, and the cemetery has often been linked with the visual world of “Interview with the Vampire”—because apparently, even the undead appreciate good location scouting...

From time to time, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 gets closed to the public for repairs and improvements. While these are underway, family visits are available only by appointment, and you can view the cemetery from outside the gates, where the rows of tombs, old walls, and Garden District setting offer plenty of atmosphere without requiring anyone to test the condition of the pathways...

If it so happens, pause at the gates, take in the view respectfully, and feel the presence of history almost tangible in the air. Keep your camera ready, watch your step along the surrounding pavement, and continue through the Garden District with an eye for the stories hiding behind every wall, porch, and iron fence...