Entry No. 32 — the New Orleans file — filed under: outdoor-weird

Metairie Cemetery (Lake Lawn Metairie)

Built atop the former 1838 Metairie Race Course, this sprawling cemetery has the city's largest collection of marble tombs and a strip of extravagant mausoleums locals call Millionaires' Row. The most photographed is the Brunswig pyramid, an Egyptian-revival tomb flanked by a sphinx and a woman bearing a libation urn, built by a pharmaceutical millionaire who buried his wife and son inside, moved to L.A., and had his own body shipped back decades later. Central Avenue's oval drive still traces the old racetrack, so you can wander or slowly drive among sphinxes and weeping angels — and find the reddish-granite Morales tomb (built for Storyville madam Josie Arlington) that once seemed to glow on fire at night, an illusion created by a red traffic light reflecting off its polished stone.

The move: Drive or stroll the old racetrack loop hunting for the Brunswig pyramid and the flaming-mound tomb, then debate which mausoleum you'd pick.

• 📍 Metairie / Mid-City edge
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70124

Hours: Added 2026-06-22 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-22