paris katakomben tour

Welcome to the website dedicated to the Catacombs of Paris.

The Catacombs of Paris are an underground network of tunnels and former quarries. They house the remains of over 6 million Parisians. This incredible place offers visitors a unique immersion into the history of Paris.

Skip-the-Ticket-Line Ticket and Audio Guide

Private group guided tours are also organized.

Tickets and more

There are different ways to visit the Catacombs of Paris. You can choose to visit on your own with an audio guide or take a guided tour. Additionally, there are options available for both regular entry and skip-the-line access.

Visit the Catacombs

Official visits to the Catacombs of Paris are possible on a route of approximately 1.7 km. It takes about 45 minutes to complete the entire route. Only 200 people are allowed on the site at a time. This extremely limited number makes it mandatory to reserve tickets in advance

Visiting with an audio guide

The skip-the-line ticket with audio guide allows you to enjoy guaranteed access to the Catacombs of Paris.

An audio guide device with headphones is provided. The tour is available in French, English, German, and Spanish.

Guided Tour

The price of the ticket is included in the displayed price.

A professional guide accompanies you throughout the entire duration of the visit. They will guide you through the different galleries, sharing their knowledge and numerous anecdotes. It’s the ideal formula to learn more about the Catacombs of Paris.

VIP tours are guided tours in small groups. This allows the guide to tailor the experience to your expectations and be available to answer your questions to the fullest extent possible.

Practical Information

Opening hours.

Access to the Catacombs is closed every Monday, as well as on January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th.

However, access is open on Ascension Thursday, July 14th (Bastille Day), August 15th, November 1st, and November 11th. Unless any of these dates fall on a Monday.

Location and access​

How to get to the entrance of the catacombs of paris.

To visit the Catacombs of Paris, you need to go to the following address: 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy (Place Denfert-Rochereau), 75014 Paris, France.

There are three queues present at the Catacombs. One is designated for visitors who have not booked their tickets in advance.

The exit of the Catacombs is located approximately 700m further at 21 bis, Avenue René-Coty – 75014 Paris.

Google Maps details

Come by Vélib : Station N° 14005, 2 avenue René-Coty 75014 Paris

Come by Car : Paid parking at 83 bd Saint-Jacques 75014 Paris

Access conditions

The tunnels of the Catacombs of Paris are located 20 meters underground. The temperature is around 14°C (57°F) with relatively low lighting.

The tunnels in the Catacombs can be narrow, and the ground may be slippery or dirty. As a result, the visit is not recommended for individuals with reduced mobility, claustrophobia, heart or respiratory conditions, or those who are sensitive and likely to be disturbed by the environment. The atmosphere can also be anxiety-inducing for individuals with psychological or mental disabilities.

To access the Catacombs, you will need to descend a staircase of 131 steps. You will also need to climb 112 steps to exit the ossuary. Wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers are not allowed.

Children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Prepare your visit

Here are some tips to help you prepare for your visit to the Catacombs of Paris:

Book your tickets in advance: The lines can be quite long (up to 2 hours of waiting time), so booking in advance will save you a lot of time with skip-the-line access.

Wear appropriate clothing: Opt for comfortable shoes with good traction, as the ground can be uneven and slippery. Additionally, the Catacombs can be cool, so consider bringing a jacket or sweater.

Photography: Taking photos for personal use is allowed, but the use of flash is only partially permitted. Be mindful of other visitors and the respectful nature of the site when taking photos.

Bag restrictions: Large bags and motorcycle helmets are not allowed inside the Catacombs. There are no cloakrooms or lockers available, so plan accordingly and only bring essential items.

No food or drinks: Consuming food and drinks inside the Catacombs is prohibited. Make sure to have your meals before or after your visit.

Audio guide: The audio guides provided have a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can bring your own headphones if you prefer.

To best prepare for and fully appreciate your visit to the Catacombs of Paris, we strongly recommend reading our tourist guide. While on your visit, you will be provided with numerous historical facts and anecdotes, but it is always more engaging and straightforward to have knowledge of the site’s history. This enables you to better contextualize the information shared by the guides.

• Current Language English
• Other products
• Online visit - The Catacombs of Paris

Item selection [Online visit - The Catacombs of Paris] - Paris Musées

Espace en ligne STREAMING

Online visit (streaming) - The Catacombs of Paris

Duration 40 mn

This visit allows you to discover the Catacombs of Paris in a new way. Immerse yourself in the bowels of Paris guided by the curator of the place, an engineer geographer and an anthropologist to learn the secrets of these quarries converted into a unique ossuary in the world, a true temple of equality.

The video is available in : French audio - French subtitles (for French speakers with hearing impairments) English audio - English subtitles (for English speakers) Price: 5€ / 3€ for Paris Musées members

Tickets are neither exchangeable nor refundable.

Instructions for online visits: see the tutorial

Please select the number of tickets you wish to purchase.

information

Unfortunately, the item you have selected is no longer available.

Unable to complete request: the purchase of this product is restricted to advantage holders.

Ticket selection

Instruction

Please indicate the number of tickets you want at each tariff. .

At least one date is set for today. Do you wish to proceed anyway?

Client account ×

Your shopping cart.

Your cart is empty.

Limited Access

To service a large number of users, we must free up resources. Your purchase window will be given to the next customer in .

Si vous avez un code promo, saisissez-le

Payment methods

We accept the following payment types and guarantee that your Internet transactions are safe:

• American Express,
• Mastercard,

General information

• General terms & conditions
• Privacy policy

Your session will expire in

Unfortunately, your session has expired. Please reload the page to continue.

Your shopping cart has expired. Your order has been cancelled.

Tickets distribution is being processed. The page will automatically reload when the distribution is completed.

The time allowed for placing an order has expired. You will be redirected to the waiting room.

Your request is being processed.

Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at the moment. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later or refresh the page.

Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at the moment. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

Your session has expired because of inactivity. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Your session has expired because of inactivity so your ticket could not be generated. Please reload the page and log in again.

You may only modify your order from one tab or window at a time.

Unfortunately, you cannot delete a ticket that contains the Main Owner.

The maximal number of tickets for this order has been exceeded.

Your requests are not valid. Please edit the number of tickets you wish to purchase.

Unfortunately, you cannot distribute this file because the limit has been reached. Please edit your quota distribution in order to continue.

The configuration for quota distribution is not correct. Please check with your administrator.

You did not submit any tickets for this order. Please confirm that you want to cancel the order?

The configuration to change the seat category is not correct. Please check with your administrator.

You can only purchase this product once the order is closed successfully.

Skip-the-Line Paris Catacombs Tour with Special Access

623 reviews

Why take this tour?

• Submerge yourself beneath the surface of the city streets
• Explore the intricate network of tunnels which comprise the Paris Catacombs
• Learn more about the events which led to the creation of one of Europe's largest communal burial grounds
• Step inside parts of the Catacombs rarely seen by the public
• Immerse yourself in the 'Empire of the Dead' and hear the story behind the structure
• Choose 1:30 PM, 4:30 PM or 5:30 PM time for a smaller group size (6 guests)
• Sites Visited
• Paris Catacombs
• Tour Includes
• Local English-speaking guide
• Expertly guided walking tour
• Skip-the-line ticket for Paris Catacombs

Take a (special access!) walk through Paris's eerie City of the Dead

Total customer reviews: 623, latest reviews.

Meeting Point

Meeting Point 2 avenue du General Leclerc. Meet your guide in front of Café du Rendez-vous. They will be holding a green Walks sign.

Please meet 15 minutes prior to the tour start time.

You Can Also Experience These Similar Tours

• We’re Hiring Guides - Join Us!
• Press / Media
• Terms & Conditions
• Terms Of Use
• Cancellation Policy
• Health & Safety
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Settings
• Affiliate Program
• Travel Agents
• City Experiences
• Devour Tours

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

The Best Paris Catacombs Tours to Take in 2024 and Why

Ian Sumpter Last Updated: September 29, 2023

Popular with all age groups, the Catacombs of Paris are one of the darker attractions in the ‘City of Light’. You can visit on your own, but a guided tour will elevate any visit to a higher level. Here, I list our best Paris Catacombs tours to take this year and why th ey are worth the extra money over a solo visit .

Pro Tip: Planning your trip to Paris? Bookmark this post in your browser so you can easily find it when you need it. Check out our Paris Catacombs guide for more planning resources, our top Paris Catacombs tours for a memorable trip, and the  top things to do in Paris .

Should You Take a Tour of the Catacombs?

Short answer: Absolutely!

The Paris Catacombs are a macabre and fascinating site visit. Located in an old Roman quarry, around 600,000 people visit the 6,000,000 bodies interred in the Catacombs yearly. As of 2023, the number of visitors to the catacombs has risen so dramatically that authorities have placed new restrictions on visitor access.

Tickets are no longer purchasable on-site but must be purchased online. Tickets are strictly timed, non-refundable, non-transferable, and only come available seven days before. That means a lot of pre-planning. With a guided tour, we take care of all that for you. All you need to do is choose the day you want to tour (even if it’s months in advance), and we will take care of the rest.

On top of taking care of all logistics, you’ll be led around the catacombs by an expert local guide who will dig deep into the history of the catacombs to elevate your visit to another level.

Not ready to book a tour? Find out if a Paris Catacombs tour is worth it .

What Are The Most Popular Paris Catacombs Tours To Take?

The best tours of any monument or city are those that either solve logistical issues or add experience that you wouldn’t be able to get if you weren’t on a guided tour. The very best tours offer both! Our long-standing working relationship with the Paris Catacombs means not only are we able to secure tickets, taking the hassle away from you, but we can also get access to areas of the catacombs that are closed to the general public.

• Paris Catacombs Tour with Secret Rooms & Privileged Access
• Skip the Line Paris Catacombs Tickets

1. Paris Catacombs Tour with Secret Rooms & Privileged Access

Want to see Paris’s most macabre attraction without the long lines? How about peeping into secret rooms that the general public needs to see? All of that is possible on this small-group VIP Skip-the-line access.

You’ll breeze past the long lines and head straight into the bowels of the Parisian underground. Once in the Catacombs, your guide will regale you with stories of the Catacombs’ history, including their foundation as a Roman quarry, conversation to burial chambers, and their use by the French Resistance in WWII.

Not only that, you’ll gain privileged access to restricted parts of this vast underground tunnel network.

Highlights:

• Skip-the-line Paris Catacombs tickets
• Entry to two restricted areas of the Catacombs
• A super-knowledgeable English-speaking guide
• A maximum group size of 19

See tour itinerary, price, and description .

2. Skip the Line Paris Catacombs Tickets

Our long-standing relationship with the Paris Catacombs means we are able to block book a number of tickets each day reserved specifically for tour providers. If you are traveling in a few weeks or months’ time and don’t want to have to remember to check ticket availability seven days before you travel, then we have you covered. Book your tickets in advance with the peace of mind that everything is taken care of and all you need do is catch your flight and turn up. Take the stress out of purchasing tickets by ordering tickets with us way in advance.

• E-mail confirmation and privileged skip-the-line ticket
• Fast entry to the Paris Catacombs, however long the line

See tour itinerary, price, and description

Not ready to book a tour? Check out our  Paris Catacombs Guide for more resources.

Where To Stay in Paris

With a city as magnificent as Paris, finding the perfect hotel at the perfect price can be hard. Explore the best hotels and places to stay in these incredible neighborhoods in Paris.

Explore More of the Blog

Reader interactions, leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Travel Guide
• In The Press

POLICY & TERMS

• Cancellation Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy

• Loire Valley
• South of France
• France Off the Beaten Path
• Non-Touristy Paris
• Arles & The Camargue
• Haute-Marne
• Loire: The Department
• Nancy Art Nouveau
• 9 Sensational Road Trips
• How to Plan Your Route
• 10 Days: South of France
• 7 Days: Basque Country
• 5 Days: Lake Geneva & Alps
• France's Regions
• France's Departments
• France's Cities
• Best Seasons
• Official Holidays
• Essential Planning Tips
• Paris Hotels with Spa
• Paris Hotels with Balconies
• Cool Paris Hotels
• Driving in France
• Taking the Train
• Renting a Car in France
• How to Shop in France
• Le Petit Shop
• Christmas Gifts
• Things to Do in Lyon
• What Is Lyon Famous for?
• The Food Capital of the World
• The Lyon Murals
• Public Transportation in Lyon
• All of the Lyon stories
• Best of France Know-How
• Most Beautiful Villages of France
• Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
• Best Landmarks
• Best Flea Markets
• Best Books About France
• Best Christmas Markets
• France's Favorite Foods
• A Typical French Breakfast
• Apero Time!
• Weird French Foods
• Let Them Eat Baguette
• French Pastry Desserts
• The Bouillons of Paris
• La Vache Qui Rit
• French Christmas Meals
• Did You Say Escargot?
• French Revolution Tours
• Ghost Tours
• Paris Food Tours
• Stereotypes and Myths
• Facts about Ze French
• La Loire: What's in a Name?
• France's Backstory
• France's Roman Ruins
• Chenonceau Castle
• La Belle Epoque
• Most Haunted Places in Paris
• Dark Tourism in Paris
• France's Abandoned Places
• Paris Catacombs
• They Built a Wall
• Legends of the Luberon
• Lyon's Secret Passages
• Small & Odd
• Burgundian Life, Dijon
• Counterfeit Museum, Paris
• France's List of Lists
• Food & Wine Brotherhoods
• Vercingetorix, King of Gauls
• The Salacious Count Bussy-Rabutin
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• General Charles de Gaulle
• Breakfast in French?
• Bathroom in French?
• Most Popular Posts
• Beyond the Baguette Newsletter

Unsure about your French table manners? Click Here to download > >  How to avoid these 10 food etiquette mistakes !

Follow me on

• Destinations
• Best Paris Catacombs Tours

5 Best Paris Catacombs tours to give you Goosebumps

Updated 8 March 2024 by  Leyla Alyanak  — Parisian by birth, Lyonnaise by adoption, historian by passion

Make sure you get your tickets ahead of time for your Paris Catacombs tours – I did this last time and I admit I enjoyed not having to wait...

Descend into the enigmatic depths of Paris and into the hidden world below, where more than 350km (220mi) of underground passages house the remains of six million souls.

You are entering the Paris Catacombs.

NOTE: Pages on this site may contain affiliate links, which bring in a small commission at no cost to you.

NO TIME TO READ EVERYTHING? 🕥

 💀 Choose this  Paris Catacombs Semi-Private Tour with VIP Access ! It gets you to the front of the line and into special hidden areas not open to everyone.

In the 18th century, overcrowded cemeteries led to a daring decision: millions of bones would be transported to a nearby underground quarry. It would take 12 years to complete the task.

Today, you can quietly wander through the subterranean chambers of the Paris Catacombs, past walls of stacked bones and somewhat macabre compositions where history and darkness intertwine.

Visiting the Catacombs was one of my own personal Paris highlights and if you want to avoid the long lines to get into what is often called "The Empire of Death", choose one of the tours below or, at the very least, get a skip-the-line ticket .

1.  Catacombs of Paris Semi-Private VIP Restricted Access Tour

2.  VIP Skip-the-Line Restricted Access Tour

3.  Skip-the-Line Special Access Tour

4.  The Paris Underbelly Walking Tour  (NOTE: NOT AVAILABLE IN 2024)

5.  Skip-the-Line Ticket and Audio Guide

What you should know before visiting the Catacombs

Essentials for France

5 Best Paris Catacombs tours and tickets

Standing outside on a meltingly hot day, with my tour tickets in hand, I was able to whip right past the crowds and believe me, that felt great!

Many attractions can be visited on your own, including the Paris Catacombs, but because only 200 people are allowed in at a time, the lines can be long.

To get the most out of your visit, here are the 5 top-rated Catacombs tours in Paris, packed with history and excitement.

1. Catacombs of Paris Semi-Private VIP Restricted Access Tour

This is a small group tour and provides the best of the best, from excellent guides to private viewings the average visitor won't get to see.

This is ideal if you're looking for a more intimate experience, and want to be in a position to ask a few questions without having to fight through the crowds.

The fact that the tickets are skip-the-line saves you time, because the lines here can be extremely long – it seems everyone wants to visit the Catacombs (with reason, I'd say!)

⏳  TOUR LENGTH: 2 hours    ✔︎  Fast-track skip-the-line entrance ✔︎  Learn the stories behind the Catacombs ✔︎  Explore the underground's history with an expert English-speaking guide ✔︎  Small group limited to 6 people

🎟️  BOOK YOUR SEMI-PRIVATE TOUR HERE

The Catacombs are an experience, but one thing that makes a visit more memorable is the storytelling that goes with it.

Have you ever heard of the man who wandered down into the Catacombs a couple of centuries ago... and never came back?

He'll be at the heart of some of the "ghost stories" you'll hear on this tour. You'll also learn about illegal parties and raves, and the Catacombs more recent history during World War II.

⭐️  Rating: 5 / 5  ⭐️

This is a really cool experience especially with the extra access that comes with a guided tour. — David_B

Overall --- A++ — Ricardo_A

Leo was wonderful. Her knowledge of the catacombs was vast and had as true sense of passion. I would book again with her in a second! — Elizabeth_B

This tour was a highlight of our trip! — Susan_B  

See more reviews here

2. VIP Skip-the-Line Restricted Access Tour

This VIP tour is sold by a different operator but is basically the same as #1. Choose either one and you can't go wrong.

Here, too, you'll be in a small group with an expert guide, and you'll have access to secret corners of the Catacombs not available to normal ticket-holders.

On both tours, you'll learn plenty of history, especially dating back to the French Revolution (victims of the guillotine are buried here) and World War II, when the tunnels were used both by the Resistance and the Nazis.

⏳  TOUR LENGTH: 2 hours    ✔︎  Fast-track entry into the Catacombs ✔︎  Explanatory visit with an expert, English-speaking guide ✔︎  Access to behind-the-scenes areas ✔︎  Small VIP group with a maximum of 6 people

🎟️  BOOK YOUR VIP TOUR HERE

Part of the special feeling of being on a small group tour is watching as a guard unlocks a gate to let you through  and closes them behind you – hence the VIP label.

Only a tiny portion of the Catacombs are open to the public, about 0.5%, so most of the tunnels are beyond reach. On this small group tour, you'll get a sneak peek at a some of the hidden portions.

⭐️  Rating: 4.9 / 5  ⭐️

"It was excellent having a small guided tour with 6 people, it made it more intimate."  —Rebecca, Australia

"We were able to go in lots of areas the general public couldn’t. Our guide was amazing." — Laurel, USA

"Awesome tour. Unique, interesting history, and a little macabre. Such a great guide as well!" — Nate, USA

"Was a brilliant tour with a brilliant guide!" — Caroline, UK

What do you do with your "stuff" as you're walking around taking pictures of the Catacombs? I use this wonderful infinity scarf  for my keys, ID and cards – no bag to carry, no backpack to hoist. Absolutely perfect for when you travel light.

3. Skip-the-Line Special Access Tour

While the two above tours are small (6 people or less), this is a medium-sized tour that can reach 19 up to 19 people. If you don't mind a larger group and would like to pay less than you would on a smaller tour, this one is for you.

It has many of  the same benefits. You get an English-speaking guide who knows the Catacombs intimately, and you'll have a skip-the-line ticket and avoid the long waits at the entrance.

You'll hear all about the stories and legends of the Catacombs, and about what it took to engineer their move from city cemeteries to these underground tunnels, a move that took 12 years to complete.

⏳  TOUR LENGTH: 2 hours    ✔︎  Fast-track entry into the Catacombs ✔︎  Access to areas off-limits to the general public ✔︎  Local guide to answer your questions and provide context

🎟️  BOOK YOUR SKIP-THE-LINE SPECIAL ACCESS TOUR HERE

And yes, you'll also have access to "hidden" areas not open to the general public.

As you enter areas that aren't normally accessible, you'll visit secret sculptures and even a hidden chapel, and receive personal explanations of how they came to be. Some of these are almost too incredible to be real!

The only significant difference between this tour and #1 and #2 is the size of the tour (this one is a bit more crowded) and the price (this one is cheaper).

⭐️ Rating: 4.8 / 5 ⭐️

"A wealth of information with the right amount of humor. We loved it!!!" — Justin, USA

"If you go on your own without a tour guide you will miss out on the stories and the secret locked spaces that will only be shown on a private tour." — USA

"Definitely a MUST if you are visiting the Catacombs for the first time. Informative and Line Bypass is priceless." — Ron, Canada

4. The Paris Underbelly Walking Tour

NOTE: THIS TOUR IS NOT AVAILABLE IN 2024.

This tour, on the other hand, is quite different because it is private.

You get your own guide, and no one else tags along, only your group of up to 10 people. It's up to you: do it alone, or with your family or friends.

The advantage of this more "personal" approach is that you don't feel constrained by asking too many questions, as you might in a group full of strangers. You can ask away, and no question is too silly or repetitive.

Of course this tour includes everything the others do, from a skip-the-line ticket to access to "behind the scenes" portions of the Catacombs, and if you'd like it as an add-on, Addie (the guide) is happy to take you to some delectable pastry shops afterwards!

⏳  TOUR LENGTH: 2.5 hours    ✔︎  The spookiest of tours ✔︎  The most ghost-centric ✔︎  With peeks at Notre-Dame from the outside

🎟️  BOOK YOUR PARIS UNDERBELLY TOUR HERE

Did you know that the population of the dead whose bones are under the city of Paris is twice the population of the living residents in Paris?

This is just one of the many unusual facts you'll learn about Paris and the Catacombs as you make your way through the underground tunnels.

What I love most about having a dedicated guide is that it allows you to delve more deeply into the history and legends of a place. If something strikes your fancy, you can explore it more in depth and ask plenty of specific questions to intensify your knowledge.

"Addie is the best your guide you can hope for." — Rachel C, USA

"Addie was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the catacombs. A great tour." — Harold S, USA

"She knew so many details of the catacombs!" — Joseph C, USA

"Our tour was a family group ranging in ages from 13 to 81 and she made it interesting for each of us." — Julie O, USA

5. Skip-the-Line Ticket and Audio Guide

This is the simplest of my five recommendations: a skip-the-line ticket and an audioguide.

The Catacombs are incredibly popular and during the high season, it could take several hours to reach the ticket counter. Unless you want to spend your holiday standing in line, a skip-the-line ticket is the sensible way to go.

Having an audioguide (available in English) allows you stop where you want to and repeat the commentary if you feel you've missed something – perfect if you're an independent-minded traveler who prefers to do things on their own terms.

⏳  TOUR LENGTH:  1 hour    ✔︎  Pre-booked skip-the-line ticket ✔︎  Guided tour with an audioguide ✔︎  Explore at your own pace

🎟️  BOOK YOUR SKIP-THE-LINE TICKET HERE

The audioguide will tell you all about the "Empire of Death" and how (and why) the Catacombs were originally created from ancient quarries.

As you walk along, the recording will point out such landmarks as the "Barrel" and signs related to streets above where significant events took place.

Whenever you feel like silence, you'll be able to switch off the audioguide and get a sense of the eternal stillness of the six million souls that have been buried here for centuries.

⭐️  Rating: 4.5 / 5  ⭐️

"Lots of historical information about Paris via the audio guide. Very impressive." — Alexandra, Germany

"Great self tour!" — Charlene, USA

"Amazing experience not to be missed!!!!" — Tim, USA

"Quite difficult to get into, so grab your tickets as soon as you can!" — David, Australia

Here are a few practical considerations you should consider when visiting the Catacombs.

• Only 200 people are allowed in at a time, but it can still get a bit crowded if everyone is interested in the same "room".
• The tunnels are quite cool and humid all year, around 14°C/57°F, so please dress accordingly. Bring a sweater, and wear good shoes with a bit of tread, because it can get a bit slippery.
• The toilets are only accessible on your way out so make sure you don't need them on your way in.
• No large bags are allowed, only small purses.
• The Catacombs are not recommended for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia. The tunnels aren't particularly narrow but they are tunnels nonetheless, with no daylight.
• Nor are they suitable for people with mobility issues. The Catacombs have 130 steps, which you have to descend on arrival and go up on the way back. There is no elevator access.
• This is one of the most popular attractions in Paris and tickets will sell out quickly, especially at the height of the spring and summer seasons, so make these a priority for advance purchase when you're doing your planning.

ESSENTIALS FOR FRANCE

WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO GET AROUND FRANCE?

🚎 If you're in a city, use the excellent public transportation systems. 🚊 If you're going between cities or to smaller towns, you can usually take the train (I buy my tickets through RailEurope or Trainline ). 🚙 In rural areas, train stations are rarer so you might want to rent a car , which is easy in France ( I use Discovercars ).

DO I NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE FOR FRANCE?

It depends. If your travel insurance already covers you in France, then you're all set. If not, head for VisitorsCoverage for everything travel.

WILL MY PHONE WORK IN FRANCE? WHAT ABOUT MY CHARGER?

You can use your roaming plan in France. If you don't have one, you can do one of several things (just make sure you have an unlocked phone).

📲 You can order a SIM card before you get to France. 🤳 You can buy a SIM card from a shop in France. ⚡️ You can buy an e-SIM .

WHAT SHOULD I PACK FOR FRANCE?

Here are a few essentials you should NOT leave home without: 👟 Comfortable walking shoes . You'll be on your feet a lot, and... cobblestones. 🔌 Plugs are different in France . 👜 An anti-theft purse ( this is the bag I use ). 🧣 An infinity scarf , for evenings when you don't want to carry a purse. In Paris and other major cities, there isn't much violent crime but  there are plenty of pickpockets .

WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO BOOK A PLACE TO STAY IN FRANCE?

✓ I use booking.com for my own travels around France, which I find the most complete listing.

Paris Catacombs tour: FAQ

Is the Paris Catacombs tour worth it?

Yes it is. The wealth of stories and legends around the Catacombs is best discovered with the help of a seasoned, expert guide who can answer your questions.

How long is the wait for Paris Catacombs?

It depends on the season, the time of day, and pure luck. It can be as quick as five minutes but can also last several hours.

Can you tour the Catacombs on your own?

Yes, you can. You can buy a ticket, enter and wander around, or get an audioguide for a bit more structure.

How much of the Paris Catacombs are open to the public?

Only a tiny portion is open to the public, about 0.5% of the total.

What are the visiting rules of Catacombs tours Paris?

They're common-sense rules for tight places: no large bags, and wear decent shoes. Otherwise, the Catacombs are not advisable for visibly pregnant women, people with claustrophobia, anxiety or mobility issues.

Do I have to take a tour to visit the Catacombs?

No. While a tour will allow you to see much more than you would on your own, at the very least you should  get a skip-the-line ticket  and you'll waltz right past the 199 people standing in line waiting for their time slot.

Are the Catacombs haunted?

Many people think so, and they're often referred to as the haunted Catacombs . Remember, the remains of more than six million people are buried there.

Did you enjoy this article? I'd love if you shared it!

Bonjour! I’m Leyla, born in Paris, I now live in the bucolic mountain foothills of Eastern France. My days are spent exploring my country. 

As a journalist and former diplomat, I spent years living abroad and now, it’s time to rediscover my own back yard.

Passionate about history and culture, I’ve created Offbeat France to seek out my country’s mysteries and legends, less-traveled destinations, with plenty of food stops and many castles – I am French, after all!  Read more here .

Bonjour! I’m Leyla! I was born in Paris and now live in the bucolic mountain foothills of Eastern France between Lyon and Annecy. 

I'm rediscovering my own back yard after years of living abroad in Canada, Spain and Switzerland as a journalist and a diplomat － and I'm loving every minute.

Passionate about history and culture, I’ve created Offbeat France to seek out my country’s mysteries and legends, less-traveled destinations, along with plenty of food stops and many castles － I am French, after all!

What's New!

How To Get To Mont Saint-Michel: The Ultimate Hassle-Free Guide

May 02, 24 04:09 PM

The Best Giverny Day Trip From Paris (+ Orsay)

Apr 17, 24 05:32 AM

11 Masterpieces Of The Cluny Museum (Including Lady And The Unicorn)

Apr 15, 24 10:46 AM

12 Things To Do In Rouen, Normandy, That Will Enrich Your Culture

Apr 06, 24 04:47 AM

7 Thematic Ways to Explore Rouen Cathedral, A Gothic Masterpiece

Apr 06, 24 04:46 AM

© Copyright 2024  OffbeatFrance.com    |  All Rights Reserved   |   Privacy Policy & Disclaimer    |   Contact Me   |  ABOUT

As an Amazon Associate offbeatfrance.com earns from qualifying purchases

How to Visit the Paris Catacombs (and a Bit of History)

Last Updated on April 25, 2024

Few places in the French capital inspire the kind of morbid fascination that the Catacombs of Paris do– and that’s not a surprise. The relatively small section of the vast network that’s open to the public stretches in narrow underground tunnels for around 1.5km/1 mile, carved from limestone and neatly lined with the remains of some six million human corpses.

Amazingly enough, this macabre public exhibition only represents a tiny section of les catacombes . An anonymous memorial to millions of unnamed, deceased residents of ages past, the Paris catacombs are filled with human femurs, skulls, and other bones– piled in oddly ornate, neat displays, and narrated by poems and quotes about death.

Leave it to the French to make even something this dread-worthy artful and philosophical, right?

But however tidily the millions of bones and skulls may be arranged in their towering stacks , they also hit a taboo nerve.

The piles of corpses speak both to our dread of mortality, and to our fascination with how societies manage death, from a logistical standpoint. In the West, where death is rarely confronted directly in daily life, it seems apt that it would be driven deep underground. A bit like Hades, or the ancient Greeks’ subconscious realm of nightmares.

Created in the late 18th century, the Catacombs may seem like an old-fashioned oddity. But they are in fact the result of modern, more hygienic and efficient ways of managing human remains. And their almost poetic curation into a ‘museum’ of sorts is connected to the development of the tourism industry in the 19th century– another distinctly modern phenomenon.

{These Are The Weirdest Museums in Paris}

Keep reading to learn more about the history of this intriguing site, what to look out for when touring the Paris Catacombs, and for my full tips on making the most of your visit.

Explore This Article

A Horrific History: Exhuming the Cimetière des Innocents, an Overflowing Graveyard

The story of the Catacombs begins in the late 18th century, when officials began to recognize that traditional city cemeteries had become putrid, overflowing, deeply un-hygienic catastrophes.

For hundreds of years, the centrally located Cimetière des Innocents had been the postmortem home of generations of Parisians. With origins in the early medieval period, it served as a burial ground for the 5th-century Notre-Dame-des-Bois church. It soon became the city’s main cemetery.

{Related: Take a Self-Guided or Virtual Tour of Medieval Paris}

Located around the corner from the bustling Les Halles animal market (since transformed into a monstrous, confusingly laid-out shopping center), the cemetery was overcrowded and shambolic, with many layers of graves and human remains piled atop one another.

By 1780, conditions had worsened. To create space, the graves of Parisians who had been dead for decades or centuries were exhumed, their skeletal remains tightly packed together into charnier s (mass graves) built in the walls of the cemetery.

The main burial grounds reportedly rose two metres (more than six feet) above the ground compared to surrounding streets, with layers of graves separated only by loose mounds of earth.

16th-century French writer Rabelais alluded to the horrifying conditions at the cemetery in a section of his famous multi-volume work Pantagruel , describing Paris as

“a good city to live in, but not to die in, since the beggars of Saint-Innocent {cemetery} warmed their asses on the bones of the dead.” (« une bonne ville pour vivre, mais non pour mourir ; car les guenaulx  (les gueux)  de Sainct Innocent se chauffouyent le cul des ossements des morts  ». 

And during the mid-18th century, merchants and residents began to complain of fetid, horrifying odors emanating from the Innocents and infecting surrounding buildings. Most famously, in 1780, a restaurant owner named Gravelot was terrified to find that part of a mass grave had collapsed ; the cellars of his restaurant on rue de la Lingerie were “invaded” by corpses.

{More Weird French History: The Strasbourg Dancing Plague of 1518}

Some historians claim this horror-movie-worthy incident was “the” event that pushed local authorities to close the Innocents cemetery in 1785. This necessitated the creation of new burial places, and the Catacombs, of course.

To solve the problem of relocating millions of corpses from Les Innocents, city planners and officials had to get creative. They identified a vast network of underground limestone quarries on the left bank– much of them then outside the bounds of Paris– as an ideal place to store the historic remains of countless Parisians.

Creating the Paris Catacombs: A new site on the left bank

Beginning in 1785 and carrying through the following year, the city undertook a first major “evacuation” of remains from charnel houses and mass graves at Les Innocents. The transfers were completed at night in an attempt to fend off criticism or shock from residents and church officials.

Workers heaped bones into quarry wells, then piled them in the galleries of old subterranean quarries. The site, near modern-day Montparnasse, was deemed the “Paris Municipal Ossuary” in 1786.

{Related and nearby: A Walk Through Montparnasse Cemetery}

In later decades and following the French Revolution, other graveyards and cemeteries in the city center were exhumed, with more remains transferred to the Catacombs. The project significantly picked up after 1840, as Haussmann’s and others’ efforts to modernize the city picked up significant speed.

In 1809, the Catacombs were opened to the general public, but only by appointment. It quickly became a hit with locals and tourists, and even figures such as the Emperor Napoleon III and his son visited the site.

Part of the appeal was its mythical association with ancient Roman catacombs in nearby Italy. Another part of it a nineteenth-century, Romantic interest in the macabre (and the medieval). And by the mid-19th century, early photographers such as Felix Nadar brought worldwide attention to the Catacombs and their “empire of death”.

Today, the Catacombs are connected to and managed by the same team behind the Musée Carnavalet, dedicated to the history of Paris. Of course, I highly recommend a visit to both.

Touring the Paris Catacombs: Highlights & Tips

Touring the Parisian Catacombs is fascinating, but (at least to me) it’s more of an archeological adventure than a creepy attraction fit for a Halloween outing. The 45-minute circuit takes you down a long spiral staircase to enter the old limestone quarries.

{A Few Famous French Ghost Stories & Hauntings}

As you pass through the tunnels– some quite narrow and almost claustrophobic, others wide “galleries”, take note of how the thousands of bones and skulls tightly packed around the sides are have been arranged.

Some form crosses or other recognizable, symmetrical patterns, while others appear to be unceremoniously lumped together in tall stacks and lines, sometimes behind metal grates and under low ceilings.

There’s something overwhelming and moving, but also oddly impersonal, about the spectacle. Who are all these people, and what sorts of lives did they live? We know, as mentioned above, that many were plague victims. But beyond that, their particularity melts away, forming an uncanny sea of anonymous bones, eye sockets and grinning teeth.

It’s a reminder of our smallness, our impermanence, our fragility. It even suggests the limitations of human memory, since many or most of these unnamed people once had graves that marked their lives, differentiating them from others among the dead.

All of those individuating markers were swept away when these remains were exhumed and transferred to the catacombs. Who knows what skull belongs to which femurs?

The only way to distinguish between one cluster of bones and another? You’ll see signs that state the source of a particular set of remains, and the date of their exhuming, such as this one, reading “Bones from the former St-Jean Cemetery (Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, n. 60)/ Deposed in 1846-1847 in the Western Ossuary and transferred to the Catacombs in September 1859”:

If you’re a Buddhist, you might find the erasure of individual lives liberating or even slightly funny. With the exception of the odd tomb for notable Parisian aristocrats, no egos can thrive here, and the bounds between rich and poor, prominent and ordinary have essentially disappeared.

But if the idea of being remembered means something to you, there’s something quietly terrifying, and very sobering, about it all.

Luckily, you’ll be aided in your existential reflections by carefully placed poems and philosophical musings about mortality throughout the circuit– one of my favorite aspects of the displays.

The block above roughly translates as follows:

“What enclosures have opened! What narrow spaces Occupy, between these walls, the dust of races! It is in these places of forgetting, and among these tombs That time and death come to cross their false(hoods), That the dead are piled and pressed under the earth! The numbers here are nothing, the crowd is alone”

Whether you find these poems and musings pretentious or thought-provoking, their presence reminds you that you’re in a carefully constructed and curated space: one that has over the decades become one of Paris’ most popular tourist attractions.

How to Make the Most of Your Visit

The Catacombs can be easily visited year-round (scroll down for practical information on getting there, tickets, etc.) But I do have a few suggestions for making the most of your exploration:

Best time of year to visit: Try to go in the early morning or during low season (roughly, mid-October to March). The crowds will generally be thinner during these times, making for a more relaxed (and less claustrophobic) experience. Believe me, some of the tunnels are narrow enough. You don’t want to feel crowded as you pass through them.

What to wear: Even in the summer, go with long sleeves, closed, sturdy shoes, and possibly a light jacket. The Catacombs are kept quite cool (around 14 C/57 F) to preserve the remains from damage. Also, make sure your shoes have decent traction, as some areas in the passageways can be slippery and even wet.

Use an audioguide : Available in English as well as French, Spanish, and German, the audioguides cost only a few Euros extra and will allow you to gain a better understanding of the site’s history and highlights.

What About the “Secret” Parisian Catacombs? Can I Visit Those?

As documented in Atlas Obscura , BBC , and numerous other outlets, there are some 200 miles of “off-license” catacombs that have periodically been explored by cataphiles : curious residents, squatters, artists and DJs staging (literally) underground parties.

The non-official tunnels, accessed from several secretive points around the city, include swimming holes and pools , cataphile bars, sculptures, “street art”, and even a makeshift auditorium offering clandestine movie screenings and plastered with film references.

Sounds amazing, right? Unfortunately, it’s illegal for the general public to access these non-official parts of the underground network– and likely pretty dangerous. While I understand the appeal (and especially wish I could see the secret cinema myself) I strongly recommend against trying to visit them.

{Book Viator’s skip-the-line tour of the Catacombs with VIP access to restricted areas}

They may be structurally unsound, are reportedly infested with rats and riddled with electrical lines, and you may well not be able to find an exit unless accompanied by a very experienced local guide.

Even if you feel safe and think you can manage them, you can be fined or even arrested if found roaming in tunnels not open to the public.

In short: delight in the many interesting photo essays and podcasts out there on the topic of the secret catacombs, including the ones cited above. But unless you have a taste for breaking the law and putting yourself in danger, don’t try to go explore them yourself.

Getting There, Buying Tickets & Practical Info

The Catacombs are open year-round from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The ticket window closes at 7:30 p.m. The attraction is closed on Mondays, and on January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th.

Where is the Entrance to the Paris Catacombs?

The entrance is located at 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy , on Place Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris ( 14th arrondissement ).

Metro/RER: Denfert-Rochereau (M Line 4, RER Line B)

Exiting the metro at Denfert-Rochereau, look for building with a light-green glass entrance area and ticketing booth, where you can access a long, winding set of stairs down to the catacomb tunnels (131 steps).

Accessibility & Rules for Visitors

Accessibility : Unfortunately, the catacombs are not accessible to wheelchairs, and visitors with other types of physical disabilities or cardiovascular disease may wish to avoid this attraction. This is especially true since you’ll have to climb 112 stairs back up to the street. In addition, visitors with sight disabilities must be accompanied by a guide.

The exit is from 21 bis, Avenue René-Coty. It can be a bit disorienting to exit in a different place from where you entered, so make sure you have a streetmap (whether digital or print) on hand to navigate back to the metro or to your next destination.

Only 200 people are allowed in at a time, so you may have to wait during busy times.

You can only bring a small bag or purse with you during your visit , and the catacombs are not equipped with coat or luggage storage. Leave large bags and other items at the hotel before visiting.

Buying Tickets for the Catacombs (in Advance & on the Day)

You can either buy tickets onsite/on the day at the booth near the entrance ( see current rates here ), or purchase them in advance.

• To save time and hassle, consider purchasing skip-the-line tickets (including audioguide) for the Paris Catacombs here (via Tiqets) .
• You can also opt for a semi-private guided tour in English (also from Tiqets).
• For a more in-depth exploration, you can also consider booking Viator’s skip-the-line tour of the Catacombs (with special access to restricted areas) .

Contact Details & More Info

Visit this page at the official website for more information on conditions and rules for visiting the catacombs, including current health and safety guidelines and up-to-date admission prices. You can write with any inquiries at this address: [email protected] .

Like This? Pin & Share

Editor’s Note: This article contains a few affiliate links. If you reserve tickets or tours through these links, it comes at no additional cost to you, but helps to fund more free, in-depth features like this one at Paris Unlocked. Thank you.

Courtney Traub is the Founder and Editor of Paris Unlocked. She’s a longtime Paris resident who now divides her time (as well as she can manage) between the French capital and Norwich, UK. Co-author of the 2012 Michelin Green Guide to Northern France & the Paris Region, she has been interviewed as an expert on Paris and France by the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Le Figaro, Matador Network and other publications. Courtney has also written and reported stories for media outlets including Radio France Internationale, The Christian Science Monitor, Women’s Wear Daily and The Associated Press. In addition to going down various rabbit holes of curiosity when it comes to French culture, history, food and art, Courtney is a scholar of literature and cultural history whose essays and reviews have appeared in various forums.

One thought on “ How to Visit the Paris Catacombs (and a Bit of History) ”

The first time I visited the Catacombs, I walked slowly imagining the people, and the lives they might have lead. All remains are from every walk of life.the rich, and the poor, and everyone in between. Some of the remains I was looking at could very well have been victims of the crazy times of the French Revolution. It was one of the tourist attraction I am glad I didn’t miss.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Explore Topics

Recent posts.

• Paris’ South Pigalle District: Exploring Rue des Martyrs & Beyond
• Best Food Markets in Paris: Produce, People-Watching & More
• Best Cheese Shops in Paris: Our Favorite Fromageries
• Accessibility in Paris: Our Full Guide to Getting Around
• Privacy Policy

Paris Unlocked

Virtual visit

Access the virtual visit of the catacombs of paris.

Catacombs of Paris

Book catacombs tickets online, catacombs of paris tickets, overview for catacombs of paris.

Visit the famous Catacombs of Paris to witness a nerve chilling labyrinth of tunnels under the ground in the heart of the city. The complex labyrinthine ossuary was set up years ago and continues to astound visitors today with its incredibly complex maze-like network that holds the mortal remains of millions of Parisians. If you are visiting Paris with the notion of pure romance in the air, you are in for a staggering surprise. Take a tour of the dimly lit tunnels of this Parisian ossuary called the Catacombs of Paris to witness a side of the city that is certainly not for the faint hearted. It is an underground space that houses over six million bones of the deceased after a heavy storm caused the walls of a local cemetery to collapse.

The Paris Catacombs, despite its horrific history and gruesome halls that are adorned with human skeletal remains, happens to be one of the most popular albeit unsettling places of attraction here. You can take an audio-guided tour of the macabre tunnels to learn all about its history and how the construction was done, as you move along the uneven, gravel paths.

Catacombs of Paris History

The origins of the Paris Catacombs dates back to the late eighteenth century when a major catastrophic situation brought the city together to move its dead to an underground site. The groundwork was laid down in 1786 when King Louis XV passed a decree that banned the burial of the deceased in cemeteries within the city limits.

This was because the rise in population was making the city burst at the edges as it was not able to keep up with the rate of expansion. Cemeteries were beginning to get overcrowded and graves started becoming shallow. The surfaces started emanating the rotting smell of decomposing flesh as bio-fluids started oozing out of the ground. Things came to a critical juncture one night when a huge storm hit the city and incessant rainfall caused the land to collapse at the cemetery due to an overload of corpses. The dead bodies began to fall out and into the neighborhood areas when the big decision was taken to move the remains of the dead into the tunnels that ran below the streets of Paris. Overnight carts were loaded with millions of human bones and taken to the ossuary where they were stacked neatly for several kilometers, forming the Catacombs of Paris.

You can Also Checkout: Tickets for the Eiffel Tower

Things To See Inside Catacombs Of Paris

This structure is located in an area at the center of all skulls and bones within the Catacombs Of Paris, known as the Crypt of Passion. The massive eerie barrel shape holds more bones and skeletons within it and was erected in 1897 when an illegal concert featuring Chopin’s Funeral March and the Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens in the middle of the night was being held here.

Must Checkout: Buy Palace of Versailles Tickets

The underground world of the Catacombs of Paris has been brilliantly organised so that visitors can cross from the upper catacombs to the lower ones with the help of a support ramp. While at most parts, the quarry was dug out only at one level, there are certain areas where the quarrymen explored the area at two different levels

There were certain exhibits placed within the Catacombs of Paris, one of the most fascinating being the Citadel de Mahon carved out by Decure. A veteran of the French Army, he did the sculpting completely from memory of the actual structure. However, legend goes that he was killed within the very walls of these catacombs when he was trying to construct a stairway that would lead visitors to the exhibit.

When you are traversing through the tunnels comprising the Catacombs of Paris, you will reach a point where you will face a winding staircase that leads to a small well. This is considered to be the first-ever geological drilling that was done in Paris, intended at seeing the geological layers of the city. You will also see a back wall here with light shining on the words that mean ‘Foot Bath of the Quarrymen’.

Plan Your Visit to Catacombs of Paris

Location : 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy (place Denfert-Rochereau), 75014 Paris

Opening hours :Tuesday to Sunday from 9:45 AM to 8:30 PMThe Catacombs of Paris are closed on Mondays and certain holidays including January 1, May 1, and December 25

This is a one way circuit that runs for a kilometer and a half and exit is at 21 bis, Avenue René-Coty.

There is no coat or luggage room here and you will not be allowed to carry suitcases and large bags inside the Catacombs of Paris to ensure its safety and preservation. Visitors are allowed to carry bags that measure less than 40X30 cm. in front of the body or in the hand. There are over a 100 steps to go down, and the site is not wheelchair accessible.

The dimly lit passageways are narrow, with an uneven path that may get slippery in parts. There is a constant temperature of 14 degrees Celsius maintained within the Paris Catacomb and the number of visitors inside is limited to 200 at a time.

The Paris Catacombs are not recommended for sensitive individuals who may find the site disturbing, pregnant women, motor disabled, or individuals suffering from Claustrophobia, cardiac and respiratory insufficiency, etc. Individuals with mental disabilities may find the atmosphere anxiogenic and thus is not recommended for them.

Sight-disabled individuals and children who are under the age of 14 and visiting the Paris Catacomb must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Places to visit near Catacombs of Paris

This Museum is one of the most important places of tourist attractions and a great site to visit when you are at the Catacombs of Paris. The world’s largest museum, the Louvre is housed within the Louvre Palace on the banks of the Seine. Visit Louvre Museum not only for its awe-inspiring façade and architecture, but also for the impressive collections of Egyptian antiques, Roman antiquities, Greek, Etruscan, and Islamic art, paintings, prints, and its most famous exhibit, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo di Vinci.

Head to the renowned Jardin du Luxembourg, or the Luxembourg gardens after you visit Catacombs Paris, a complete contrast to its grimness. This is the garden of the French Senate and the second largest public park in Paris inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence. Take a stroll around the beautifully manicured park to soak in the local vibe and the cosmopolitan air of the city amid the lush greenery of the garden. You can also catch visitors here spending a relaxed evening playing chess and even bee keeping.

This iconic structure towering high into the Parisian sky, is in all likelihood, the prime symbol that defines the country. Your visit to the city of Paris may well remain incomplete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower and so head down to the Champ de Mars area after you see the Paris Catacombs. The 300 feet marvel also has an observation deck at one of its three levels where visitors are hosted. In the evenings, the glittering light show here is an absolute marvel and one you must not miss.

Constructed in the mid-thirteenth century, Sainte Chapelle was commissioned by King Louis IX with the sole purpose of storing his collection of relics. These include important antiquities from the last days of Jesus Christ until his crucifixion, including the Christ’s Crown of Thorns that was later hosted by the Notre Dame Cathedral. You can also see in this classic Gothic structure, one of the most enviable stained glass collections in the world.

Visit the most famous religious landmarks of the city after you have seen the renowned Catacombs of Paris. Constructed by the French colonists in the late 1800s. The Notre Dame Cathedral is a classic example of Romanesque architectural features. Its distinctive red façade along with twin bell towers, stained glass windows, and a tall statue of the Virgin Mary in front, makes it stand out. It is one of this city’s most visited and beloved landmarks not only for its holy sanctity but for its symbolic importance.

Situated calmly by the banks of the River Seine, the Musee d’Orsay houses an enviable collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collective art. The exquisite architecture of the building is in itself a sight to behold apart from hosting the works of famous artists including Renoir, Dali, Monet, Cézanne, Gaugin, and Van Gogh to name a few. You can witness decorative arts, sculptures, and architectural structures among its collection including several classic pieces like The Artist's Studio, Self Portrait, Starry Night over the Rhone, and Whistler's Mother, among several others.

Catacombs of Paris FAQs

Can you touch the bones in the paris catacombs.

No, you cannot touch the bones in the Paris Catacombs. This is to ensure the preservation of this ancient site which houses the delicate remnants of thousands of Parisians in the form of bones, skulls, and skeletons.

Is it okay to visit the Catacombs of Paris alone?

Yes, you can visit the Catacombs of Paris alone, but can venture only into certain parts of it that are open to the general public. The rest of the area is closed and visitors are not allowed in these parts. Children below the age of 14 cannot visit alone and need to be accompanied by an adult. You can take a self-guided tour to find your way around. However, since the interiors are dank and dreary, it is best to travel with someone.

Are there any guide services available with Catacombs of Paris tickets?

There are audio guides you can borrow from the staff here that you can use. It will guide you along the way as well as tell you about the history of how it was constructed

Can we click pictures inside Catacombs of Paris?

Yes, you can take pictures inside the Catacombs of Paris although you are not allowed to touch the ancient remains that are housed here. Most parts of the catacomb are very dimly lit and thus you may need to use a flash when clicking pictures.

How long does it take to visit the Paris Catacombs?

The average time it takes to go through the Catacombs of Paris independently is about one hour. The walking route stretches around 2 km and consists of almost 130 stairs to descend into it.

Are the catacombs of Paris haunted?

The Catacombs of Paris look extremely grim and sinister for their very location deep underground. Moreover, most of the tunnels are very dimly lit and there have been cases where people have lost their way touring the tunnels. All these coupled with the fact that the ossuary houses millions of bones of the dead, give the catacombs a haunted vibe.

When were the catacombs of Paris built?

The Catacombs of Paris were built during the years between 1787 and 1814 after the then Saints-Innocents cemetery was closed. It took the Parisians almost 12 years to transfer all the remains of the dead into the ossuaries.

What is the best time of day to visit the catacombs of Paris?

The best time to visit the Catacombs of Paris is during the early morning in order to avoid long queues. The catacombs allow a maximum of 200 visitors within it at a time.

Attraction Tickets

Museum tickets, cruise tickets, theme park tickets, explore paris.

The content and images used on this site are copyright protected and copyrights vests with the respective owners.

© 2024 www.thepariscatacombs.com All rights reserved.