The guide sends you a text message the night before the tour so you will know who to look for and have their contact information. Meet your guide at a great local coffeehouse on North Rampart Street along the Rampart-St. Claude streetcar line. The candle-filled grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which was established in the early 1800s as a mortuary chapel will be the first stop. The church and the cemetery are located on the edge of the neighborhood once called Storyville, a red-light district where jazz grew into a vibrant and unforgettable musical form. Then, you will enter the cemetery. Because of the fragile condition of this protected site, only approved guides are allowed in the cemetery. Your expert guide will give you an explanation (dont worry, not a demonstration!) of New Orleans unique, above-ground interment practices. Your guide will lead you around the cemetery, pointing out interesting tombs and funerary symbols, and telling stories of the permanent residents of St. Louis. Some of the most famous stories include a driven mayor, a tortured chess master, a Voodoo queen, a movie star, a civil rights pioneer, a gambling, dueling playboy, plantation barons, jazz geniuses, yellow fever victims, artists, and builders. These are some of the many characters who have given New Orleans its unique flavor and who now rest in this cemetery. The tour concludes at Basin Street Station visitors center, where you can cool off, rest, check out the displays and film, and ask about New Orleans history, culture, and things to do. After this tour, you will have a deeper understanding of what makes New Orleans special as well as some amazing photographs to show to your friends.Additional InformationConfirmation will be received at time of bookingChildren must be accompanied by an adultA moderate amount of walking is involvedOperates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriatelyWater is recommended as well as hats or umbrellas, especially in the summerWheelchair accessibleWalking surfaces are quite uneve
|