The Catacombs of Paris is an underground ossuary where the remains of 5 to 6 million Parisians were interned in the late 18th century.
You enter the catacombs by climbing down a 60ft spiral staircase, then walk through a mile of tunnel, much of which is bare at the begining until you finally reach the ossuary itself, which is lined with rows and rows of stacked bones and skulls - these are the city's dead!
The self guided tour will take you around 45 minutes.
The catacombs were created as the church cemeteries had become dangerously full. When Les Innocents cemetery, with its open graves and corpses not properly buried, had become contaminated with decomposing human remains it became a risk to public health.
Much of Paris sits on limestone, which had been quarried since Roman times to build the city. As a result underneath the city of Paris are almost 125 miles (200 Km) of abandoned tunnels. To solve the problem of the overfilled cemeteries, the city issued a decree in 1785 ordering that all existing cemeteries would have their remains transferred underground in a section of the tunnels that had been previously prepared for them.
It took 15 years for the millions of corpses to make the journey to their new resting place. The transportation was done in the dead of night, with the corpses moved by carts veiled in black, in a procession led by a priest who would offer prayers for the dead.
The catacombs have been a source of curiosity ever since they were created. In 1787 Count d’Artois (later to become King Charles X) visited them to entertain the ladies of the court. The Austrian emperor Francois 1st visited the catacombs in 1814 and in 1860 Napoleon III visited them with his son. They were officially opened to the public in 1867 and have remained a ghoulish attraction ever since.
Prices
8 Euro
Opening Times
Tues - Sun 10am to last entrance at 4pm
Closed Monday
Address
Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy
Opposite Metro & RER: Denfert-Rochereau
75014, Paris
Tel: 01 43 22 47 63
How to Get There
Metro & RER : Denfert-Rochereau - line 4, 6, RER B
(NOTE: You exit the Catacombs on rue Remy-Dumoncel, which is about half a mile from this metro stop. If you turn right when you exit the Catacombs and walk up until you reach the main street you have the choice of turning left which takes you to Metro Alesia - line 4, or turn right which takes you to Mouton-Duvernet - line 4.
External Links
www.catacombes-de-paris.fr
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