Halloween is just around the corner, and in the spirit of the holiday, I’m going deep below the streets of Paris to explore the labyrinth of the Catacombs, a vast network of tunnels and chambers that were used to bury the dead in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
History of the Catacombs
It all began in the 18th century as cemeteries in Paris were becoming overpopulated and a decision was made to ban all burials in the capital for sanitary reasons. With no adequate space for the deceased, it resulted in a lot of open graves, improper burials, and unearthed corpses.
The real nail in the coffin occurred when the walls of Les Innocents – Paris’ largest cemetery at the time – collapsed after a period of heavy rain. A colossal avalanche of rotting corpses and gory sludge then crumbled into the nearby properties. Locals said the air was so contaminated it had the power to sour milk and rot meat, something had to be done.
Public outrage finally forced the government into action and led to the creation of the Catacombs in 1786. Conveniently, the space for the Catacombs already existed since the Roman times in the form of quarry tunnels. The limestone derived from these quarries was used to build much of Paris.
Over the next two years, bones were transferred from the Les Innocents to the catacombs, and all subsequent burials occurred on the Catacombs. By the time the construction was finished, the winding tunnels had stretched a massive 300km and an estimated whopping 6 million bodies had been relocated. Another fact, albeit a rather gruesome one, is that people turned the abundance of corpse wax (decomposing fatty tissue) into bars of soap and candles. As the saying goes, waste not want not!
Prebook tickets to the Catacombs
The Catacombs are a popular attraction in Paris so I recommend rebooking tickets to ensure you’re not stuck in a queue for long.
I’d recommend booking one for the long time slots towards the end of the day because I imagine there’s less people then. (I did this, and the queues had died down by then).
You can prebook your tour with audioguide here.
If you’re looking for something really special, you can prebook a small-group semi private tour which also allows you access to some areas of the catacombs which are sealed off to the public – this requires unlocking some unground gates! You can read more here.
Inside the Catacombs
Most of the catacombs are closed off to the general public apart from 2km which is open to visitors. Over the years, stories emerge of tomfooleries throwing clandestine parties in the prohibited sections. There are also rumours of underground cinemas and stories of people venturing underground and never making it back – let that be a warning to those who dare!
Try arriving an hour before closing time for fewer tourists. The eerie atmosphere is no doubt heightened by the absence of people. You begin the tour by walking down the 131 steps underground, well below the Metro lines and the sewage system. There’s a notable drop in temperature so it’s a good idea to pack an extra layer of clothing.
You then begin to walk through access tunnels dug by the Inspection Générale des Carrières (IGC) in their mapping efforts of the quarries. Soon, you will also see text that reads, “Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort.” This translates in English to, “Stop, this is death’s empire.” From this point the tour really gets going as you descend into the tunnels that were used to house the remains of deceased Parisians.
You walk through an extraordinary corridor of bones and skulls neatly stacked on one another up to head height and at least 2 metres deep.
In previous times, the bones were placed haphazardly inside the tunnels, but some folk had the job of rearranging the bones to make the catacombs more accessible and presentable – certainly not a task for the faint-hearted! The result is surprisingly decorative, art-like even, but it doesn’t detract from the spooky sensation of being among the dead. For something similar, there’s Capuchin Crypt in Rome and Fontanelle cemetery in Naples, but the Catacombs of Paris dwarf both in size.
Here and there, you’ll come across a few chambers that were put in place as prayer rooms. You’ll also see signs indicating the exact cemetery that was relocated to this very spot and the date at which the remains were shipped below ground.
After about an hour of exploring below ground, you slowly begin heading back up from the dark and into the City of Lights. As the beauty of the buildings reappear, it’s hard to believe what’s stored directly below.
