Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island
I should start by saying I am thrilled to talk to anyone and everyone about cemeteries. So I was especially excited when a writer for Travel & Leisure contacted me for a story she was writing about the World’s Most Beautiful Cemeteries.
The story is here: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-beautiful-cemeteries
Since it went up on the Travel & Leisure site, it’s been picked up by the Huffington Post, Smithsonian.com, and as far away as Perth. Many of those lovely readers have found their way here, to Cemetery Travel. Hello!
In the interest in full disclosure, I didn’t choose the Travel & Leisure list of Beautiful Cemeteries. I didn’t even nominate any. Lanee Lee did all that work herself! I agree with her choices, especially with the inclusion of places I haven’t been yet, like the Okunoin Cemetery in Japan and the Tomb of the Poets in Iran.
Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans
If anything, there are cemeteries I would add to the list. My impression is that Rookwood Cemetery is even more beautiful than Waverley Cemetery, but our Australia friends will have to confirm or deny that. I think Gettysburg’s Soldiers National Cemetery is prettier than Fort Rosecrans, but it could be that I’m swayed by the weight of the history in Pennsylvania. Every list of cemeteries should include one from New Orleans. My vote would be for Metairie Cemetery, but a case could be made for Greenwood Cemetery.
Last October, I pulled together a short list of the most beautiful cemeteries I’ve visited. It’s here: http://cemeterytravel.com/2013/10/14/the-most-beautiful-cemeteries-on-cemetery-travel/
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California
My “most beautiful” list would probably change every day, as I learn more about cemeteries. I can say that the prettiest cemetery I’ve been to this year is Rock Creek Cemetery, outside of Washington, DC, but the many moods of Cypress Lawn gives all the others a run for my money.
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