The Catacombs of Paris were once limestone quarries and provided the city with building materials for almost 2000 years.
Now there are various tunnels and a whole network under the city. Many still use them for illegal exploration. But the most sensational part for us is the ossuary.
Can you imagine that there was a time when there were more corpses than living people in Paris? The cemeteries were overcrowded. For over ten centuries, the dead were buried on top of each other, reaching a height of over 2.5 meters. In the end, the deceased were simply dumped into mass graves. The stench nearby was said to be unbearable. It is said that milk turned sour and wine turned into vinegar in the vicinity. In May 1780, when the retaining wall of an overcrowded mass grave broke and heaps of corpses poured into the cellars of the surrounding houses, a solution was sought by royal decree. In the end, the bodies were buried underground in the catacombs. Regardless of social standing, all the dead were brought into the tunnels at night accompanied by priests and stacked on top of each other. The front part was stacked decoratively, while the rest was thrown to the back. Within 30 years, a total of about 6 million corpses were reinterred in this way.
Since 1809, a certain part of the catacombs has been open to the public. There was even a concert held here underground, and Airbnb offered the opportunity to stay overnight for a modern-day thrill.
We were satisfied with the regular tour, and now I have a specific tip for you: since only a maximum of 200 people are allowed into the catacombs at a time, you have to wait a minimum of 2 hours in the regular queue. But our time was too precious for that, so we decided to get a fast-track ticket for once. It costs around 30 € depending on the provider. But you really bypass the queue and enter immediately. And an audio guide is included in this offer.
After more than 100 steps on a spiral staircase, you'll reach the underground area. It takes about 45 minutes to walk the approximately 1.5 km route. Surprisingly, you'll be quite alone on the paths because no more than 200 people are allowed down there. They want to preserve the fragile art, after all. Touching is prohibited anyway. However, there have been cases of thieves trying to take a souvenir. By the way, this ossuary is nothing extraordinary. It used to be common to relocate the deceased from their graves after a certain time. But the ossuary in Paris is by far the largest. I can't say that I found it really creepy. I was aware of what to expect. But I didn't find it amusing like some others might. Rather, it was interesting and completely new, and it made me feel even more grateful for the vastly improved living conditions we have today compared to the Middle Ages.
If you are interested in visiting, I recommend bringing a jacket. It is constantly 14 degrees cold there. And there are no toilets!
Now, a small tip from me for the return journey above ground: You leave the catacombs through a different exit than the entrance. Usually, your app will guide you to the nearest metro station, Mouton-Duvernet. Just before that, on Rue Sophie Germain, there is the wonderful patisserie 'Isabelle et Jean Alexandre'. We stocked up here with some cake and a delicious baguette and enjoyed it later.
In my next report, I'll tell you about a truly enchanting place....
