5 Unique Cemeteries Worth Visiting, According to Mental Floss Editors

In the late 18th century, the rural cemetery movement began in Europe and soon made its way across the pond. Based on the idea that cemeteries could be places to relax and enjoy nature in peace, the movement culminated in the development of elaborate cemeteries like Massachusetts’ Mount Auburn Cemetery, which was the first of its kind in the United States.

Prior to this movement, European and American cemeteries were generally found in town churchyards and were often crowded and unhygienic. But the rural cemetery movement sought to change this, aiming to turn cemeteries into peaceful places where people could commemorate the dead while also celebrating the beauty of life. 

Rooted in visions of the Greek region of Arcadia, which has long been associated with a pastoral paradise, these cemeteries were designed to be secluded and meditative, not solely mournful. The cemeteries that emerged from this movement were precursors to modern public parks and often provided places for leisure and gathering in the 19th century.

Towards the end of that century, though, death became even more taboo thanks to factors including the rise of the funerary industry, a pressure to maintain a strong facade during World War I, and other reasons. Cemeteries intended and designed for leisure soon became more associated with hauntings and horror stories.

Fast-forward to today, and rural cemeteries are certainly not quite as popular for social hangouts as they were when they were created—at least for some people. Others, though, still find a great deal of joy and peace in the quiet, natural, meditative beauty of cemeteries…like Mental Floss’s editors. Read about some of our best-loved cemeteries below.

Cementiri de Cadaqués (Cadaqués Cemetery), Spain

Written by: Eden Gordon

Once, on a backpacking trip to Spain, I took a day trip to visit the Salvador Dalí House Museum in Cadaqués, Catalonia. Just up the road from the museum, there was a seaside cemetery that I decided to visit. 

Opened in 1893, the Cementiri de Cadaqués is located near the Sant Baldiri Hermitage and overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. I have never forgotten the peace that permeated that seaside graveyard. It may not be the most elaborate cemetery in the world, but it had such a windswept beauty, with its chipping stone architecture and its white tombs that glittered under the summer sunshine. The cemetery also features a number of unique modernist funerary sculptures, including a work by Catalan sculptor Josep Llimona i Bruguera, which gave it a sense of artistry and individuality.

It felt like a perfect pairing with the visit to the busy Dalí museum, with its wild surrealist art and crowds of tourists. I imagine Dalí himself may have wandered there, seeking inspiration for his art on quiet, windy summer days. This cemetery is small and a bit off the beaten path, but it is lovingly maintained, offers views of the ragged cliffside and the sapphire waters beyond, and is worth a stop if you find yourself on the coast of Spain with a few extra hours to wander and reflect.

Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

Written by: Eden Gordon

The Green-Wood Cemetery must be the most peaceful place in New York City. I should know, because I’ve spent a lot of time seeking out green, quiet spaces in the Big Apple. But this historic cemetery might take the cake for the most genuinely calm place I’ve found, at least in the heart of metropolitan NYC. 

Green-Wood was founded in 1838 and was one of America’s earliest rural cemeteries. Today, it contains some 600,000 graves and is home to the tombs of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonard Bernstein, and other luminaries. It’s lovingly maintained and gorgeously landscaped, and is also a world-renowned Level III arboretum that provides a home for a diverse array of wildlife. Here, you’ll find plenty of birds, wildflowers, geese, and other creatures wandering past stunning sculptures, and a sense of quiet and calm that’s extremely hard to find in the city. 

From the nests of parakeets squawking at its entrance gates to its several spectacular ponds, Green-Wood is worth adding to any Brooklyn itinerary. The cemetery also hosts regular events, from concerts to tours to a special Day of the Dead celebration, among many other events. Complement your visit with a stop at the nearby Green-House, a newly restored historic greenhouse located near the front entrance that features souvenirs, art, and a chance to learn more about the cemetery’s storied history, not to mention clean bathrooms and a chance to refill your water bottle—all blessings on a sweaty NYC summer day. 

La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Written by: Nitya Rao

My first experience at Buenos Aires’ renowned La Recoleta Cemetery was marked by feeling like I was halfway to the grave myself.

Coming off a 15-hour journey with a fever, a sore throat, and a perpetually rainy forecast, I was nonetheless determined to make the pilgrimage to Eva Perón’s resting place. The minute I entered the maze, turning down the first of many peaceful, palm tree-lined pathways, I realized I was in for much more than a mere glimpse into the former First Lady’s lore.

Established in 1822 as Buenos Aires’ first public cemetery, La Recoleta was built on the former garden grounds of the Recollect Friars. By the late 19th century, it had transformed from a modest burial site into a miniature metropolis for the souls of Argentina’s wealthiest families, presidents, Nobel laureates, and military icons. Today, ornate statues, Gothic chapels, and the tombs of thousands span over two centuries of Argentine history.

Every tomb—from cracked marble mausoleums to Perón’s sleek granite family vault adorned with flowers—was speckled with sparkling raindrops. Whether it was a metaphor for the many tears shed by grieving families over the years or just a reality of autumn on the other side of the equator, the gloom made touring the 14-acre labyrinth city of the dead all the more atmospheric.

Perón's final resting place wasn't always so final. After a military coup forced President Juan Perón from power in 1955, her body vanished for nearly 20 years before returning to her family’s mausoleum. Today, she rests in a reinforced crypt deep under the earth.

Another memorial I stumbled upon was Rufina Cambaceres’s, one of the cemetery's most haunting. Her elaborate Art Nouveau tomb includes a life-size statue of Cambaceres holding the mausoleum door open, a design said to commemorate the family's belief that she had been buried alive.

Uncovering their stories made the concept of eternal peace feel much more like a privilege than a given.

Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, Scotland

Written by: Logan DeLoye

Though riddled with headstones, mausoleums, wall tombs, and architectural memorials commemorating the deceased, something about Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, Scotland, feels oddly alive.

Perhaps it’s the breeze that chills your spine the moment you step onto the grounds, or maybe it’s the stones, soaked in darkness, or the rusty bars on the graves that add to the eeriness of the experience.

I visited this historic graveyard during a two-month trip across Europe, stumbling upon it by chance, en route to buy a sweater, completely unprepared for the crispness of a late-September evening.

Just across the street from Greyfriars Bobby (the historic pub with its memorial to the loyal Skye Terrier who, according to legend, guarded his owner’s grave there in the 19th century), you’re greeted by rolling green hills covered with elaborate headstones honoring the dead.

From that description alone, you might expect an ordinary cemetery, yet it’s anything but.

As you saunter through rows of these memorials, with medieval fortresses peeking over the large stone walls, you quickly realize many of these grave markers tell stories. Names, dates, legacies, and intricate carvings adorn the headstones, some so captivating they inspired J.K. Rowling during her first years in Edinburgh, where she wrote much of the Harry Potter series.

This graveyard gave rise to the names of characters like Tom Riddle and Minerva McGonagall, as well as Moodie and Scrymgeour, all borrowed from the gravestones and their histories in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

Many travel far and wide to visit these graves; others come in search of ghostly lore, as the kirkyards are believed to be haunted (specifically the Black Mausoleum of Sir George Mackenzie). I definitely wasn’t there for the thrill of the supposed paranormal activity. Instead, walking through the cemetery was, as many such walks are, a stark reminder of life.

Reading the stories of those who have gone before us, in the case of Greyfriars Kirkyards, centuries before us, serves as a reminder that, one day, we will all be names on gravesites. It’s an invitation to learn from the past and savor life’s simple joys before we’re all just a memory carved in stone.

Willow Cemetery, Franconia, New Hampshire

Written by: Logan DeLoye

As someone who grew up in the Midwest, I am always fascinated by the dates on tombstones in Northeast cemeteries. Since this region was home to America’s earliest settlements, the dates etched into the headstones transport you to the very beginning of the United States, 1776, and sometimes even earlier.

In Franconia, New Hampshire, the historic Franconia Inn, a town meeting place in the 1770s, now welcomes guests with several rooms, a restaurant, and a spacious property offering horseback riding, swimming, tennis, and biking. Just a short walk across the street lies Willow Cemetery, home to an array of tombstones marking the lives of people who passed centuries ago.

Surrounded by woods, the cemetery is closed to new burials, but visitors are permitted to walk among the graves and learn about the families that once thrived here, or, in many cases, endured war, disease, and uncertainty to survive in Franconia in the 1700s and 1800s.

Unlike many cemeteries, the gravesites here are unassuming. The headstones are similar in size, for the most part, with rounded tops and inscriptions honoring those buried beneath them. Some plots commemorate an individual, while others are family plots that list the names and ages of the deceased, along with their birth and death dates.

Many graves in this cemetery belong to children, very young children, likely because the medical advancements we know today did not exist when these families lived in Franconia and the nation was just being built.

The grave of Luke Brooks, the first man to spot the Old Man of the Mountain, is in Willow Cemetery, along with other notable headstones like that of George Maxwell Jr., whose marker reads “Killed by Samuel Mills” in reference to a hanging in 1868, and the Whitney siblings.

While staying at the Franconia Inn, taking a trip up Cannon Mountain, or enjoying breakfast at the nearby Polly’s Pancake House are all fun, it’s also worthwhile to explore and appreciate the town’s history by stopping at Willow Cemetery.

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