Paris – the catacombs
Show notes
The entrance to the underworld of Paris is located directly at the Denfert-Rochereau metro station in the Montparnasse neighbourhood. There you go down 131 steps and get a feel for the past of this underground labyrinth. Because what is now a gigantic ossuary was once used as a quarry by the Parisians.
Limestone has been quarried beneath the city since the 15th century - but without considering the consequences for the city's statics. This had its revenge centuries later: around 1750, the ground began to sink in various parts of Paris, causing panic among the population. The city leaders decided to solve not only this problem, but also a second one in one go: The growing city also caused the number of deceased to rise, and the Parisian cemeteries were hopelessly overcrowded.
Catacombs based on the Roman model were therefore built, the old tunnels were shored up and countless bones were transferred here - usually at night and in secret so as not to disturb the underground.
The director of the catacombs, Héricart de Thury, campaigned to turn the ossuary into a publicly accessible museum of death. He had the bones sorted and arranged and decorated the underground labyrinth with poetic verses and memento mori lines. In the 19th century, the catacombs became a place of social life - even an orchestra played here in one of the largest ossuaries in the world.
What you should know before you visit:
Access to the Paris Catacombs is limited to 200 people, so you should definitely pre-book tickets online. The entrance is near the Place Denfert-Rochereau metro station in the Montparnasse neighbourhood.
Children under the age of 14 may only visit the catacombs if accompanied by an adult.
Even at the height of summer, the thermometer here is a cool 14 degrees.
Plan an hour for the visit.
The corridors can be narrow, but the 1.6 kilometre route is clearly marked out. You can't get lost.
There are around 100 steps up and down at the beginning and end. There is no lift.
And it goes without saying that it is forbidden to touch the bones or even take them with you.
Tickets and information at: https://www.catacombes.paris.fr/die-katakomben-von-paris Address: 1 Av. du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy
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