When I first arrived in Paris, I dreamed of going to the catacombs (Catacombes de Paris), but somehow it didn’t work out: sometimes there was no time, then my friends and I had another museum or event planned. You won't get bored in Paris. There is always something to do here. Only after two months of my stay there, my friend and I went to the appointed place. Moreover, independent visits to the catacombs are prohibited: entry is possible only by an organized group.
The school I attended (it was a private school for international students) organized excursions and various cultural and other activities for their students. Among them was an excursion to the Catacombs. We decided to go with her, as we knew the guide - a very nice woman, with whom we went to other similar events. She told interesting stories, which means a lot to people in this profession.
It seemed to us that we would get there quickly, since there are already few tourists in Paris in October, which means goodbye to giant queues at museums, exhibitions, etc. How wrong we were! Since a total of no more than 200 people can fit in the catacombs at the same time, they let people in in portions. Therefore, even in October there was a very long queue! Probably the biggest after the queues at Disneyland and Versailles, which I had to endure in Paris. We spent a good hour and a half in it before getting there. But it was worth it!
Start of inspection
The first thing you feel upon entering is cold. The temperature inside is only +14 ° C, and it feels even less. I was in an autumn raincoat and a thin jacket, and still I was cold. Please note that when visiting the catacombs, you go down underground, and the passages there are so narrow, in the ossuary itself (this is a building or a place for storing skeletonized remains) it is also low, so if you suffer from claustrophobia, I do not advise you to visit them at all.
The second is darkness. Despite the lanterns hanging everywhere, twilight reigns below, so it’s still hard to see, and it’s inconvenient to take pictures. Only with the flash I was able to take some normal photos.
Arcueil Museum and Aqueduct
The visit does not start from the ossuary itself, but from the small Museum of the Catacombs, where the history of the quarries is shown in photographs. Once these were the places where the rock was mined for the needs of Paris. Previously, when the city was much smaller than it is now, they were outside the city limits. Paris grew, and, in the end, the quarries fell into the city.
How did the skulls and remains of the long dead end up in the quarries? as the capital and Big City, Paris acquired many cemeteries within itself. Among them was a very large cemetery of the Innocent Martyrs. This was explained by the fact that the churches, under which they were, took money for the burial of the dead on their territory. This was strongly encouraged by the clergy, as it brought a good income.
However, the cemeteries grew both in depth and in breadth. Various gloomy events in Paris only added to the huge number of corpses. For example, the bubonic plague or St. Bartholomew's night, and then the French Revolution were reliable suppliers of the remains of thousands of people. So at the cemetery of the Innocent Martyrs to late XVIII century, more than 2 million dead have already accumulated. People were buried on top of old graves. A terrible stench spread from the cemetery, and it became a breeding ground for various infections. But the same church opposed its liquidation. After all, this meant the end of one of her reliable sources of income.
Finally, after the wall separating the cemetery itself from the residential areas collapsed, and an avalanche of human remains, sewage, etc. poured into the courtyards of people, it was decided to transfer the bodies and skeletons to the quarries. Within the boundaries of Paris, burial was banned altogether, and other cemeteries were also eliminated.
This is how the Catacombs and their ossuaries appeared.
From this museum, the path leads to the Arceuil aqueduct, a water pipe that supplied water to and from the places where limestone was previously mined. Actually, there is nothing particularly interesting there. Bare walls. Only the arches of the aqueduct, tending upwards, are impressive.
Port Mahon Gallery
Here we were shown sculptures in stone, made by one of the working masons Decure. As a soldier in the service of Cardinal Richelieu, he entered the service in the quarry, where he began to make these sculptures. What was his purpose in carrying them out is unknown. There is a sign next to it, on which all this information is indicated in French. By the way, Decure died here, from the collapse of the stoneworks, trying to improve his creation.
The sculpture is a model of a fort in the city of Port Mahon, on the island of Menorca, which is part of the Balearic Islands. Decure spent some time in prison there when he was taken prisoner by the British. During the revolution, the sculptures were destroyed, but then, already in the middle of the 19th century, they were restored.
"Foot bath" (Bain des pieds)
Where is this strange name at a simple well that quarry workers used to use? The point here is the extraordinary transparency of the water, due to which visitors simply did not notice the well itself and could accidentally wet their feet in it.
This was until 1983, when electricity was provided in the catacombs. To see the well today, you need to go down even lower. But after it, the level of the gallery rises and leads to the entrance to the ossuary itself.
Ossuary (Ossuarium)
"Stop! Here begins the realm of the dead, ”- such an inscription appears on top, at the entrance to the ossuary. This quote belongs to the poet Jacques Delisle. Further, in the ossuary itself, we saw many sayings and passages from the works of French poets and writers about death and the frailty of life.
The entrance itself is easily recognizable by the black and white columns that precede it. Of course, various impolite visitors have already left inscriptions on them.
Most of the galleries are closed to visitors. Only a small part of them is available for inspection. But this is done only for the benefit of the visitors themselves. After all, some of them are under the threat of flooding or collapse. And it's very easy to get lost there without a guide.
Bones and skulls are laid out along the walls, while forming a peculiar and creepy pattern. The skulls were laid out in a line under and over the bones. They also have plaques on them, which indicate from which cemetery they were transferred. By the way, somewhere among these bones lie the remains of famous figures of France: Robespierre, Danton, Colbert, Rabelais, etc.
These galleries made a terrible, but at the same time majestic impression on me. You are imbued with a feeling of some strange calm and understand that everything in the world is just vanity of vanities.
The galleries lead to the so-called Samaritan Fountain. It was made in 1810 to collect groundwater, which was discovered by the workers of the catacombs. It is named so because of the episode with Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. Another reason is an allegory with Lethe, a river in the realm of the dead from Greek mythology. According to legend, souls drank water from it in order to forget the circumstances of their lives.
Next comes another large hall, which is called the Sacellum crypt (from Latin “sanctuary”). The so-called altar is located there, which was made as a copy of an ancient tomb found in France in 1807. There is also a large, white cross and stone stools.
After that, we ended up in another gloomy place (Although it would seem, where is it gloomier?). In a small hall, a bowl in antique form stands on a stone pillar. What do you think it was for? We are told that it was used to burn tar and improve air ventilation inside the quarries. The fact is that a terrible smell spread from the bones, and the workers had nothing to breathe. That's why it was installed in the first place. Resin was also burned to pay tribute to the dead.
As we walked further through the galleries, we saw what we thought was a tomb. But in fact, this is something like a false tomb, designed to support the vaults of the quarries. It was erected in honor of the damned poet Nicolas Gilbert. His poems are engraved on it.
The only real tombstone in the ossuary acquires the remains of a certain Françoise Gelyan or Lady Legros. She had a rather sad fate: she fell in love with an adventurer who was in prison and whom she had never even seen. She found his note near the prison. As a result, she devoted almost part of her life to getting him out of there.
Already at the exit from the crypt is the Passion Hall or the Rotunda of Bones. It is there that there is a column in the form of a barrel of lined skulls and bones, which can be found in numerous photographs of the Catacombs on the Internet.
End of visit
At the very end, you find yourself in another hall, which was formed here as a result of collapses. From 1874 to 1875 there were three of them at once. Workers cleared two of them.
Thus, this hall appeared, which demonstrates different geological layers. They are specially painted in different colors.
We climbed up the spiral staircase to the surface.
At the exit there is, as usual, a shop with souvenirs, which are made in the form of bones or skulls. Need a skull or skeleton keychain? Then you are here. I did not buy anything there, because I had enough impressions from the catacombs. The price of such souvenirs starts from 5 EUR.
How to get there
You need to get to the metro station "Denfert-Rochereau" (Denfert-Rochereau). It is located at the intersection of two metro lines at once: No. 4 and No. 6.
Landmark - a sculpture of a lion nearby. There you can easily find the entrance through a long queue.
Opening hours
The catacombs are open almost all week: Tuesday-Sunday - from 10:00 to 20:30. The box office closes at 19:30. The catacombs are closed on Mondays, May 1, August 15 and January 1.
Advice: in winter or autumn, you can come up to 17:00 from the opening hour. The queue will take from an hour to an hour and a half. In summer, during the tourist season, it is best to come to the catacombs in the morning, 2 hours before opening, so as not to stand in line for a long time.
Entry fee
There are several ticket options:
- catacombs + expositions - 12 EUR, 10 EUR - for beneficiaries (students, etc.);
- catacombs + archaeological crypt - 16 EUR and 13 EUR, respectively.
Fine for being outside the tourist areas - from 60 EUR!
Visiting Rules
Entry with large bags or backpacks is not allowed as some of the aisles are very narrow. Only bags no larger than 40 x 30 cm are allowed. They must be carried in the hand or in front of you.
Since it is quite cool inside even in summer, it is better to take a warm sweater or jacket with you.
Viewing the catacombs is contraindicated for pregnant women and young children.
You can take pictures inside calmly, but only with a flash: it is very dark inside.
Cemeteries. There is something about them that makes the hair start to move on the head, and for many of us, cemeteries are one of the creepiest and most forbidden places on the planet. What could be scarier than an ordinary cemetery? What do you say about the one that contains the remains of millions of Parisians and which is located right under the capital of France? Yes exactly.
For a city known for its love of fashion, romance and culture, Paris certainly hides a dark secret beneath its streets. These little known facts about the immense catacombs of Paris will leave you completely bewildered.
10. The remains of more than six million Parisians are stored here.
In the 18th century, the cemeteries of the ever-growing city of Paris ran out of space. As if that wasn't enough, some of the bodies weren't buried properly and caused the disease to spread. Ultimately, Parisian officials decided to ban cemeteries within the city and move the remains they contained elsewhere.
Officials drew attention to several underground quarries in the city. Between the 1780s and 1814, the authorities were able to organize the underground transportation of more than six million bodies, collected from all the cemeteries that existed in Paris, transporting the dead using carts and placing them in their final resting place.
9. They are bigger than you think.
Photo: Deror Avi
While the remains of six million people are scattered through the tunnels, most of them were placed in burial chambers known as ossuaries, which are often visited by tours. The fact is that there are more tunnels in the catacombs. They were made by Parisian quarry miners before some of the catacombs were used as a cemetery.
While some 320 kilometers of tunnels are thought to exist, not all of them have been mapped and the rest remain uncharted territory. It makes you wonder what else might be lurking in these tunnels.
8. Roamers turned the catacombs into a secret bathing spot.
Photo: Messy Nessy Chic
Apparently, the idea of going to the local pool (or visiting a friend who has a pool) doesn't satisfy some people enough. Instead, they embark on a journey into the depths of the catacombs to cool off in some secret, unexplored pools that have become known among other catacomb enthusiasts as makeshift pools.
Of course, you will need connections to get there. They say you'll also have to wade through murky waters and claustrophobic tunnels before reaching the "oasis", which in this case is a water pit located in a giant underground cemetery.
7. Unknown groups are doing strange things here
In 2004, the police, conducting exercises in the catacombs, stumbled upon something completely unexpected. While exploring the outskirts of the vast tunnel system, they discovered a gigantic fully equipped cinema hall with a screen, everything you need, a restaurant and bar, professionally installed telephone lines and power lines. Even more eerie was the fact that a hidden camera took pictures of the cops as they entered the hall.
No one knows who did it, but a note was left at the scene that said, "Don't try to find us." It's probably not the best setting for a movie theater and restaurant, but this space can also be put to good use, right?
6. The stream of corpses
The most popular place in Paris where the dead were buried (before they decided to use the catacombs for this) was Les Innocents - the oldest and most frequently used city cemetery. However, there was one problem with it: as mentioned above, by the beginning of the 18th century, so many people were buried on it that it overflowed. People who lived in the neighborhood began to complain about the pungent smell of decay that spread throughout the city.
To say “it was overflowing” is an understatement, because when the cemetery was flooded with water, the bodies began to rise from the ground to the surface. During the 1780s, people began exhuming bodies from all the old cemeteries and burying them in what we now call catacombs, and the rest is history.
5 Cataphiles Create Communities Inside Tunnels
Photo: Claire Narkissos
Cataphiles are a group of urban explorers who tend to spend vast amounts of time in the depths of the catacombs for their own enjoyment and adventure. Although their name may sound like the name of a modern cult, they deeply respect both the dead and the tunnels and create maps so that people do not get lost in the vast necropolis.
They are insiders and information on how to access the catacombs is kept within a tight-knit group. The Cataphiles have been building their own community inside the old quarries and tunnels for many years. Some people paint pictures here, decorate rooms or have parties with other inhabitants of the tunnels, and some visit them just to take a break from the outside world.
4. Vintage wine was once stolen here
It turns out that in addition to bones, rotting and death, there is also quite good wine in the depths of the catacombs. At least that was the case in 2017.
A gang of French thieves drilled through the limestone walls of the catacombs and entered a nearby vault, which was located under the apartment and contained about 300 bottles of vintage wine. The thieves escaped with all the €250,000 worth of wine.
3. The bones are collected in "decorative displays"
Photo: Shadowgate
When in the 1780s the bones of the dead were first brought to the catacombs on carts, they were simply left in the tunnels (after the priest said a prayer for the dead to rest in peace). Workers began to fold the old ones into shapes and arrangements such as hearts and circles, and lined the walls with skulls and various other gruesome remains.
One of the most iconic compositions is known as the Cask. It consists of a large round pillar, surrounded by skulls and tibias, and simultaneously serves as a support for the ceiling of the room where it is located, which is called the Crypt of Passion or the Rotunda of the Tibia. A barrel is a little more ugly than a traditional prop, but if it's doing its job, then there's no question.
2. Farmers started using catacombs to grow mushrooms 
Photo: Messy Nessy Chic
This practice began in the 19th century when a Parisian named Monsieur Chambery ventured into the tunnels and saw a scattering of wild mushrooms growing underground. He decided to use the abandoned tunnels to grow his own mushrooms de Paris (aka champignons), which was accepted and approved by the Horticultural Society of Paris as a result.
Soon, farmers flocked here from everywhere to establish their own farms. Growing mushrooms in the catacombs has become a thriving business venture. In fact, if you know where to look, you can probably find some farmers still growing soul mushrooms there. This makes sense, given the darkness and humidity prevailing there. Who knows, perhaps the old bones lying nearby also served as a kind of fertilizer for mushrooms.
1. During World War II, the catacombs were used by both sides. 
Photo: 28DaysLater.co.uk
Since the existence of the catacombs was well known during the Second World War, and in addition, they extend for many kilometers under the ground, it is not surprising that they began to be used during hostilities. What might surprise you is that they were used by both parties.
Members of the French Resistance made extensive use of the underground tunnel system during the war to hide and plan attacks on the Germans. The catacombs guaranteed not to be seen german spies and will not be detected by enemies.
What is even more shocking is that the Nazis were also present in the catacombs and built various bunkers (for example, one under high school Lycee Montaigne). The remains of this bunker can still be seen today.
The Parisian catacombs are a network of tunnels and caves that stretch for more than 300km under the city. These places are famous for paranormal phenomena and evil aura. It all started a long time ago...
For the construction of the city required construction material. The Romans were the first people to quarry limestone in the area in the 6th century BC. In open pits, the Romans dug up unprotected rock.
As the city grew and occupied more and more space, the first tunnels appeared in the quarries. They increased in size and complexity and provided building resources for centuries. The quarrying continued at a reckless pace until problems began to arise.
TO XVIII century Paris has grown impressively, and under the ground formed a large number of voids, due to which some buildings began to collapse and fall into the ground. To solve this problem, a general inspectorate for quarries was formed in Paris to repair, fill or close some of the tunnels that were considered dangerous.
WITH early XVIII century, Parisians had a second problem: the severe overcrowding of cemeteries. More than 30 generations of human remains were buried in the Cemetery of the Innocents alone. The priests decided to build a kind of common grave called "charnier" for the dead. It was there that the bodies of the dead were brought for a long time.
Since the growing city even surrounded the cemeteries, there was no more free space left in it. Sometime near the end of the closing of the Cemetery of the Innocents, as well as several other cemeteries, the ground rose over 10 feet above the road. The smell plagued those who lived directly near the cemetery.
Some walls of the cemetery were actually destroyed, from where rotting bodies fell out onto the streets and into the basements of some adjacent buildings. Soon people living nearby began to get sick and die from the poisons evaporating from the corpses. The decision was made to start emptying the cemetery and placing the bones in a network of tunnels under the city. In 1785, when all the bones were placed underground, the quarries became the Catacombs Museum.
A spiral cement staircase takes visitors down 130 steps, 20 meters deep. At the bottom of the stairs there are two rooms with many photographs of ancient graffiti inside the Catacombs Museum, as well as some underground structures. After passing through two small rooms, a person will fall into real catacombs.
On average, the lowest ceiling height is 1.8m and the highest is over 3m, although some sections have cathedral-style ceilings that rise high overhead. Dim lighting gradually depresses. The limestone walls are yellowish brown and cool to the touch. Coarse gravel crunches underfoot with every step, and the only other sound is the occasional drip somewhere in the tunnels.
In the next hall, the guest is greeted by an inscription that translates as “Stop! Here is the Empire of the Dead." In these sections, bones and skulls form ornaments depicting crosses, hearts, arcs and other symbols.
If you think about the fact that in the whole terrible crypt there are bones of more than 6 million bodies, then it becomes somehow uncomfortable. After all, there was once life in these eye sockets and they contemplated and felt this world just like we do.
The tourist route shows the viewer only 1.7 km from the whole huge necropolis. The entrance to further tunnels is closed. They say that no one was engaged in decorating the bones there, and they are randomly scattered across the floor.
The negative energy of bodies not properly buried and the rare presence of people could give birth to the light, or rather into the darkness, terrible mystical secrets. We can only guess what several hundred kilometers of little-explored gloomy tunnels hide from prying eyes.
is a network of man-made tunnels under Paris, filled with the bones of millions of people. You will learn how to see the most controversial landmark in Paris.
The catacombs were formed as a result of limestone mining, and the bones were brought here from the city cemeteries when they began to overflow. Here lie the remains of Maximilian Robespierre, a French revolutionary. The Paris catacombs are one of the world's most unusual sights.
The first time you try to visit catacombs of paris it turned out that the entrance to them is open only until 16:00 and we were already late.
The second time we decided not to stand in line, which almost closed in a ring around the square Claude-Nicolas Ledoux.
The third time we came early, we thought that there would be no people, but the trick failed. The line was in place. I had to stand. The place is unusual and I really wanted to go there. As a result, we went underground after two and a half hours.
Article edited 07/04/2019
How to get into the catacombs
Entrance to Paris catacombs is in 14th arrondissement Paris on the square Denfert Rochereau from Avenue Generale Leclerc. The cashier is right at the entrance. If you are not familiar with the Parisian districts, read our article. Find out where it is better to settle there, so that it is more convenient to explore the city.
Metro to the catacombs (lines 4 and 6) or RER (line B) go to Denfert-Rochereau station.
On buses on routes 38 and 68.
Entrance to the catacombs
Entrance to the Catacombs of Paris Entrance to the catacombs on the map
Guided tour of the catacombs (in Russian)
Opening hours
The catacombs are open daily from 10:00 to 17:00 except Mondays and public holidays.
You can buy tickets until 16:00.
Ticket price with audio guide €29
Website of the Parisian dungeons (there is a Russian language):www.catacombes.paris.fr
Conditions in the Catacombs
Personnel serving the Catacombs ensure that no more than 200 people are in the dungeons at a time.
Tunnel length 2 km, which take approximately 45 minutes time.
There are no toilets, cloakrooms, elevators or other amenities, including cell phones, in the tunnels.
To descend into the Catacombs, you need to go through a narrow spiral staircase of 130 steps and another 83 steps to climb back to the surface.
The tunnels have a constant temperature of 14°C and high humidity - don't forget to dress warmly.
Catacombs should not be visited by people with breathing or heart problems, as well as children and impressionable individuals.
People with reduced mobility and children under 14 years of age are not allowed into the catacombs unless accompanied by an adult.
Photo and video shooting
In the Catacombs of Paris, you can take pictures for personal purposes, without the use of a flash and a tripod. But everyone shoots the way they want.
Self-guided tour of the catacombs
We return to our days.
From the ticket office to the side there is a corridor from which a spiral staircase leads 20 meters underground. Going down is noticeably colder. All year round in the dungeons, a constant temperature +14 degrees. The air is very humid.
Jackets had to be put on as soon as they went down, it’s good that they guessed to take them.
Then we go along a long narrow corridor, which periodically turns somewhere, connects with other corridors. The names of the streets under which the tunnel passes are written on the walls. Now it is not possible to get lost in the catacombs of Paris, all unnecessary passages are blocked, but before they were made into a museum, there were such cases. After passing through several small halls, the corridor leads to the entrance to the crypt, where long galleries begin, filled with the remains of the inhabitants of Paris.
The entrance to the crypt is framed by two black columns with a white diamond-shaped ornament. The beam supporting the ceiling between the columns contains the inscription:
Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la mort.
Stop! Here is the realm of death.
In the crypt there are many tablets with inscriptions reflecting the fragility of human life.
The row of bones that faces the passage is neatly stacked and forms a wall with a total length of 780 meters and a height almost up to the ceiling of the dungeons. At first, the bones were simply thrown into a pile. In 1810, the General Inspectorate of the Catacombs formalized the remains in the form of a wall of neatly stacked tibia bones. This wall is facing tourists. In some places it was even decorated with patterns of skulls. The rest of the bones are still piled up behind.
On the surface of the earth, we do not notice how much all living things need light. But here the only sources lights are small spotlights. In their rays life appears. The moss on the walls of the tunnels grows exactly in the shape of a beam of light from a spotlight.
At the exit from the catacombs, bags are inspected so that no one takes a “souvenir” with them as a keepsake. When you step into the light, the thought arises: “Where am I?”. There is a wall of a building in front of my eyes, the sun blinds my eyes and it is not clear which way to go. There is a souvenir shop nearby, but it is stupid, you can buy a cartoon plastic skull.
During the Second World War, in the catacombs, a couple of kilometers apart, at the same time were secret bunker fascists and the headquarters of the French resistance.
History of the Paris Catacombs
How did the tunnels themselves appear?
The first underground mining began in 12th-13th centuries, on the territory of the modern Luxembourg Gardens.
Paris grew, palaces and new cathedrals required a large amount of limestone. It was just mined in these dungeons. In particular, Notre Dame Cathedral was built from this stone. As Paris grew, so did the catacombs. By the 17th century, the dungeons were within the city, and some houses literally hung over the tunnels. There were collapses here and there.
In 1777, by order of the King of France, Louis XVI, the General Inspectorate of Quarries was created, which, by the way, exists to this day. She has been monitoring the condition of the dungeons for over two hundred years.
With the advent of the inspection, large-scale work began to strengthen the quarries.
To prevent collapses, dangerous tunnels are filled with concrete. This method is simple and reliable. Thanks to the concrete pouring, the city streets stopped sinking, but on the other hand, part of the catacombs disappeared. In particular, gypsum developments in the north of Paris have been completely lost.
Crypt
Where are the bones in the catacombs
Simultaneously with the vast network of dungeons, another problem was brewing in Paris - the overflow of city cemeteries. By Christian tradition the dead were to be buried on lands owned by the church. This tradition was strongly supported by representatives of the clergy, making a profit for ritual services.
The most famous Parisian cemetery of the "Innocents" accepted the dead from almost all over the city into their lands. The victims of the bubonic plague and St. Bartholomew's nights were also buried there.
A la mort on laisse tout - Death takes everything
Book of Ecclesiastes
As a result, by 1763 When the ban on burials in the city came out, about two million people were buried in the cemetery. And this is on an area of 7000 square meters. m. - just square 84x84 meters. The bodies in the graves were stacked in several levels one above the other. Since the area was limited, and the cemetery had to grow somewhere, it grew upwards. The ground level at the cemetery rose two meters above the city streets, and the layer of corpses in some places reached ten meters. It is clear that this contributed to the deterioration of the sanitary situation in the city. And what was the inhabitants of the nearest houses.
The situation reached a boiling point in 1780, when a rotting mass of bodies fell out of a crypt in the cemetery wall. The residents could not stand this - at their request the cemetery was closed. There is nothing left of it now. In modern Paris, on the site of the "Innocents" cemetery, a small square with a fountain has been arranged.
In 1785, work began on the transfer of the remains from the cemetery of the "Innocents" to the former quarries, which lasted 15 months. The bones were cleaned, disinfected and lowered underground. Often just dropping them down the mine. After cleaning the cemetery of the Innocents, the bones were collected from other places.
Now, in the place where the remains from the cemetery of the Innocents lie, a sign with the corresponding inscription is installed.
As a result, the remains of six million people are currently in the Parisian dungeons. At the same time, approximately 2.2 million inhabitants live in modern Paris. Some of the bones in the crypt are over a thousand years old.
In old photographs of the work on the arrangement of the Paris catacombs:
Works in the Catacombs of Paris
A worker pulls a cart full of bones
Legends of the Parisian catacombs
Now let's talk about legends. I specially made this topic at the very bottom, so as not to scare off impressionable readers. A place like this cannot but be overgrown with legends. It attracts crowds of fans of black magic, Satanism and other evil spirits. In addition to them, there are diggers and cataphiles - lovers of the Parisian catacombs. All of them find their own way underground and explore tunnels that are not intended for tourists. Only a small part of the whole underground world is open for mass visits - dark, confusing and dangerous. The tunnels are branching, there is no light, damp, cold, human bones are all around - have you imagined the situation? And there are entrances to this world not only through the ticket offices and the equipped exposition, but through sewers and metro tunnels.
Stories of the missing
Stories about people missing in the catacombs have accumulated over the years of their existence. Many of them have already been retold so many times that it is no longer possible to understand what is true and what is not, and they already sound more like fairy tales. Therefore, we found a legend that has a core of sanity.
One day a video camera was found in one of the tunnels. The recording showed a man inspecting the catacombs. At some point it starts to go faster, then even faster. Heavy breathing is heard. Then he ran and dropped the camera. In the frame you can see his legs - he runs away further along the tunnel. What happened, no one knows. He was never found. Maybe he just got out and went home, or maybe not - lost in an endless network of tunnels, like many before him.
Video from this camera fell into the hands of a group of enthusiasts who tried to follow in the footsteps of that man. They made their film. Unfortunately, only in English, but the speech is legible - you can understand.
The movie is certainly made in such a way that it terrifies the human mind. The video taken by that camera is shown at the very beginning of the first part. What happened to its author? I don't know - most likely he just panicked and couldn't handle his emotions. In such a place, panic can lead to sad consequences.
Interesting fact. In one of the underground corridors (not accessible to tourists), an inscription made in 1854 has been preserved. These are the names of the police officers who were looking for smugglers here.
Parisian catacombs in cinema
The catacombs of Paris have repeatedly become the backdrop for various films: professional and amateur, documentary and feature. Films about the catacombs are still being made, they often appear on the net. Lots of amateur movies different languages you can easily find and watch online.
The most famous art films This Catacombs(2006) and Paris: City of the Dead(2014). Both are horror films, you are unlikely to learn anything useful about the catacombs from them. For example, the film Paris: City of the Dead is a kind of mixture: the plot from the film National Treasure is shot from the first person in the manner of the Blair Witch Project. It's all a little chaotic. The heroes of the film mention Nicolas Flamel, a French alchemist who allegedly managed to get the philosopher's stone. That's what they go to look for in the dungeons. But this is all a fairy tale, something else is interesting. The house where he lived and worked Nicolas Flamel reached our days - built in 1407- This the oldest house in Paris.
House of Nicolas Flamel located in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, at 51, rue Montmorency(rue Montmarency 51). nearest station Metro Rambuteau. The building is nothing outstanding, and has nothing to do with the catacombs, except for a mention in the film.
Despite the unusual nature of this attraction, it is an integral part of the history of the city and the French people. To broaden your horizons, it is worth visiting and seeing everything with your own eyes. Especially for tourists, everything is landscaped.
Good luck with your travels.
And again we are glad to welcome all sincere lovers of the fascinating world of travel! Today we have to go to an unusual place, which can hardly be called a bright landmark or a masterpiece of architecture. And although the end point of our journey is in the very center of beautiful France, the main impression that awaits us all will be a slight feeling of fear. Welcome to the underworld of Paris, to the catacombs.
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That's the question you'll all be asking yourself, puzzling over why we should visit this creepy place, about which some of us have heard quite a few scary stories. The thing is that the Parisian catacombs are of both historical and purely tourist interest. Many of us remember the terrible stories that our older comrades told us, sitting at the fire in the twilight, what fear the intricate, but absurdly stupid plots inspired! We grew up and treat these pages of our childhood history with humor for a long time. But the places about which there are many legends and scary stories for adults, really exist, and the catacombs in Paris are a clear confirmation of this. So, gather all your courage and go for new, vivid impressions!
Story
The word "catacombs" evokes thoughts of underground fortifications in which one could wait out a war, natural disaster or any other catastrophe. But the Parisian catacombs had a different purpose. According to the sources, one of the first underground parts called the "Cemetery of the Innocents" appeared under the quarters of modern Paris back in the 11th century. This is where they found their last resort those who died in the course of events on the St. Bartholomew night known to many. Next to the dead lie the remains of the victims of the bubonic plague that once raged throughout Europe.
According to the most conservative estimates, more than 2 million people are forever buried under the French capital. As you understand, such a crazy accumulation of bodies that were carriers of various infections could not have been in vain. Soon, local rulers recognized the monstrous danger from the Necropolis and forbade burials within the boundaries of Paris.
It was in the 17th century, when the said ban came out, that another part of the modern catacombs appeared - the Ossaurium. It was founded in the old quarry of Tomb-Issoire. The dead and the dead after certain disinfection measures were taken out and stored at a depth of 17 meters. Bones and skulls were sorted, stacked on top of each other. Therefore, even today you can see one of the most terrible, and at the same time unique creations - a real wall of human remains. The second name of Ossauria is the City of Darkness. Today it covers an area of more than 780 meters and consists of several galleries. Each of them contains identical "exhibits" - the remains of people who once lived on French soil.
Later, after the occupation German troops France, it was in the catacombs that numerous partisan detachments hid.
Underworld today
Today, the Parisian catacombs are represented by a whole network of winding tunnels. Basically, these narrow underground corridors appeared due to local miners of limestone and other rocks that were used in the construction of palaces and cathedrals. It is impossible to accurately determine the length of all corridors and at least the approximate area occupied by the catacombs. According to some estimates, the total length of the tunnels is at least 190-300 km, and the underground area, which is united by "galleries" and grottoes, exceeds 11 thousand square meters.
Although today citizens are no longer buried here, the approximate number of people who have found eternal rest here is more than 6 million.
Creepy, isn't it? But with all this, despite the horrors and unconfirmed legends that go about this place, every year to look at underground city France and touch wonderful world The Necropolis is visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world. The average number of visitors reaches 160 thousand annually.
What can be seen in the catacombs
If you're ready to touch history and visit perhaps the spookiest place in France, then let's get acquainted with what awaits us. It would be wrong to think that apart from bones and pitch darkness, the catacombs of Paris cannot surprise anyone else. In addition to the remains of the dead, there are many monuments and unusual exhibits underground. The walls are decorated with drawings, among which one can clearly distinguish the pen of contemporaries. Here you can see the only landmark, thanks to which the workers could find their way in the depths of the quarry. This is the so-called "black line" or "Ariadne's thread". After all, electricity was brought here not so long ago.
Although the catacombs boast an impressive history, many of the galleries and tunnels have not changed at all since the time dozens of workers passed through them every day. In one of the central galleries you can see a real well from which limestone was mined. How many tons of this rock were lifted up and laid in the basis of royal palaces - do not count!
At a depth of several meters>
As soon as you step into this realm of shadows and the dead, you feel how creepy such places can be. It seems that the air was filled with lead, and the gloomy walls forever remained the only witnesses of those terrible events. Only they alone know how many bodies are actually buried here, how much torment and fear people endured before they got into this real kingdom of the dead. A mesmerizing and creepy sight!
Eternal dampness and a constant feeling of colossal pressure, which is exerted by more than 20 meters of earth above the heads of visitors. Here it is the real kingdom of Hades, about which so many legends are composed among the Hellenes. Surely, thousands of restless souls ended up forever in this cramped, enclosed space.
How to get into the catacombs
Getting into the catacombs near Paris today is not difficult. Access to this underground attraction is free and is limited to a small labyrinth. The rest of the underground tunnels are not accessible to tourists. Such a ban is associated with the necessary security measures, because getting lost underground is not so difficult, it is much more difficult to get out. There were cases when fans of unusual extreme sports made their way into the catacombs secretly and disappeared without a trace.
If you want to visit the catacombs, the first thing you should go to is the Dunfert-Rochereau metro station. It is near it that there is a pavilion for entering the underground labyrinths. Today, 2.5 kilometers of underground tunnels are available for tourist walks. Moreover, there is a list of places where it is strictly forbidden to be. Otherwise, you will have to deal with the police. In 1980, special police squads were formed to monitor tourists and respond to violations of the above prohibitions.
Of course, it is not uncommon for lovers of unusual adventures to penetrate into restricted areas. According to some of them, the catacombs are quite easy to get into if you know their location. For example, an inconspicuous manhole or a secluded niche at a metro station can be a real door to the underworld.
The catacombs are located at: 1, avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy.
Opening hours: open Tuesday-Sunday from 10.00 to 17.00.
Ticket price - 8-10 euros for adults, free for children under 14 years old. Independent visits are prohibited, only as part of an excursion group.
Unusual facts
I bring to your attention a few interesting facts And historical events that are directly related to the Parisian catacombs. They will help you learn more about unusual underground tunnels and show off your knowledge among your friends when you find yourself in this unusual and amazing place together.
So, in 1878, the world exhibition was held in Paris. In addition to the fact that everyone could enjoy the amazing and rare masterpieces of art, they became the first visitors to the Catacombs cafe, which is located in the underground tunnels of Chaillot.
If you have read the famous Frenchman Victor Hugo's novel called Les Misérables, you will probably be interested to know that in the plot he used the knowledge he received while studying the underground labyrinths.
As mentioned earlier, during the Second World War, the underground tunnels of Paris were actively used by representatives partisan movement. Since the invaders were afraid of terrible labyrinths and did not dare to go in search of citizens who resisted the Nazi regime, in 1944 it was the underground part of the capital that was chosen as their headquarters. At the same time, as evidenced historical documents, from the headquarters of the partisans to the main Nazi bunker was only 500 meters!
One of the most favorite ingredients of French cuisine - champignons - is grown in the dungeon. The damp climate allows you to get an excellent harvest of these mushrooms.
In addition, during the years of the “cold” confrontation between the USSR and the USA, some galleries of the catacombs were equipped as bomb shelters.
Use the services of kiwitaxi and at the airport, at the specified time, the driver will be waiting for you, help with luggage and promptly take you to the hotel. Several classes of cars are available - from economy to Minibus with 19 seats. The price is fixed and does not depend on the number of passengers and the address within Paris. Taxi from / to the airport is a convenient and comfortable way to get to the right place.
Catacombs of Paris on the map
This is such an unusual and unique place in nature, which is worth a visit for every thrill-seeker.
