Grave sites are holy places where we pay respects to those whom we have loved and lost. But for some people, visiting the graves of people that they have never met is considered a pilgrimage of sorts, especially when it comes to celebrity grave sites. Here are six of the most visited grave sites in the world.
1. Frank Sinatra
"Old blue eyes" was one of the most polarizing figures in entertainment, ever. His grandiose showmanship, his attitude and personal presence, his alleged ties to organized crime, and his passion for the opposite sex made him a true entertainment icon.
He is buried in Palm Springs, California, alongside a bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of Camel cigarettes. His epitaph speaks volumes to the way he looked at life, "The Best Is Yet To Come". Thousands of people visit his grave each year in order to pay homage to one of the best to ever do it.
2. Princess Diana
Princess Diana was the people's princess, and I could think of no better place to find her final resting place. She was interred on her family's property in Althorp, North Hampshire, on Round Oval Island, in the middle of a small lake on the family land.
Her urn can be seen from the shore surrounding the island, and people are allowed to visit the site between July and September, but no one is allowed to step foot on the island itself. Four black swans live on the island and patrol the waters as beautiful sentries.
3. Mark Twain - Samuel L. Clemens
Samuel L. Clemens, or as is much more widely known, Mark Twain, is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York. Twain is famous for writing what is considered to be the quintessential American novel, Huckleberry Finn.
Thomas Henegar, the person responsible for overseeing Woodlawn Cemetery says that he would guess that nearly 3000 people come through the gates for a chance to pay their respects to, quite likely, the greatest American writer of all time.
4. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is what writers aspire to be. No man, woman, or child since his death has been able to create the same cultural and artistic legacy, and none likely will. His work has been translated into more languages than any other book, save the Bible.
Shakespeare is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire England, in the Holy Trinity Churchyard. The Holy Trinity Churchyard is considered a place of honor, and surprisingly Shakespeare wasn't interred there upon his own merit; he paid 440 pounds (a monster sum in the 1600s) for the ability to rest there.
Thousands of people visit his grave each year in order to pay their respects to the greatest English writer of all time.
5. Jim Morrison
Buried in the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, alongside the likes of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison's grave is the most visited in the entire cemetery. The cemetery, founded by non other than Napoleon Bonaparte, is filled with tourists everyday, most of which are there to visit Morrison.
Staff at the cemetery have had to deal with an untold number of unauthorized additions to the plot, including graffiti that boarders on vandalism.
6. Elvis Presley
Originally buried in a mausoleum in Forest Hills Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, his body had to be moved to his former residence at Graceland, because vandals had attempted to break into the mausoleum and steal the King's body.
Visiting Elvis' grave is included as part of the tour of Graceland, and more than 600 000 people each year pay the fee in order to pay homage to the King of Rock and Roll.
Remember, if you are going to visit the grave of a famous person, be respectful. Their's is not the only resting place there, and all those other people deserve your respect as well.