I had been to NOLA many times and never had an interest in touring a cemetery. When friends asked me to set up a tour I knew I didn't want a bus style tour and found Save Our Cemeteries. They assigned us Dana, a retired professor of English. She met our small group at the cemetery and spent 2 hours walking us thru the cemetery. She was a wealth of information: how NOLA cemeteries operated, the stories of the those buried there and general background on NOLA. She was great. Skip the bus; contact Save Our Cemeteries read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Marker at St Louis 3 Cemetery - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

Our tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 was one of the highlights of our trip to New Orleans. The cemetery is absolutely fascinating, full of history, unique architecture, and incredible stories that bring the city's past to life. Our guide Cassandra, was knowledgeable, engaging, and had the perfect mix of historical detail and local legends that kept the entire group interested from start to finish. We especially loved learning about the above-ground tombs and the cultural traditions connected to the cemetery. The atmosphere was both peaceful and captivating, and we appreciated how respectfully the tour was conducted. It felt much more meaningful than simply walking through on our own. If you're visiting New Orleans and want to experience an important part of the city's history and culture, we highly recommend this tour. An unforgettable experience read more

Our tour guide Glenn was a charming and affable local gentleman. He combined book knowledge with deep lived experience. He answered my many questions. Great tour of this beautiful landmark location. read more

We loved out tour guide Glenn. He was a great storyteller, educated, funny, kind, and informative. We learned so much about this unique New Orleans customs, traditions, and culture. Team was very responsive when we signed up at the last minute helping us navigate the website and meet our group. Top to bottom was a wonderful experience and we adored Glenn. read more

Glenn was fantastic! The rain started coming down, but the tour went on as usual. We were able to get some great insight into the cemetery, which he knew so much about and could connect so many different lines of history to the current day! I felt the tour was respectful of the space but could still be lighthearted at times - this added so much value to our trip! read more

My wife and I have been touring the country and my wife in particular is a cemetery aficionado. We found this to be the best tour we've been on. Our tour guide Glenn was professional, kind and responsive to questions that we had. Glenn was a wealth of information. It was the most well researched tour I have ever taken. Glenn is also so personable and engaging that it makes the information exciting to learn even in the southern heat. Ha ha. We were also excited to go on this tour, because we know it is part of a nonprofit to preserve the cemeteries for future generations. The tour prices were also super reasonable. Highly recommend!!!! read more

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MUST DO! This is the tour company to take if you are wanting to tour the local historic cemeteries. Save Our Cemeteries is a non-profit organization that helps preserve the local cemeteries of New Orleans. They help with restoration, documentation, and educational programs. It's a win / win for everyone! It took me 30 years and way too many visits to finally take a tour of St. Louis #1. I've always been told by all the locals, "never go on your own", always "take a tour". After researching for years as well, once I found this non-profit org, I knew this was the tour I'd be taking on one of my many visits. Photos from 10/2013 tour read more

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My mom and I loved our tour with Glenn through Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery. Glenn's passion for the history of New Orleans and his fascinating stories about the histories of the various people who are interred there made the tour fascinating. Glenn really brought the history alive and revealed how much a cemetery and the burial practices of an area can reveal about its society. I was also happy to give my money to an organization that cares about preserving the cemeteries and their history. read more

Glenn is the guide for the Sunday 10:00 am Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery tour, which I would highly recommend. He is knowledgeable, passionate, willing to answer and further explain any questions you may have, and surprisingly not from New Jersey. Also, please do not let his cane fool you, I am pretty sure he only uses it as a statement piece because he will walk circles around you. read more

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Visiting NOLA we wanted to see the historic cemeteries, but kept seeing "bus cemetery tours", "voodoo cemetery tours", "haunted cemetery tours" on signs everywhere. No thank you to all of that. After doing my own research I found "Save Our Cemeteries". A wonderfully setup, non-profit. Our guide was phenomenal and it was clear he was passionate about the history of the cemeteries, and of NOLA as a whole. Was great at answering questions and letting people stop to read plaques or take photographs. Highly recommend this to anyone! read more

I thoroughly enjoyed my tour of Metairie Cemetery with Save Our Cemeteries. I researched and learned this is the only non-profit organization that does cemetery tours in New Orleans. It took place on a Sunday morning. A rideshare from my hotel in the French Quarter took only 15 minutes. There's plenty of parking available in their lot if you are coming by car. Glenn, our tour guide, was very enthusiastic about sharing all his knowledge and welcomed our many questions. We also arrived 30 minutes early and he recommend we use the restroom in the funeral home as there won't be any available on the grounds. He also chatted with us about things to do and see while we were in town. It's also a pet-friendly cemetery, one of the fellow visitors brought his dog for the tour which I thought was neat. The walk was easy on the grounds and all flat. I recommend bringing a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and water if it's a sunny day, and not all spots are shaded. Also wear comfortable walking shoes. The tour lasted about two hours and Glenn gave us cold bottled water at the end of it. Overall, I loved learning more about the history of New Orleans' famous cemeteries. I would recommend taking a tour of Metairie Cemetery. read more

I am so grateful to have found Save Our Cemeteries after researching cemetery tour options. They are a true nonprofit dedicated to the maintenance of the New Orleans cemeteries, and the group size is kept manageable and personal unlike many of the other options I researched. My family and I did the Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery Walking Tour that is offered every Sunday morning. Our guide, Glenn, was absolutely fantastic and he contributed to this tour being the highlight of our long weekend trip. It was a rather warm morning and Glenn was great about darting from tree to tree for shade and making sure we were standing in the shade for his anecdotes and history lessons. Glenn was mindful of our time and generously extended the tour after making sure that doing so would not conflict with anyone else's plans that day. The cemetery was beautiful and contained many interesting historical resting places and great examples of workmanship. We would gladly return or do another tour with Save Our Cemeteries, and we would spend as much time with Glenn as he would give us! read more

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Glenn was a fantastic & informative tour guide! Metairie is huge, so I doubt that the whole place can be toured with background information in even a day! He had some nice personal touches & kept it all human, which I appreciated! read more

We kicked off our vacation to NOLA with a guided tour by Save Our Cemeteries. It was an enjoyable experience and opportunity to hear some interesting historical facts about some notable figures of the community and to learn how burial in New Orleans has evolved through the years. Glenn was very knowledgeable and we wish we had time to do other tours! read more

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Great tour! Glenn was super knowledgeable and entertaining. It was a beautiful cemetery and learned a lot about New Orleans history. read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

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I am such a big fan of cemeteries all across the country. We only had the opportunity to visit one cemetery and do one tour and I'm so pleased with the decision we made here. It's so easy to forget how important it is to preserve the cemeteries for future historical context and this nonprofit does a wonderful job saving our cemeteries! I wish they were a nationwide group so that I could tour with them everywhere we go. Our tour guide was Glenn and he was so amazing! Even the kids in our group were fully engaged the entire time because he was so personable and informational. The depths of research and the exciting storytelling really made this a fun experience for me. I couldn't believe that the kids in our group were still just as excited from start to finish even though it was quite a warm day. I will always keep my eye out for save our cemeteries in the future and I would not go with any other tour group in New Orleans. read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Interesting headstone - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

Wonderful tour, highly-highly recommend doing a tour with Save Our Cemeteries they're the only nonprofit tour group dedicated to maintaining all the historic gravesites in New Orleans. Amazing walking tour at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery! Our guide Glenn was very knowledgeable, it was clear that he has a passion for the history of this place and the preservation of New Orleans' history. He shared a lot of history on how New Orleans was developed in relation to the cemetery and told us about prominent people who were buried in Lake Lawn Metairie. It was hot (90 degrees) when my group and I went so I would suggest checking the weather and bringing a hat, parasol, and ample water if the weather requires. Glenn was also so thoughtful and gave us all cool water at the end of our tour. read more

I was pleasantly surprised at how great this tour was. I was originally planning to book the St Louis Tour, but I'm so glad I was able to book this tour. It was a small group with a passionate and knowledgeable guide Glenn. He provided so much insight into the history of the cemetery. I'm so glad I could support a local nonprofit that helps ensure the history of New Orleans cemetery gets shared. read more

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We have done this tour twice. Terry was the best guide, but both relayed a lot of info. We learned how the cemetery started, how it's maintained, and how it will be perpetuated in the future. Save our cemeteries profits go toward maintaining the cemeteries, so I felt better giving my money to this organization. We learned a lot, and you can only see cemeteries with a tour group, so why not go with a group who gives back? read more

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For the authentic, historically accurate, Save Our Cemeteries is my go-to. Other tours are fun too, but this nonprofit sticks to the facts and quite frankly, Nola reality don't need no embellishment to entertain! read more

It never occurred to me to take a tour of a cemetery until I recently heard a story on NPR about a cemetery in New Orleans that had closed its doors to the general public. I never even knew such tours existed. My interest was definitely stoked and it was perfect timing as I was heading to New Orleans in a few weeks. After looking Yelp, I decided to give Save Our Cemeteries a try because I wanted a serious and educational experience. I ended up touring one of the most famous cemeteries in the world, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, which was the focus of the NPR article. I wasn't sure what to expect and was worried about being bored, but time went by really fast because our guide was knowledgeable and interesting. During the tour, I learned the reason behind the raised graves and how the bones in the tombs are shifted around to make room for newcomers. I saw the burial places of many political and historical figures, even soldiers of the Revolutionary War. Of course, you can't miss Nicholas Cage's pyramid shaped tomb. When the allotted time for the tour was up, our guide led us out of the cemetery per the new guidelines. But she offered to take those of us who wanted to go back in for a second look around if we had questions or wanted more pictures. Definitely bring water, a hat and sunglasses on a hot and sunny day because there is not much shade and the reflection off the tombs can be blinding. Wear good walking shoes as the ground can be uneven in places. The cemetery can also get very crowded. And finally, I leave you with advice of the utmost importance! There is a very nice restroom located in the Basin Street Station where you meet up with the tour group. read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Easy Rider filmed here. - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

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These guys are such a great organizing, and tours are a fun, enriching way for them to raise money for their efforts. Our tour took place at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery, and we learned so much from our knowledgeable and personable guide, Glenn, who shared his own knowledge and experiences of local culture and history in addition to researched information. Everyone followed social distancing protocols, and Glenn took the time occasionally to make sure everyone was comfortable since it was a decently long walking tour on a remarkably cold day. read more

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Great tour, very informative, coming from south Florida and still was effected by the heat! Great local knowledge, would definitely recommend this to all!! read more

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The couple who hosted the tour were very informative as I was not even aware of the all the history there. It was incredibly hot but the hosts supplied water and made sure most of the tour was in the shade. We even discovered my lady has a relative buried there. I will be going back on my return visit to this great city. read more

I have no idea how much the other tour operators charged, but knowing that at least some of the money would go to restoring the cemetery made me feel better about choosing Save Our Cemeteries tour. Our guide, Martha Robson, was an absolute pro. She guided us through the history of the area, as well as the rationale behind burying above ground. I learned so much, especially that the upkeep of the grave site is the responsibility of the families. I'm sure there were other grave stones that were interesting, but the highlights for me were judge Ferguson and the baker of the po'boy bread, Mr. Leidenheimer. I'm sure it could have gone much longer, but it was about 90 minutes. Time well spent. Note that the cemetery closes at 3pm. As Martha mentioned, it's a place to remind us of the fragility of life and the strength of families. read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Our tour guide Martha Robson was a total pro. - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

Two hour walking tour. Our guide, Glenn, was awesome - friendly and very knowledgeable with a good sense of humor. Would highly recommend.

I've spent much of my career in the field of historic preservation, so when I was choosing among the many options available for a tour of New Orleans' unique cemeteries, this nonprofit organization immediately stood out to me. I'm very glad I made this choice-- our guide, Jeanne Wilson, was remarkable in the depth and breadth of her knowledge. There did not seem to be one question that she couldn't answer without hesitation. Historical accuracy is important to me, so I was pleased to note she lugged a large notebook full of reference material around the whole time. If you're not a professional historian, however, don't let that intimidate you-- her presentation was lively and amusing, mixing historical background with colorful anecdotes. Believe me, there was nothing dry about it! I'm sure many of the commercial tour outfits do a good enough job, but if you are serious about history, I'd recommend Save Our Cemeteries as the first choice. read more

So if you're ever in New Orleans, be sure and take a cemetery tour with Save Our Cemeteries. They are a non profit and do preservation in New Orleans. Their mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the historic cemeteries of New Orleans through restoration, education, and advocacy. You wont find any of that made up ghost tour nonsense. This is the real deal. Full of history and beauty in the decay. Our tour guide was Fran and she was very informative and nice. It was a great experience and would I certainly recommend you set aside some time to take this tour. read more

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I found Save Our Cemeteries through my own research prior to our trip. I just didn't know how much I could trust the other tour companies I found and the money didn't seem worth what they were offering. Enter Save Our Cemeteries! Glenn was a great tour guide. He was passionate and knowledgeable about the history of the cemetery and NOLA. I learned so much. I appreciated his willingness to answer questions and make sure we stayed as cool as possible on a very hot day! He even brought water for us. I also liked the text reminder the day prior with specific directions and a photo on where to meet. As a tourist, that was super helpful! It was totally worth the money and for a great cause, you can't beat it. I would totally recommend this to anyone in coming to the city and interested in a tour. read more

Excellent tour of Cemetery No. 1 with Brad Dupuy. Articulate and knowledgeable. Definitely would join him on any future walking tour!

Great way to see St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, as of a few years ago you have to go with a tour guide. We were lucky to have Arthur and he was very informative of the cemetery and did a great job finding places to keep us in the shade. He even brought an umbrella to share for when he couldn't find the shade, it does get hot. Bring some water or for $1 you can buy it from the guy sitting outside the front. This is not a place for young kids to visit, geared for adults with a good opportunity for history, and also to learn about the current funeral practices. read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Plaque that describes the Cemetery when you first enter. - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

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Restoration review! You may have read in the news that vandals painted the Marie Laveau tomb pink...with latex paint which is seriously damaging to plaster since it can no longer breathe. Save our Cemeteries has worked with the Archdiocese of the New Orleans to remove the paint but that damaged the original plaster. (WTH is wrong with people.) So they are doing a big campaign to raise money to restore the tomb. Even a few dollars will help. Check out the SoS FB page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=441225066009560&set=a.289440261188042.1073741826.288933097905425&type=1&stream_ref=10 read more

This was one of the top highlights of our trip. If you enjoy history at all, you'll love this tour. Our tour guide was Monique and we took a tour of the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (which you can't access without a registered tour). Monique was funny, knowledgeable, and thorough without being too longwinded (necessary in the heat). You could tell how much she loved the cemetery and its history, and we talked about the things we learned on the tour for the rest of out stay in New Orleans. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to get a deeper understanding of New Orleans. The money goes towards maintaining the cemetery and the tour itself goes quickly and is highly interesting. The only downside is how hot it gets -- hotter within the cemetery walls than on the street. I would definitely recommend sunscreen, lots of water, and a hat since shade in the cemetery is at a premium. read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Monique starting our tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

FOR A MORE SERIOUS YET FUN TOUR= Despite the impending storm clouds, I swear there were at least six other tour groups wandering inside the mere acre-wide St. Louis Cemetery with us. Thank goodness our guide Wanda was great at bouncing from one hot area to another if another tour was in our way. WANDA WAS A GREAT GUIDE= Wanda was a true Southern gal--very informative yet still full of her own funny personality. She's been a NOLA resident long and added many of her own related stories such as when her older family would also care for their loved one's graves or looking in the paper and seeing crypt spots for sale. I PICKED THIS TOUR BECAUSE...= Compared to silly 'haunted' tours or carriage themed tours, Save Our Cemeteries is also an organization working to preserve and maintain NOLA's historic cemeteries. Because they work closely with the Archdiocese (who 'owns' the cemeteries) I also assume their tours were more in-depth. read more

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Our group of 4 took the Wednesday morning tour of Lafayette No 1. Our guide arrived early & made sure everyone had water for the tour as it was already getting pretty warm. I was initially a little worried that we were getting a rushed tour because he was talking SO fast. We figured out quickly though that he was just so chock full of interesting stories information that there was no other way to cram it all into one hour & still have time to answer questions. Great tour, reasonably priced & a bonus that proceeds benefit restoration efforts. Well done! read more

Save Our Cemeteries - Great tour guide. Both enthusiastic & knowledgeable. - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me

I loved all three of the tours we did while in New Orleans, but this one was my favorite. We had a lovely tour guide, Fran, who took us through Cemetery #1 on 12/31. She even brought a couple of spare umbrellas in case it started raining (it did for just a moment and then stopped - we got lucky!) Save Our Cemeteries is a non-profit so our group of 6 was really happy that our money was going to restoring the cemetery so it can be preserved for the deceased, the families of the deceased, and for the future groups who come to learn about the history of the cemetery. I had no idea that Nicolas Cage had chosen this cemetery to be his final resting place when the time comes - weird, but fascinating. I highly recommend this tour & Fran!! read more

We went on the tour of St Louis 1. Our tour guide was full of information. She answered all questions we had. I definitely recommend going on this tour, of course you could roam the cemetery by yourself but for $20 you can learn and also help restore these historical cemeteries. read more

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Great tour company but especially great tour guide, Sabine Moore. Sabine was so knowledgeable and so passionate about New Orleans and St. Louis Cemetery that she brought life not only to the culture but to the remains of all. During our tour there had to be at least 5 other groups/tour companies who were loud, rude and disrespectful to the other groups. Sabine spoke with grace, respect and passion for all those who gave their lives over the years and to everyone there. read more

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Amazing tour! I took the St Louis No 1 and No 2 tour today and it was out of this world good. Jamie was our guide and she is an absolute treasure. Her wealth of knowledge, including excellent pronunciation of non-English words, was captivating. She was a very respectful guide and kept a good pace. We passed by several other tour groups (not affiliated with SOC) who were a bit loud; but luckily our entire group was reverent and aware of the respect that should be shown in cemeteries. I would absolutely 100% recommend taking a tour through SOC. You will learn so much about the history of New Orleans and have a wonderful time. read more

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A terrific non-profit doing important work and providing a valuable service to New Orleanians and visitors to the city. Please avoid the silly ghost/voodoo tours and the carnival barkers standing outside the cemetery gates hawking for tips and pre-book a SOC tour instead. We took a tour of Lafayette Cemetery #1 and while our guide seemed a little under the weather, we still found the tour to be engaging and informative. I also love that the proceeds from tours go toward essential cemetery restoration and maintenance such as fixing vandalism and breached walls. We had done a lot of research before our tour but still learned a few things. This is a legitimate tour experience that prioritizes history and education over hype and mythology. read more