The Catacombs of Paris – Les Catacombes de Paris

This morning we are up extra early to visit one of the more intriguing and macabre sites in the city of Paris. The Catacombs! Also known as Denfert-Rochereau Ossuary. 

We purchased our tickets online with Viator, which I would recommend when travelling abroad because you can choose the time and day in advance, plus there is less hassle. You see just a few days previously we didn’t have tickets. We went on quite a long walk, about four miles to be exact, to Montparnasse, the entrance of this gory site. On arrival, we promptly learned there was a two-hour wait to purchase tickets. Then about another hour or more wait to enter. So we crossed the street to the nearest café ordered some wine, as you do, connected to their Wifi and replanned our schedule.

book your tickets in advance

plan your route

Today, tickets in hand (well, on the phone) we were more prepared and decided to catch the metro. It should be very easy we thought, seeing as the Denfert Rochereau Metro station was just across the road from the entrance. Wow-what an ordeal this would turn out to be! You see, the metro station I remember leaving on our way back to the flat was at Notre-Dame. The thing is, there are several stations to choose from. I had the wrong entrance in mind altogether! Once we were able to speak to an attendant they kindly pointed us in the right direction.

arriving at the catacombs

Jumping the queue to the ticket holder line, we waited about ten minutes before being allowed to enter and pass through the security screening. From there we walked a little further and were asked if we would like an audio guide. The guide provides you with the history of particular places on the self-guided tour, so we opted in favour of them at no additional charge. We would suggest getting these because there is a lot of information, and also they were included in our ticket price.

Ahead we press to the narrow spiralling stone staircase. 131 steps lead down underneath the bustling Parisian streets, at a depth of 20 meters. The equivalent to a five-story building, far deeper than any sewage system or Metro, into one of the many dimly lit corridors.  Here is where you can let your imagination run wild……..!

book your tickets in advance

deep underground

slideshow

The smell is musty, and there is a sound of water dripping into a small puddle. Damp stone walls surround you in an uncomfortable embrace. The flickering orange flame dances cautiously in the lantern, toying with the idea of extinguishing itself completely and only illuminating small fragments of the passageway ahead. Disembodied utterances cause your breathing to become tight and rapid. As you look frantically into the black abyss that lays before you, you’re unable to discern any measurable distances.  

It would be easy to get disorientated and lost down here, in this underground maze. Then, the walls open up into a chamber of unknown size making you lose all sense of direction until your fingertips feel something cold and hard. As you lift your lantern, the shape forms more clearly. The deep recesses where eyes formerly rested, peer undaunted at you while the exposed teeth seem to form a sinister grin as you realize rows upon rows of human skulls are staring back at you…

They believe that over 6 million bodies call this underground city, home. Their remains lay in stacks side by side, and on top of one another, several feet deep. Some lines of bones have an artistic touch as the skulls form patterns of a cross or a heart.

slideshow

history of the paris catacombs

Quarry tunnels have existed since Roman times, an estimated 200 miles worth that stays at a constant 14º celsius – 57º Fahrenheit. Mined limestone was the building block and construction material of choice leaving a labyrinth of tunnels underneath what is now the city of Paris. The leftover canals, reservoirs, and caves have been prisons, crypts, wine cellars, and bank vaults over the centuries. Some have even been nightclubs, galleries and due to the dampness used for growing mushrooms! 

Only about a mile is open to the public, but the Catacombs tunnels do have lights so you can make your way around easily. Behind many gates you pass, the light recedes to overwhelming darkness and leaves you wondering where they go. And wanting to find out! The quarries, however, are not part of the Catacombs tour because they are unsafe. So there is no access for the general public.

catacombs of paris – slideshow

In the 18th century, (1786) cemeteries were overrun – graves over full. Rain unearthed corpses and because of this the people became sick, so the city decided the remains should be moved further underground. 

At first, the lifeless bodies and skeletons were just thrown in any available spot, but King Charles X became intrigued and decided to explore with the ladies from the Court. Then the Catacombs became somewhat of a tourist trap, and they opened to the general public in 1867. To encourage tourism, the bones have been placed in patterns.

During WWII the French Resistance used the Catacombs tunnels and even the Nazi’s built hidden bunkers deep inside the mines.

book your tickets in advance

end of the tour & gift shop

You can take your time walking through these underground passages. We spent well over an hour and a half. At the end of the tour is another steep 112 steps which take you back to the surface where the loos and of course the gift shop is.

There are numerous amounts of novelty items for sale but obviously the skulls are the main feature.

the catacombs of paris – In a nutshell

• Address: 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris
• How to get there:
  • Bus: #38 and #68
  • Metro:  Denfert Rochereau
• Opening hours: Daily 10 am-8.30 pm (closed Monday) Ticket window closes at 7.30 pm
• Ticket prices vary depending on which type of tour. Book tickets in advance to skip the queue
• Expect to take 45 minutes to an hour for your visit (we spent about 90 minutes on the self-guided tour)
• Go to the loo before you go!!! No toilets on entry or throughout – just at the exit
• Gift and bookshop at exit
• 131 steps to go down and 112 steps to climb up
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Depth – 20 meters equivalent to a 5 story building

Book your tickets in advance – skip the queue

location map