Attractions · Tremé
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
The city's oldest cemetery, from 1789: a walled city of above-ground tombs behind the French Quarter, open only on guided tours.
- Area
- Tremé
- Address
- 501 Basin Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
- Hours
- Guided tours run daily from the Basin St. Station visitor centre; the after-dark tour runs in the evening
- Admission
- Ticketed. The Archdiocese admits visitors only on a guided tour. Tours are ticketed and check in at the Basin St. Station visitor centre.
- Checked
- Sun 01 Nov 2026 against the official site
About this place
Behind the French Quarter on Basin Street stands the city's oldest cemetery, established in 1789 and still in use. An 1803 ordinance pushed burials above ground against the high water table, and the result is a walled city of the dead in miniature: rows of whitewashed tombs, family vaults and society tombs along narrow lanes, in the memorial tradition the city inherited from France and Spain.
There is no wandering in on your own. After a run of vandalism the Archdiocese closed the gates to unaccompanied visitors, so the only way in is on a guided tour, with a locally licensed guide touring on behalf of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries. Tours check in at the Basin St. Station visitor centre, a short walk from the gate. The tour bookable here runs after dark, when the lanes empty and the stories carry further, past the tombs of Marie Laveau and Homer Plessy among them.
Tickets and booking
We do not sell tickets ourselves. This one is bookable through Viator, with live prices and availability on the booking page.
From US$41
Book the after-dark tourvia Viator · affiliate link
Official site: https://nolacatholiccemeteries.org/st-louis-cemetery-1. Details checked Sun 01 Nov 2026.