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Visit the Catacombs of Paris
Known officially as the l’Ossuaire Municipal, the Catacombs of Paris are a favorite attraction among visitors to France’s capital city. While many of Paris’s most popular attractions boast spectacular views of the city – think Sacre Coeur or the Eiffel Tower – these undergound burial sites are a dark counterpoint to the romance and glamor that are usually associated with the City of Lights.
A visit to the Catacombs will give you a new perspective on Paris and a look into some of the darker corners of the city’s past. The tour includes a history of the tunnels, an exploration of the underlying geology and engineering that went into creating the underground maze, and a look at historical Paris, from pre-French Revolution to the present. The tours last 1-2 hours, which means that a visit to the Catacombs leaves you free to explore Paris for the rest of the day, and at €4-8 per person it is a relatively inexpensive tour. History lovers, geology buffs and cemetery lovers in particular will enjoy the Catacombs tours; this unique view of the city of Paris shouldn’t be missed!
History of the Catacombs
The Catacombs were originally stone mines from which limestone and gypsum were extracted. These materials were used to construct buildings, roads, streets and bridges around Paris. During the late 18th century a portion of these mines–the Carriéres de Paris or mines of Paris–were repurposed as burial grounds after Paris’s cemeteries could no longer bear the huge numbers of deceased being interred. This was not a case of merely running out of burial plots, but rather a gruesome period of cemeteries being flooded with bodies, buried using improper burial techniques; the city bore the odor of death, and public health was put at serious risk of contamination and infection.
The official Catacombs website illustrates the city’s problem with a stark example, reporting that on May 30, 1780 a wall between a Parisian restaurant on rue de la Lingerie (located next to the Cimetiere des Innocents, or Innocents’ Cemetery) collapsed, giving way to the weight of the human remains that were bearing down for so long. Even though this cemetery was closed, other cemeteries were not and they experienced the same kind of overcrowding until finally, the problem met its solution: the abandoned quarries known today as the Paris Catacombs. Using the abandoned mines to bury the dead was first proposed by a Police Lieutenant named Lenoir, and between 1785 and 1814 bones were relocated to the underground quarries; estimates put the number of skeletons relocated from their original graves to the Catacombs at between five and seven million. The Catacombs continued to serve a purpose of historical significance during World War II, when French Resistance fighters used the network of tunnels to hide from the Germans who occupied Paris.
Visitor Information
Only a portion of the limestone quarries that make up the Catacombs are open to the public; the section available for public tours is called the Denfert-Rochereau Ossuary. Keep in mind these are underground tunnels and they tend to be quite cool, so bring a coat or a sweater; the official Catacombs website recommends bringing a sweater, as well as a small flashlight and a map of the Catacombs. You will be using stairs along this walking tour, so take any physical injuries or limitations into consideration before embarking on the tour. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult in the Catacombs and there are no on-site restroom facilities, so plan accordingly. Tours can last up to an hour or slightly longer, so leave yourself enough time after your Catacomb tour to get to your next stop.
The Montparnasse District
A cross adorns the stones underground in the Catacombs.
The Catacombs are located in the Montparnasse district–the 14th arrondissement–of Paris. Place Denfert-Rochereau is the main square, with three smaller squares–green spaces within the main square–inside: Square Claude-Nicholas Ledoux, Square Jacques Antoine and Square Abbé Migne. In the center of the square is a replica statue “Lion of Belfort” by Bartholdi; this one-third scale replica is an homage to Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, a resistance fighter and French hero.
Location
The entrance to the Catacombs is located at 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, Place Denfert-Rochereau (map).
You can reach the Catacombs by metro, using the 4 and 6 lines; the metro station is the Denfert-Rochereau station. The Paris metro is easy to use, with kiosks available at station entrances where you can purchase tickets; the kiosks include an English-language option.
There is also bus service to the Catacombs on lines 36 and 38.
Hours and Admission
The Catacombs do have group tours but they are limited in size and only offered in the morning, Tuesday through Friday; group size is limited to 10-20 people and arrangements can be made at the Musee Carnavalet. There is no coat check so only bring what you can carry. The tours do not bring visitors through the entire network of tunnels: approximately 1700 meters out of 300 km.
Visitor Information
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM – 5 PM, with the last admission at 4 PM.
Prices: Admission for adults is €8, ages 14-26 is €4, ages 60+ is €6; children under 13 enter free.
Image credits: Vdegroot (bones); NicolasVigier (tunnel); Colocho (stones).
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