New Orleans Cemetery Night Bus Tour
About this activity
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Experience Highlights
Explore a mysterious and intriguing New Orleans cemetery and City Park area by joining this approximately two-hour night bus tour. You'll take the bus from the historic downtown area at night to enter the triangular-shaped alleyways of Masonic Cemetery #2, founded in 1865.
You'll see the ironwork and graves resting on the surface of the ground, the most unusual burial method used in New Orleans. This has earned its cemeteries the name 'City of the Dead'.
- Find out why in New Orleans graves are placed above ground rather than buried underground.
- Explore Masonic Cemetery #2 by night on a bus.
- Learn the history of the site with live narration from a professional guide and explore the City Park area.
What’s included
- Night bus tour of the New Orleans Cemetery
- Professional guide
- Visit to City Park
- Visit to the Hurricane Katrina Memorial
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Step by Step
This night bus tour takes you to one of New Orleans' most popular cemeteries by night. You will visit the narrow streets of Masonic Cemetery #2, founded in 1865 by the Grand Lodge of New Orleans.
You will discover the particularities that make them unique in the region, especially the methods they use to bury the deceased. Instead of burying them several metres underground, graves in New Orleans are placed above ground.
Hence, the family vaults are more mausoleum-style, but with elaborate ironwork and detailing, which makes the shadows stand out at night and in the moonlight. This is how the tombs look like old houses, which is why the cemeteries in the area are known as the "city of the dead".
After boarding the bus, a professional guide will accompany you on your tour and reveal all the secrets of New Orleans' burial rituals, which are unlike any other used in the country.
You will explore the outskirts of one of the most festive cities in the United States, where the popular Mardi Gras Carnival is held. In this area you'll pass through the main cemetery, which is located between the Mid-City and City Park neighbourhoods, where you can visit the iconic city park.
Another place of interest on this tour is the Hurricane Katrina Memorial. This is a poignant site where several victims of the 2005 hurricane who were never identified or claimed were buried.
