New Orleans Sights

Metairie Cemetery

#4 of 532 things to do in New Orleans

#60 of 19917 things to do in USA

2 reviews | Write a review

  • Address
    • 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd
  • Phone
    • 504 486 6331

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Lonely Planet review for Metairie Cemetery

Visiting other New Orleans cemeteries doesn’t quite prepare you for the architectural splendor and over-the-top extravagance of Metairie Cemetery. Established in 1872 on a former race track (the grounds, you’ll notice, still follow the oval layout), this is the most American of New Orleans’ cities of the dead and, like the houses of the Garden District, its tombs appear to be attempts at one-upmanship. This is the final resting place for many of New Orleans’ most prominent citizens. William Charles Cole Claiborne, Louisiana’s first American governor, rests here, as does Confederate General PGT Beauregard. Jefferson Davis was originally interred here, only to be moved to Richmond, VA, two years later. But the real highlight is the architecture. Many of the family tombs and monuments mix stone, bronze and stained glass, and the statuary is, in turns, elegant, touchingly sad and even sensual. Highlights include the Brunswig mausoleum, a pyramid guarded by a sphinx statue; the Moriarty monument, the reputed ‘tallest privately owned monument’ in the country; and the Estelle Theleman Hyams monument, with a stained glass casting a somber blue light over a slumped, despondent angel. Visitors can drop by the funeral home on the grounds and select either the ‘Soldier, Statesmen, Patriots, Rebels’ or ‘Great Families and Captains of Commerce’ self-guided tours. You will be given a map and loaned a recorded cassette and tape player (no charge). Seeing everything on the 150-acre grounds is most easily accomplished by car. Tape tours take about an hour, but stretching this out by getting out of the car for a closer look is highly recommended.

 

Traveller reviews for Metairie Cemetery (2)

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    Well-maintained historic tombs

    jessica_marie recommends this,

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    The variety of different styles of tombs in the Metaire Cemetery is far greater than some of the smaller, older cemeteries in New Orleans, and most of the tombs are in very good condition.

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    A Drive Through Museam!

    diabolic21 recommends this,

    Driving through Metairie Cemetery you would forget that you are looking at a cemetery and think that you in a drive through museum. The monuments that are errected here are simply amazing. If you can navigate the tricky roads to find an entrance to the cemetary you will me struck by the sheer quantity of spectacular works of art that went into making this cemetery the best I have ever seen. You would think that you are driving through a neighborhood of million dollar mansions and not a cemetery. I myself, have always been an amateur tombstone admire, driving through cemeteries to a see cool tombstone or two. But when I entered Metairie Cemetery I was blown away because it seems like every single monument is a work of art. I spent 3 hours here just driving around, and which I had more time to walk this work of art so that I could get the Full Monty of it. If you are a photobug this is THE place to come to in New Orleans. Even if you have never seen a cemetery before you can not help But to appreciate this place. YOU MUST SEE THIS PLACE!!

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