A beautiful city in America is a popular tourist spot – but it’s also among the spookiest places to visit. New Orleans is a city located along the Mississippi River in the US state of Louisiana.

It is renowned for its distinctive music, Creole cuisine, unique dialects, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. It has also been named one of the spookiest destinations by cruise and tour operator Riviera Travel in its annual Spooky Travel Index for 2025, which ranks destinations based on the number of cemeteries, ghost tours, Halloween activities, and average daylight hours in October, to reveal the spookiest destinations worldwide.

New Orleans topped the list, scoring 42.99. Riviera Travel said the American city has a “haunting reputation, famous for its voodoo history and rumoured vampire sightings” in the French Quarter. The paranormal vibe is popular among thrill seekers, with 10 cemeteries, 151 ghost tours, 85 Halloween activities, and only 11.4 hours of daylight in October. New Orleans is known as America’s most haunted city, with a rich history of paranormal legends stemming from its complex past, unique burial practices, and cultural mix.

People can experience this side of the city through haunted hotels, restaurants, voodoo and vampire-themed tours, and by visiting locations like Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, and the Ursuline Convent Museum.

Voodoo is a syncretic religion that blends West African spiritual practices with Roman Catholicism, brought to Louisiana by enslaved people. It remains a major practice in New Orleans.

Today, gris-gris dolls, potions and talismans are still found in stores and homes throughout the city – a reminder of the city’s fascination with spirits, magic, and mystery. Voodoo practices include readings, spiritual baths, prayer, and personal ceremony.

The French Quarter, which was the colonial-era city and is bounded by the Mississippi River, Rampart Street, Canal Street, and Esplanade Avenue, contains popular hotels, bars and nightclubs. Notable tourist attractions in the Quarter include Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market, and Preservation Hall.

Also in the French Quarter is the old New Orleans Mint, a former branch of the United States Mint which now operates as a museum, and The Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum and research centre housing art and artefacts relating to the history and the Gulf South.

The city has been described as the “most interesting” in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Additionally, New Orleans has become known as “Hollywood South” due to its prominent role in the film industry and popular culture.

New Orleans is known for specialities including beignets, square-shaped fried dough often served with café au lait made with coffee and chicory; po’ boy sandwiches; Gulf oysters on the half-shell, fried oysters, boiled crawfish and other seafood; étouffée, jambalaya, and gumbo.