Most people don’t associate the word beauty with cemetery. Yet, these beautiful cemeteries will be among some of the many that will come to haunt your soul. While perusing a cemetery may seem morbid to some, the reality is that a cemetery can reveal the history and the culture of a place. From the plain to the beautiful to the downright bizarre, these cemeteries have it all.
1. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, Louisiana
This is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans and is completely free to visit. The cemetery houses its dead above ground. Many believe, the internments above ground is due to the cemetery’s location at below sea level.
2. Pere-Lachaise, Paris, France
Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried here in one of the world’s most beautiful cemeteries. Parisians are said to jog through the winding paths.
3. Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
This beautiful cemetery is located in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. The cemetery houses the beautifully famous Evita Peron.
4. Highgate Cemetery, London, England
Highgate has an eerie feeling with the overgrown ivy taking over the graves. It was rumored to have housed a vampire in the 1970’s.
5. Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
The cemetery overlooks Manhattan. It was a site for battle during the Revolutionary War.
6. Cementerio General, Santiago, Chile
This beautiful cemetery is one of the largest in all of South America. At least 172 people interred at the Cementerio are prominent in Chilean history.
7. Merry Cemetery, Sapanta, Romania
The cemetery is an open-air museum, as well as, a national monument. Many of the graves are filled with funny epitaphs.
8. Waverly Cemetery, Sydney, Australia
Set against the sea, this beautiful cemetery was featured in the film, The Great Gatsby.
9. Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow, Russia
Russia’s poets, writers musicians, and more have their resting place here. If you don’t speak Russian, an interpreter is not hard to find.
10. Xoxocotlan Cemetery, Oaxaca, Mexico
This cemetery is the place to be when the Day of The Dead is celebrated, October 31-November 2. The atmosphere is very festive, as families celebrate their ancestors.
11. Central Cemetery, Vienna
One of the largest cemeteries in Europe. And the most famous in Vienna.
12. Bonaventure, Savannah, Georgia
Bonaventure cemetery was the location for the novel and the movie, Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil.
13. Cemetery of Punta Arenas, Chile
The cemetery of Punta Arenas is located in the city of the same name in Chile. It became a national monument of Chile in 2012.
14. Woodlawn Cemetery, New York
In this beautiful cemetery the Annie Bliss Titanic Memorial is housed and the cemetery has been named an historical monument.
15. Forest Lawn, Los Angeles, California
Forest Lawn is tucked away in the hills of Hollywood. This beautiful cemetery has hundreds of celebrities interred and has several monuments.
16. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mount Aubrey Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded in 1831. It is famous for its outstanding statues and decorations.
17. Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic
The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague was named one of the most beautiful cemeteries by The National Geographic.
18. Lone Fir Cemetery, Portland, Oregon
Lone Fir was founded in 1846. The cemetery is persevered as a National Historic Sight.
19. Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Arlington National Cemetery was once the backyard of Robert E. Lee. The tomb of the unknowns is only one of the many memorials to the fallen at Arlington.
20. Bellefontaine Cemetery, St Louis, Cemetery
The Bellefontaine cemetery is home to a number of archaeological monuments and is considered an Historic place.
