Key West Cemetery
A 19-acre cemetery in the middle of Key West where the headstones read like a comedy set. One says: 'I told you I was sick.' Another: 'At least I know where he's sleeping tonight.'
The Key West Cemetery was established in 1847 after a hurricane destroyed the original burial ground on the beach. It occupies 19 acres in the geographic center of the island — prime real estate in a city where land is scarce — and contains the remains of roughly 100,000 people in a city of 25,000 living residents. The math requires above-ground burial vaults stacked several layers deep.
The most famous epitaph reads: 'I told you I was sick.' A second reads: 'At least I know where he's sleeping tonight' — placed by a widow. A third, for a navy veteran: 'Devoted fan of Julio Iglesias.' Key West has always had a particular relationship with mortality.
The cemetery contains a section for Cuban freedom fighters, a memorial to the 266 sailors killed when the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, and a separate section for the city's Jewish community. The above-ground vaults are painted in pastels. Iguanas sun themselves on the tombs. It is one of the most genuinely charming cemeteries in the United States.
Located at 701 Passover Lane, Key West. Open daily from 7 AM to 7 PM. Free to enter. The Historic Florida Keys Foundation offers guided tours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings — worth booking. Self-guided walking maps are available at the main entrance. Wear comfortable shoes; the paths are uneven.