No Need for Exaggeration in
the Crescent City.
Red Sash Tours offers an authentic and captivating look at New Orleans' fascinating history and culture.
Owner and operator Sally Asher is an award-winning writer, author of multiple books, and in-demand lecturer. Her thoughtful and carefully curated tours prove that truth is always stranger than fiction, especially in New Orleans.
Make a Grave Choice.
St. Louis #3: Angels & Architecture
It’s been written that this cemetery has so many angels that one can “almost hear the beat of their wings.” Twice the size of St. Louis #1 and #2 combined, St. Louis #3 is the final resting place of many notables, including the famed architect whose ship went down in a hurricane with over a hundred prostitutes and circus performers, the secret photographer of Storyville, the city’s red light district, the Poet Priest, the Angel of the Delta, and some legendary chefs who collectively advanced the Civil Rights movement, restored horse racing in New Orleans, and (for better or worse) introduced the turducken to the United States.
Greenwood: Iron Will
Home to the largest assemblage of iron tombs in the city, Greenwood is filled with unique monuments and funerary symbols as well as local and national celebrities, such as a Pulitzer-prize winning writer, the roller-skating duck lady, the man who spiced up New Orleans, and the burlesque dancer whose claim to fame was dancing with seven boa constrictors at once (and occasionally an iguana).
Metairie Cemetery: Mausoleums & Millionaires
Metairie Cemetery (actually located in New Orleans) is home to some of the most elaborate and artistic marble tombs and funerary art in the city. This former racetrack is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is frequently ranked as one of the top cemeteries in the world. Metairie Cemetery has everyone from politicians, to jazz musicians to Storvyille madams to mob bosses, to fried-chicken tycoons, all nestled together in an 127-acre pastoral setting surrounded by shining pyramids, Greek Temples, Islamic pavilions, crying dogs, and mausoleums with weeping angels. Metairie Cemetery is not a burial place, but a burial destination.
What People Are Saying
“Sally was a very well documented and extremely helpful tour guide (even beyond her expected duties, so really grateful). The tour provided a lot of interesting information about the present and past of New Orleans' history but always in a very approachable way. It is obvious that Sally is a researcher in the area, so really appreciated to have a tour guide with so much evidenced based information. Highly recommended!”
— Isa G.
“Had a really cool time. We’ve done some walking tours in the past but this one really nailed it. The tour itself was nice. The guide was super informative. Lots of super specific facts that really made this tour fun and knowledgeable. Wasn’t stale or robotic. Totally recommend.”
— Scott
“Really great tour. The guide has a really great knowledge based on her research as a historian, author and photographer of all thing New Orleanian. The presentation and information were a massive step above other tours of this type that I have taken on my trips to New Orleans.
I would recommend this tour of a relatively unknown New Orleans history for all those who want a little bit more from your tour.”
— mssmith0406
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