Arrête! C'est ici l'empire de la mort

‘Stop! Here is the empire of death’ reads the inscription above the entrance into the Paris catacombs. The ossuary lies under the heart of Paris, in a labyrinth of tunnels that once supplied the stone that Paris was built with. Over 7 million Parisians now lie in this historic site and were moved to the former quarries in the 18th century when overcrowded cemeteries in the city were causing a public health crisis. The graveyards were overflowing and encroaching on the living.

One particularly gruesome story involved a restaurant owner who, while trying to retrieve wine from his cellar, was overcome by a putrid smell. A mass grave adjacent to his property had eroded and spilled its contents of corpses onto the floor where he stood. With infectious diseases rife in the city and decomposing bodies purifying the air and seeping into the water wells, it was decided to relocate the bodies from the cemeteries to the underground quarries. The remains were carted by night from the city’s graveyards down into the tunnels below, starting with the Cemetery of the Innocents, a cemetery that had seen 10 centuries of burials before closing its gates and being emptied into the Paris underground. At first, the bones were piled into the tunnels in disorganized heaps, but the human remains were later rearranged in the early 1800s into the beautiful walls and columns seen today.

The catacombs opened their doors to tourism in 1809, where people could descend into the tunnels and view the ossuary by candlelight. The last bones were deposited in the catacombs in the year 1860.

Aside from bones, various plaques can be seen throughout the ossuary, both poetic and religious that have been designed to entice the visitors to contemplate death and what it means to them.

The Ghost of Philibert Apsairt

A place with 7 million skeletons in underground tunnels is bound to have some good ghost stories associated with it. One of the most famous tales took place during the French Revolution. A doorman named Philibert Apsairt, who was working nearby, was sent on a task to retrieve a bottle from the cellar. However, he somehow managed to enter the catacombs and became lost in the tunnels with only a lantern containing a single candle. Once that candle went out, he would have been engulfed in complete darkness within the catacombs.

His body was discovered 11 years later by a group of catophiles exploring the tunnels. He is buried at the site where his body was found, and it is said that he now haunts those same tunnels he spent his final days in, forever searching for the way out. Philibert Apsairt is considered to be both the original, as well as the patron saint of the catophiles.

The Catophiles and the Real Underground

There is a group of people known as the Catophiles who spend their nights avoiding the authorities while exploring the secret passages and tunnels of the Paris underground. This labyrinth of underground tunnels is said to encompass over 280 kilometers, marked by graffiti and mapped extensively by underground explorers. Young people frequent these tunnels for exploration and even host parties—large and small; from huge raves to small personal raclette parties held below the streets of Paris.

There are also organized events known as ‘catasprints’, in which participants race through the catacombs with the aim of reaching a final destination as quickly as possible to claim the prize.

In 2004, police discovered an area within the catacombs that was decked out with living quarters, complete with a bar, pirated phone lines, and electricity. It even had a cinema with 20 seats carved out of the stone walls. Upon further investigation, they found they were being recorded by video cameras set up in the ceilings. However, when the police returned a few days later with a larger team, they found everything removed and only a note saying ‘Ne cherchez pas’ (Do not search).

Entering the catacombs is illegal and comes with a fine if caught. Authorities frequently seal off entrances, but as soon as one is blocked, another is found to gain entry. Navigating this labyrinth of tunnels with no phone service can be quite dangerous as one can easily get lost. There are hidden pits and a constant risk of collapsing or flooding tunnels, and let's not forget about the rats!

In the 1990s it seems one such person suffered that fate. A video camera was found in the tunnels with nothing else around it. The footage revealed a Blair witch-like scene of a man alone recording himself. As time progressed, he became increasingly panicked before suddenly dropping the camera to the ground. To this day, no one knows who he was or if he ever managed to escape alive. Legend has it that after midnight, voices can be heard, enticing the living to venture deeper into the catacombs until they too become lost. Perhaps this was the fate of that unfortunate man.

Cat Cemetery

A final interesting fact about the catacombs, it's not just human remains you can find down in the tunnels below Paris. In the late 1800s, hundreds of cat skulls were discovered. Was there a monster devouring local pets? Unfortunately for the people of Paris, this was not the case. More horrifically, it turned out that one of the restaurants above was serving cats as a cheap rabbit meat alternative. As this was greatly frowned upon at the time, the staff were depositing the evidence in the catacombs below.

Top Tips

Booking in advance is a must, there looked to be a line for people without tickets, but it was very long. Tickets are available on the website and go on sale seven days before for a timed entrance and sell out quickly. You can purchase up to 5 tickets.

There are 131 steps leading down into the catacombs and 112 to get back out, making it unsuitable for those with limited mobility or for prams.

Tickets can be booked online at https://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/visit.

The self-guided tour with an audioguide takes about an hour and is 1.5km in length.

Photos are allowed without flash and visitors must not touch the bones.

Staff will check bags on the way out to ensure you haven’t taken a piece of a Parisian with you!

The tunnels can be a bit chilly, with an average temperature of 14°C, so it's wise to bring a jumper during the summer months.

I went with my children aged 8 and 13, and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

There are toilets available at both the start and end of the tour, as well as a small gift shop.

Address

The visitors’ entrance is located at:
1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy (place Denfert-Rochereau)
75014 Paris

Getting There

Metro and RER B: Denfert-Rochereau

Prices

Full rate: 31€ (audioguide included)
Reduced rate: 25€ (audioguide included)
Child rate (5 to 17): 12€ (audioguide not included)
Children under 5: free admission
Audioguide: 5€
Guided tours on Tuesdays at 6 pm and Thursdays at 1 pm (2 hours duration and available in French only)

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Sunday from 9:45 am to 8:30 pm

The Catacombs of Paris