Necropolises of New Orleans I

In New Orleans, a city built on a swamp, the dead are enshrined above ground. Row upon row of crypts and mausoleums with elaborate entryways, wrought iron fences, and decorative rooftop statues form the Cities of the Dead.

The vaults reflect the heritage of French and Spanish colonists, who were accustomed to seeing these types of burials in their homelands. The styles and sculptures decorating the homes of the dead often reflect activities the deceased had pursued in life. Time and extreme weather systems further shape their quiet abodes.

Beyond these places of final rest, New Orleans and nearby Jefferson Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish are striking places for tourism. On offer are unique French and Spanish Creole architecture, a mild climate, and a cross-cultural and multilingual heritage.

Visitors flock to Mardi Gras, feel the hint of voodoo in the air, relax on the lawn of the Cabildo, and refresh themselves with a walk through the Garden District. Swamp boat rides, afternoons on a steamboat, and bayou tours are found only in and around New Orleans. Travelers who explore at any time of the year discover adventures and excitement steeped in culture and history.

New Orleans' cuisine is renowned worldwide for combining Creole, French, Spanish, Italian, African, Native American, Cajun, Chinese, and Cuban foods. Classic New Orleans dishes like muffuletta, jambalaya, bananas Foster, gumbo, turtle soup, praline bacon, and red beans and rice can be found at fine dining establishments as well as inexpensive restaurants.

Travel tips and facts about wildlife, food, rental cars, camping, adventures, travel and tourism, and cultural tours are easy enough to find on travel sites like Expedia or Travelocity. Entire trips can be planned using guidebooks like those from Lonely Planet. Now visitors to the American South can expand their knowledge base with an artist's view of the city of New Orleans and its Cities of the Dead.

The photos in this book were taken at Greenwood Cemetery & Mausoleum, St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, and Saint Patrick Cemetery No. 2. The thirty-five color photos are paired with titles that evoke these cities within the city. Experience the cemeteries as beautiful, historic, and meditative places in Necropolises of New Orleans I.

For fans of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, The Pelican Brief by John Grisham, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts, The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, Night Huntress, Dark Hunter, Never Never, Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Immortals After Dark, Chronicles of Nick, Were Hunter, Hellchaser, Dream Hunter, Dave Robicheaux, Shifters, Buchanan Renard, Gods & Monsters, The Bourbon Street Boys, Boudreaux, GhostWalkers, Jane Yellowrock, Dark, Game On, Hunter Legends, A Wicked Trilogy, Preacher, and The Iron Fey.