Lafayette Number One

The Creoles lived in the Quarter. When the Americans came, not only were they unwelcome in the French-speaking part of town, but they really didn't like the close quarters of the European-style homes and streets in the Quarter. They moved upriver from the Quarter, into what we now refer to as "Uptown."

Located in the Garden District, this cemetery is bounded by Washington Avenue, Prytania, Chestnut, and Sixth Streets. Lafayette Number One was never really that popular on the tourist paths until it became one of the resting places for the Vampire Lestat, and the location of the Mayfair family's tomb, both from novels by Anne Rice. Interest in this cemetery has picked up a good bit since then, as well as interest in preserving it. Unlike the St. Louis cemeteries, where New Orleans Creole families still bury their dead, Lafayette Number One is an American cemetery, with most of the tombs here housing folks of Irish and German extraction. This is only logical, since the neighborhood it's located in (the Garden District) was known as the first American suburb. Lafayette Number One has very limited visiting hours, from 10:00am to 2:00pm, so be sure to plan your trip accordingly. This cemetery makes for a nice stop on a walking tour of the Garden District. Plan to have lunch at Commander's Palace, or, if that doesn't fit in your budget, grab a po-boy from the little grocery store at St. Charles Ave. and Sixth St. If lunch won't work, you can enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee or tea at the P.J.'s coffeehouse across the street on Washington Ave.

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