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Back o' Town Tour Voodoo/Cemetery tour—
St Louis Cemeteries #1 & 2, Treme and French Quarter tour
If its Voodoo you want, come to the source, on the Marie Laveau Legacy experience
Visit New Orleans oldest City of the Dead St Louis Cemetery No. 1 AND the rarely toured St Louis cemeteyr No. 2 - along with sacred sites, secret rites, and a special tribute at the tomb of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau - considered a shrine to many, PLUS Pirates, Politicaian, Sinners and Saints and musicians! We tour 2 neighborhoods, 2 cemeteries, 2 churches , a haunted bar in the Vieux Carre filled with spirits and pirate tales. See an upcoming Saints Tomb ( as in Catholic Saint not footbal LOL) and even end up at the tomb of War hero and privateer, once labeled Pirate - Dominique You. See our oldest chruches, a mortuary chapel and Salute The Tomb of the Unknown Slave at the famous St Augustine Church while we travel through the musically rich , historically filled Treme neighborhood - dotted with folk art , street smarts , voodoo history and a rich musical lineage stil alive and well today!
Make your own New Orleans voodoo doll and have it charged and blessed the right way -not the Holllywood way!
Walk through Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 and Saint Louis Cemetery No. 2- We are the only tour that goes inside Saint Louis 2! An in depth Explore of our European above ground burial architecture. See sarcophagi splendor, wrought iron antiquities and ancestral shrines. Meet the founding fathers of New Orleans introduced to you by your own Creole descendent guide with inside family secrets to share! Maybe even conjure up a spirit or 2.
Learn all about New Orleans Voodoo – a tradition of its own, from a modern Voodoo Queen that grew up with swamp magic in her veins. Explire Haitian voodoo comparisons, a dab of Hoodoo and explore secret societies too.
A leisurely drive through the French Quarter and the Faubourg Treme and hear of our growth from a weak military outpost to the richest town in America and watch the brilliant history come back before your eyes; All revealed though the eyes of our most famous voodoo queen, Marie Lavaeu, the true boss of New Orleans. Understand the music that grew in her times, the impact that the Civil War had on her free people of color class, realize slave rights and wrongs plus the voodoo legacy she left behind, spiced with the sexual, musical and magical revolution surrounding it all. Visit Congo Square, the birthplace of Jazz, joints , Storyville—the infamous red light district, the homesite of Marie Laveau, Voodoo altars, Creole courtyards, a mortuary chapel, churches and other insiders stops!
Where and When to Meet
Tour is reservation only at 12pm- Friday and Saturday.
Meet at 941 Bourbon Street in Laffittes Blacksmith Shop Bar Tour holds maximum 7 persons and minimums apply.
There is 3 pperson mimimum reserved to run tour.
Party's of 1 and 5 or 6 person need to call to insure there is space
You can also the day of to see of there is any space for walkups !
private times available, walking or van 7 days contact
Reserve Space Here
for regular scheudled tours the cost of the tour with voodoo doll making is
Reservation Only, Subject to availability
Friday and Saturday 12pm ( or privately)
$69 per person online Purchase Now Price
or $75 per person cc by phone or cash day of or Holiday seasons
Reg. Sold Out Dates - 1/14 & 2/25
Mardi gras closings 2/04 & 2/18
Private custom Versions also availabale at different times with or w/o doll section as as walking or step on guide tour.
you may wait to see if tour has room at last minute and call for approval but if tour is not pre-reserved and or sells out for your time -your date may not be available. Reservations on line preferred at least 24 hours in advance and RSVP required with resevration . See you soon!.
Exchange of tour choice or date is possible only when prearranged preferable 24 - 48 hours or before scheduled tour time. Missed tours are non refundable
So Choose a date for your tour and click add to cart to reserve your space! Unsure of the date? Put “open” and let us know when you'll be in town!
IMPORTANT
You MUST leave a local contact number and remember to RSVP at 504-915-7774 on your arrival to tune in for Additional tour times, special events and any updates on scheudling-occasional Blackout days arise and are updated on website or by phone. RSVP required . Same day on line reservations not accepted without prior approval code. Resevations more than 1 month in advance and those within 24 hours- must be backed up with a phone verification to make sure you are on the list . 504-915-7774
Reseved Tours Run Rain or Shine-switching to another available tour date or time if available is possible if arranged before scheduled tour ! Sold out dates or holday weekends switching is not honored
TOURS WITHOUT RESERVATIONS MAY GET SOLD OUT OR BOUGHT OUT AND NOT RUN SO PLEASE CALL TO MAKE SURE THAT TOUR IS INDEED AVAILABLE BEFORE YOU SHOW UP WITHOUT RESERVATION
No Sunday time slot available for St Louis #1 closes at noon on Sundays.
Try our Sunday 3 pm Cities of the Dead Tour, tour for your only Sunday afternoon cemetery tours in New Orleans.
 The World’s Tallest Statue of St. Jude
We are at the tallest statue of St. Jude in the world-the saint of impossible causes guards here at the oldest church in New Orleans. This church was originally built in 1826 as a mortuary chapel-strictly for the purpose of burials. As time went on and plaques died down we now have an international shrine of St Jude here in Our Lady of Guadeloupe parish in the church of St Jude. This church also has a beautiful Our Lady of Lourdes grotto, pumped in holy water from the ground for refills and one of the few statues in America of St Expedite-saint against procrastination
Congo Square
Congo Square, the birthplace of Jazz, the home of Voodoo rituals since the 1740’s, and a sacred site is now enshrined within the Armstrong Park facility named after Louis or Satchmo-New Orleans own father of Jazz! Congo Square has been through many names-one of which was Circus Square-interesting and an anomaly that elephants are in the background of this shot I took during a tour in January of 2003! Music, magic and Live Oak trees are a few of the wonders found within Historic Congo Square.
Marie Laveau. Voodoo Queen
This is one of the alleged portraits of Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. This portrait, by George Catlin was created in 1835 when New Orleans Voodoo was in it’s hey day and Marie reigned supreme. We will stop at her old home-site on St Anne Street, ritual sites of today and yesterday, altars and historical landmarks of some of Marie’s favorite haunts. The high point of the tour is the tomb of Marie Laveau located in St Louis cemetery #1 and is pictured as the main photograph at the top of this page as well as on the main tour page. Rituals, offerings and petitions are still created for her here and many other sites in town.
 St Louis Cemetery Tombs
The main styles of graves in this first New Orleans above ground cemetery are family tombs, wall ovens (mausoleums) society tombs and a few others styles like this old stepped tomb pictured here with the Greek wrought iron cross. This style of tomb was abandoned early on for it was not reusable-or should we say recyclable. This tomb has the earliest Date—1800—written on this cross. This does not mean that this is necessarily the oldest tomb in the cemetery founded in 1789 for many plaques are missing , yet the style suggests this is at least one of the first. Surrounding this stepped tomb are many family tombs-to the left a two shelf family tomb and to the right a one shelf tomb-note both have their plaques missing!
Voodoo Doll Making
 To heal or to hex, that the question?! Whether tis nobler ... to quote Shakespeare, who certainly knew a bit about magic, but I digress. Join the Lecture and the history of the infamous voodoo Doll— the Hollywood version and the truth. Explore the positives and negatives of effigies through history—contagious and sympathetic magic cross culturally—culminating in actual doll craft-making and proper use. A hands-on demonstration--materials supplied and spiritual techniques explained.
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