Local author and historian Sally Asher will take you on a journey of a famous New Orleans cemetery. It’s been written that St. Louis Cemetery #3 has so many angels that one can “almost hear the beat of their wings.” You'll visit the graves and learn about some of the city's notable (and notorious) citizens including the first businesswoman to have a public statute erected in her honor, the hunchbacked photographer who secretly photographed prostitutes, the woman behind the quirky castle, the famed architect whose ship went down in a hurricane with over a hundred prostitutes and circus performers, and some legendary chefs who collectively advanced the Civil Rights movement, restored horse racing in New Orleans, and (for better or worse) introduced the turducken to the U.S.. This tour takes approximately an hour and a half and covers roughly a half mile. The tour meets in front of the cemetery on 3421 Esplanade Ave at the gate farthest to the right underneath the trees.
Our guide was amazing given her wealth of knowledge in this area. I chose this cemetery tour given she has written a book. We were very impressed and she certainly exceeded expectations. Highly recommend!
Sally was an amazing guide. She was so friendly and knowledgeable. She even honored a special request we made. She seemed to know everything about the cemetery. She was an absolute pleasure.
Our tour host was amazingly knowledgeable and friendly. And she is active in the historical preservation of important city figures and monuments. A must do for sure.
Sally with red sash tours was absolutely AMAZING!!! Sally’s knowledge, expertise and true passion for sharing her knowledge shines through. Bringing humor and compassion and comradely When you sign up for this tour take Sally’s. A side note - I’m from midwest and it was WILD to see a nod to the Mars cheese castle (WI).
Sally’s tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 was absolutely fantastic! She was incredibly knowledgeable and brought the cemetery to life with fascinating insights into iconography, burial practices, and the rich history behind the tombs. What made the tour fun was hearing the stories of New Orleans’ badass women their bold personalities, unconventional lives, and the wonderfully quirky ways some of them carried their individuality all the way to their graves. Sally has a gift for storytelling that makes history feel vivid, personal, and anything but boring. Her tour was informative, entertaining, and full of those unexpected details you’ll be talking about long after you leave. If you want to go beyond the usual tourist experience and discover the history, mysteries, and eccentric characters that make New Orleans so unique, take Sally’s tour! It was a highlight of our time in the city.
Sally was extremely knowledgeable and engaging. I highly recommend this tour and almost guarantee you’ll find out new information.
Sally was AMAZING!!! She was well versed in history, the process, ritual etc of burial. The stories were fun and entertaining and she was patient w all the questions and trust me my party was full of them lol. I recommend this tour but not for people looking for ghost stories or eerie experiences this is a historical tour so please use caution when booking your tours.
Knowledgeable tour guide and would highly recommend. Sally is highly knowledgeable and an expert in her field, when it comes to New Orleans cemeteries, she knows the ins and outs and has quirky little facts that only she can present in such a way that is fun, engaging and thoughtful.
My partner and I were celebrating our 7 year anniversary and a thing we share a love for is learning. You'll learn SO much about the history and culture and traditions of New Orlean cemeteries with Sally. She was super personable, welcoming, inclusive, funny, and just real. I really appreciated how she tells the stories of not only the tombs and the intricacies of its design (symbolism and all), but also the untold, human stories of the actual lives behind each tomb. I loved that she gave credit to where its due, especially for those lives who were not properly represented by some of these tombs. My partner and I really feel like we hit the jackpot having our tour with Sally. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Keep it going!
I love when I have a guide who’s there because they are passionate about their topic. Sally was knowledgeable, personable, funny, and clearly dedicated to the subject. We enjoyed all the anecdotes that other guides likely can’t offer.
Sally is a wonderful guide, who has done extensive cemetery research. Very knowledgeable, and a great storyteller! I would highly recommend a tour with her!
Sally was AMAZING! Super knowledgeable and great to talk to! Highly recommend!
Our group of 5 cousins started off our shared NOLA experience with this tour. Sally delivered an excellent and informative experience by sharing history, curious facts about burial rituals in NOLA, and background on now deceased local characters both famous and infamous. An easy walk about the cemetery with a very knowledgable and well-studied guide who is passionate about her field of expertise. Highly recommend this tour.
Sally is incredibly well informed and highly engaging. She taught us so much about New Orleans history and how it connects to the cemeteries. Would definitely recommend this tour to friends visiting NOLA.
Sometimes guides have so much info they want to say you get lost in the extra details. Sally does know a tremendous amount of history but presents them in an interesting storytelling manner. She always asks if we had questions and took her time to answer you. She’s got to be the most knowledgeable person on the cemeteries in NOLA. She toured us St.Louis cemetery no.3. We come back to walk the other ones next time
Sally explained all sorts of stories and history about the #3 cemetery. This is her passion! She told us about the symbolism of the various parts of a tomb, important for conveying information about the deceased to those who could not read which was common years ago. I appreciated getting a text with logistical info the morning of the tour; getting it the afternoon before would have been even better.
Brought exceptional energy to the tour and demonstrated deep subject-matter expertise!
Sally, our guide, was exceptionally knowledgeable and shared so much information. One of the highlights was being able to go inside one of the tombs...something other tours do not offer. I couldn't imagine a cemetery tour with a different guide. Amazing!
So much fun. I love that she really knew what she was taking about and could easily debunk lies. She had so much good information and it was so much fun to listen to.
Our guide Geoff was a dream! It was a bit rainy, so he showed up with umbrellas for everyone on our tour. He was extremely knowledgeable and eager and happy to answer any questions we had. He had tons of info and wild stories for us. This was a very educational tour!
Geoff was an incredibly friendly and knowledgeable guide, had a really interesting tour. Super enjoyable, would definitely contact him again to do another cemetery if we’re in NOLA again!
It was a great experience. The guy was amazing and full of information and she provided an umbrella!
Very informative and intriguing. Highly recommendable. It is worth it, despite the unforgiving weather.
I’ve done other Nola tours, including other cemetery tours. And tours in other areas, also. The tour with Sally Asher is one of the best. She is extremely well informed about Nola history and especially as it relates to local cemeteries. I would definitely recommend one of her tours.
We did the Angels and Architecture tour with Geoff today and I couldn't have been more pleased! It was a scorcher of a day but Geoff had umbrellas for us to shield the sun. Right off the bat, he was so personable and fun to talk to. He shared the most interesting stories about the entombment process, the various types of tombs, and fascinating characters who call the cemetery their now home. With his background as a funeral director and love of learning (and sharing) history, he was a stellar guide. The tour was taylored to all our questions and exceeded our expectations. It was hands down the best tour of our week's vacation. Don't look any further, book this tour. Thank you Geoff! If you're ever in Oregon, we'll meet up with you at Blockbuster!
Geoff was a great tour guide . Very friendly and knowledgeable. He was very kind and even brought a few UMBRELLAS we could borrow!!!! The cemetery was beautiful and well preserved.
This was one of our favorite experiences in New Orleans. Our guide, Sally, was friendly, informative, and clearly passionate about the history of St. Louis Cemetery #3. We learned so much about New Orleans culture, burial traditions, and local history. The cemetery is peaceful, beautiful, and full of interesting stories. The tour was well organized, easy to follow, and never felt rushed. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a unique and authentic New Orleans experience.
Sally was amazing! She's an author of several books on New Orleans history and cemeteries. She really knows her stuff! Our first time to New Orleans and this was a great tour to "get our feet wet" on the who, what,where and why of cemeteries! Sally was so knowledgeable and thoughtful you can definitely tell she truly cares about the history, upkeep and preservation of these beautiful historical cemeteries
She was very knowledgeable and gave plenty of time to take photos. There was a large amount of information about New Orleans burial practices.
Sally was an amazing guide! She made the tour fun and it was also informative! Highly recommend!
This was an outstanding and enjoyable tour! Our guide, Sally Asher, was exuberant and brought history to life. Her knowledge gave us insight to the architecture that we could have easily walked by on our own. The fun facts and human stories were educational, humorous, and added to this fun adventure! I highly recommend this tour!
Very knowledgable and fascinating stories about the people and structures. Provided umbrellas for the sun.
Sally was an amazing storyteller!She made the cemetery come alive. Highy recommend taking this tour with her.
Very knowledgeable outgoing shared interesting historical aspects about this cemetery very well organized and timely
I went on the Cemetery Number Three tour with Sally in November 2025 when I came to New Orleans with my husband. When I planned on visiting again with my daughter, I knew she would love this tour as she loves history. I was right! We had a memorable day taking the to work. Sally has an extensive knowledge of history, not only of New Orleans, but an incredible knowledge of Cemetery number three, its inhabitants, and so much more. She’s a great storyteller and made the tour interesting and enjoyable..
Sally was a great tour guide . One of the best tour guide I’ve ever had . She explained perfectly how the burial process takes place and even showed us some pictures. She showed us tombs of influential and controversial people . I would highly recommend booking with Sally , I would book any other tour she happens to have .
Incredibly informative and super interesting! Sally was very knowledgeable of the cemetery and was very engaging.
Amazing tour. Sally was so knowledgeable, and eager to share. It was the best part of our trip.
Sally is am expert on New Orleans cemeteries having written a few books and has a podcast. She led us on a 2 hour tour of the rich and famous but also the really interesting backstories of some of the quirky things these people did for their burial site including feuds and petty grievances and let’s not forget about the crows overhead to give it that authentic appeal. It was fascinating and now I need to go find her podcast! I highly recommend this tour!
Sally Asher was an excellent tour guide. She was extremely knowledgeable about the cemeteries.
We initially debated doing the cemetery tour, but we are so glad that we did. Geoff was super prepared and texted us before we arrived with directions. Geoff made us feel at home (no pun intended since we were in a cemetery), hahah. One of the highlights was the thoughtful touch of providing umbrellas, not for rain (thankfully!), but to shield us from the sun. It was a small thing but made an impression on me. Geoff’s background as a former funeral director added a unique layer to the tour. His insider knowledge about the cemetery’s history, the people buried there, and the local customs were really cool. He has a way of weaving humor and puns into his storytelling that kept us entertained while we learned. At the end of the tour, we were even given a postcard, which was unexpected. My husband and I always collect postcards when we travel, so this was a perfect keepsake. What was even more unexpected was how much we enjoyed Geoff's company! We ended up meeting him later and made plans to stay in touch in case we're ever back in the area. It’s rare to meet someone who makes a tour feel more like a friend showing you around than a traditional guide. Red Sash is lucky to have Geoff, and we can’t recommend him highly enough.
Geoff did a great job conducting the tour- he clearly has a passion for his job! He was great at accommodating a person in our group with mobility issues. A must do!!
We had such a great time with Geoff today! Very informative, interesting and fun. Nice pace, so open to questions and helped us keep cooler with umbrellas and shady stops.
The cemetery tour was informative and excellent. Our guide was smart and she had interviewed many people in the cemetery business, and had many anecdotes of interest. The tour was 1 - 1/2 hours and the cost was reasonable. The cemeteries in New Orleans are very interesting.
Our tour guide Sally was incredibly informative and knowledgeable with not only cemetery #3 but New Orleans overall. I would recommend her and her tour any day.
Sally, a local historian & author was the best tour guide with her fascinating stories of those buried with accurate details of the burial process and the meaning meaning behind the statues and st
We had a great time! Sally is very knowledgeable and entertaining. We found it fascinating especially about the symbols and signs. I highly recommend it.
Sally was such an excellent tour guide! The tour was very interesting, full of fun stories, and was clearly so thoroughly researched. We had an excellent time and would strongly recommend based on accuracy and interesting stories!!
beautiful old cemetery. had a great tour guide that knew everything!
Sally’s tours are a mix of technical overview, historic and archeological interludes, and local insight, but above all they are labors of love. She reports on local eccentrics and celebrities but the truth is, she’s a real gem to New Orleans herself. She carefully crafts her tours to include a subtle progression of time and structures. From her many interviews and diligent research she is committed to sharing her love and passion for the city and all things that came before.
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