Are the Paris Catacombs Worth It? Your Ultimate Guide
Visiting Paris and trying to decide if the Paris Catacombs are worth it? Read on for my opinions and recommendations.
Visiting the Paris Catacombs is a fascinatingly morbid attraction in Paris, where you go deep underground to explore passageways of meticulously arranged bones and skulls. Somewhere between 6-7 million people are interred in the catacombs, their remains creating artful designs to mesmerize as you explore.
I’ve been to the Catacombs twice (as part of my 7 different visits to Paris) – one time just walking by myself on the self-guided tour, and one time going with a guided tour. I enjoyed both of these experiences immensely, and each offers a pretty unique experience.
In this guide, I’m sharing why the Catacombs are worth a visit in Paris, plus everything you need to know about visiting the Paris catacombs. This includes what it’s like doing a self-guided tour and a guided tour, and some of my tips and recommendations for visiting.
Quick Links:
✔️The guided tour I did (and loved)
✔️Self-guided tickets
Are the Catacombs Worth It? Let’s Discuss!
Brief History of the Catacombs
The backstory of the Paris Catacombs goes back many, many centuries, starting in the Middle Ages. Stone quarrying began in the 1100’s, when Paris was much smaller and centered around the islands in the Seine.
The areas outside of Paris were used as stone quarries, extracting mainly limestone, which was used in the construction of buildings in Paris. Quarries and tunnels were created all throughout the countryside for these limestone quarries.
As the borders of Paris expanded, the city grew over the top of the tunnels.
The excavation ended in the 1700’s, and many of the remaining tunnels were reinforced to prevent cave-ins. In the mid-1700’s, Paris was also encountering a major crisis with its cemeteries – they were filling up and in many cases, were actually overflowing, creating bad smells and health issues.
In 1780, the Saint-Innocents cemetery, the biggest cemetery in Paris by far, was closed, and starting in 1786, the 2 million deceased in Saint Innocents were dug up and the bones and remains dumped into the now unused quarry tunnels.
Soon other cemeteries followed suit, and above-ground cemeteries were effectively banned in Paris. While most of the bones were transferred in the first two years, the movement of bones continued regularly through 1814, and the final bones were deposited in 1859.
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Can You Legally Visit the Catacombs?
Today, the catacombs are a vast, intricate network of tunnels stretching throughout Paris. While most of the catacombs are boarded up, closed, and not legal to visit, visitors can tour through the one relatively tiny section of the catacombs located on the left bank.
How to Buy Tickets
There are two options for how to visit the Catacombs: You can either go on a guided tour or do a self-guided visit.
Self-guided tickets to the Catacombs MUST be secured in advance – no tickets are sold on-site. Tickets go on sale only 7 days in advance, to prevent reselling, and they can sell out quickly, so buy yours as soon as the window opens.
Alternatively, you can secure your spot in the Catacombs much farther in advance by reserving a spot on a guided tour.
Guided Tour vs Self-Guided Visit
As I mentioned in the intro, I’ve done both the self-guided tour AND the guided tour and there are some significant differences between the two types of visits. In the following sections, I’ll break down the pros and cons, and what each type of visit is like.
Because the guided tour includes all of the aspects of the self-guided tour (plus several extra bonuses), we’ll first start by describing what it’s like to visit the catacombs by yourself.
What a Self-Guided Tour of the Paris Catacombs is Like
Self-guided entrance tickets are timed-entry tickets, but only 200 people are allowed in the catacombs at once, so there can still be a line and wait to enter.
Before you descend into the underground, there is the option to rent an audio guide – this costs €5 and is very helpful.
You will then descend a 131-step tight spiral staircase to reach the underground tunnels. You’ll first walk through a pathway of plain tunnels – no bones – before arriving at the start of the Catacombs themselves.
Then the adventure really begins!
Clearly marked pathways and dimly lit passageways take you through the catacombs, and you’ll walk by bones stacked about 3-4 feet high along the entire route.
The bones are all stacked neatly and artfully, with large femur or tibia bones displayed prominently along the way. You can see that smaller bones were more haphazardly thrown in the back of the stacks. Skulls are often used as “decoration”, sometimes creating shapes like hearts in the lineup of bones.
I think it’s interesting how the tunnels are not a well laid out grid, but rather a winding maze with plenty of different twists, turns, and alcoves as you make your way past the bones.
At the beginning of the catacombs there are informational placards about how they were constructed and some of the history.
If you choose the audioguide, you’ll learn more about the history of catacombs as you walk through the tunnels.
Towards the end, you can learn about some notable people interred in the catacombs. These include:
- Moliere – Famed French playwright and poet
- Lavoisier – French chemist who discovered that water is made up of two elements and contributed to the organization of the periodic table
- Jean de la Fontaine – Famous French poet
- Robespierre – A leader in the French Revolution, particularly during the Reign of Terror when most of the beheadings took place
- Nicholas Fouquet – A French nobleman who built the beautiful Vaux le Vicomte chateau not far from Paris
Right before you leave the catacombs and head back up the spiral staircase to the surface, look up to see the original shaft where bones were first thrown down into these tunnels.
Then climb the 112 steps of the small circular staircase to leave the catacombs and return to ground level.
What a Guided Tour of the Paris Catacombs is Like
The guided tour has many similar aspects to just going through the catacombs on your own, but there are some notable differences. I’m going to describe what it was like on the guided tour of the catacombs that we did!
We started by meeting up with our group at a cafe across the street from the entrance, and it was easy to find the spot and the group. Then we crossed the street to the catacombs, skipped the line queuing to get in and went straight to the spiral staircase down to the underground tunnels.
We listened to some stories and history about the entrance, and I enjoyed all the interesting tidbits about the history of the catacombs and the history of Paris. It really set the stage for the exploration of the catacombs.
One little perk was the guide had an iPad with different pictures and maps that helped to illustrate different stories or history we were discussing.
Then we walked through the empty tunnels and went down into a “secret,” exclusive part of the catacombs that only the tours get to enter, known as the Port-Mahon Corridor.
Port-Mahon Corridor
The first exclusive spot is the Port-Mahon Corridor, named for the set of sculptures created by Francois Decure between 1777-1782. Décure was a miner who worked secretly on these sculptures on his lunch breaks.
Before becoming a miner, Décure was a soldier in the Seven Years War and was captured and held prisoner at the Port-Mahon fortress in Menorca, Spain. Décure’s three sculptures are intricate recreations of different landscapes in Menorca and are very impressive for someone who was just a hobbyist.
The Holy Crypt and Altar
Another fascinating, exclusive part of the Catacombs we visited on the tour was the Holy Crypt of the Sepulchral Lamp, which has a cross, altar, and sepulchral lamp.
Because this was a burial ground, the catacombs were considered holy, consecrated ground, and masses were occasionally held down here (although the last mass was in 1950).
Near the Holy Crypt is the location of the first remains ever placed in the Catacombs from the Saint-Innocents cemetery. This noteworthy spot is marked by a plaque.
You’ll notice plaques regularly in the catacombs marking what cemetery those particular bones came from.
1800’s Decorative Entrance
When the remains were moved from Paris’s cemeteries to the underground tunnels in the 1770’s, they were generally just unceremoniously piled up around the tunnels.
However, in the early 1800’s, Napoleon, inspired by the catacombs in Rome, appointed Inspector Héricart de Thury to clean up, organize, and beautify the catacombs for the express purpose of receiving visitors.
With him, the bones were artfully and carefully arranged, and different decorative plaques and markers were installed. Additionally, a beautiful arched entrance to the catacombs was built.
However, this entrance is no longer used, but you do walk through it on the guided tour.
👉If a guided tour sounds like a great option for you, you can check availability and make your reservation here.
Guided Tour vs Self-Guided Tour: Which Option is Better?
Having visited the Catacombs both ways, I can say that both are excellent options.
The self-guided tour allows you to go through faster (your visit will be less than an hour), which is helpful if you are very pressed for time in Paris.
You’ll still get to see the main catacombs area, there are some informational placards at the start and end of the tunnels, and you’ll get some history if you choose to get an audioguide.
The guided tour, however, gives you a much more comprehensive experience, as you get to explore the exclusive sections of the catacombs. You’ll also get a much more in-depth history lesson and hear plenty of fun stories and anecdotes.
I thought it was fascinating to learn all the backstory and see the extra parts of the catacomb, so I do think the guided tour is absolutely worth it if you have the time (closer to two hours).
And it’s not just me – this experience has over 550 5-star reviews from other travelers. (You can check out the reviews here.)
Practical Information
✔️Touch Nothing and Take Nothing With You
It is forbidden to touch or take any of the bones or objects in the catacombs. As you exit the tunnels, there is a worker who will check your bags to make sure nothing from below has come with you to the surface. Removing bones can incur a €15,000 fine or even imprisonment.
✔️How to Get There
The entrance to the Paris Catacombs is at 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. This is decently far south of the Seine, and is not particularly close to any other main attraction in Paris.
The catacombs entrance is right next to the metro station Denfert-Rochereau, which is served by Lines 4 and 6, as well as RER B.
You can also access the catacombs via multiple nearby bus stops.
To figure out exactly how to get to the catacombs by public transit, I’d recommend just using Google Maps and looking at the public transit tab, which will show you step-by-step instructions on how to arrive from your chosen place of departure.
Because the catacombs are so far south, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to arrive. It takes about 25 minutes to get there from the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre, 40 minutes from Sacré Coeur, and 15 minutes from the Jardin de Luxembourg.
And if you’re doing a guided tour, definitely plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early, as the tour leaves the meeting point exactly on time.
✔️Opening Hours
The Catacombs are open from Tuesday-Sunday: 9.45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The entire site is closed Monday. It is open all year long, except January 1, May 1, and December 25.
✔️How Long Does It Take to See the Catacombs?
Guided tours last 2 hours, since you’re hearing more stories and visiting more exclusive sections. A self-guided tour generally takes 45min-1 hour. The self-guided walking route is 1.5 kilometers (about 1 mile), and the guided tour route is a little longer – around 2 km (1.5 miles).
✔️Entrance and Exit Are in Different Spots
The route through the catacombs is one way, and you’ll exit at a different location than you entered. The exit is at 21 bis, Avenue René-Coty, which is only a 7 minute walk from the entrance at 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy.
✔️Temperature in the Catacombs
The catacombs always stay a humid 14°C/57°F all year round – which isn’t cold, but is definitely a little chilly. Consider bringing a sweater.
✔️Are the Catacombs Scary?
The catacombs are well-lit and with clear paths to follow. Overall, I don’t consider the catacombs scary – it’s not a haunted house – although it is maybe a touch creepy, in a fascinating way.
I do think being with a tour guide and a group with helps make it feel less creepy. If you’re doing the self-tour, you may occasionally be by yourself in the tunnels.
✔️Will I Feel Claustrophobic?
The catacombs are 65 feet/20 meters underground. The spiral staircase going down is fairly small, and the tunnels have relatively low ceilings. I’m a tall woman (6’0″ or 182 cm), and the ceilings were close; sometimes I needed to duck my head a little bit. Overall, the passageways were fine to walk through without issue.
I think most people with some claustrophobia will be fine here because it’s not a tight cave, and there’s plenty of room around you. However, when we went on the guided tour, one of the people on the tour got claustrophobic just descending the spiral staircase and had to leave immediately – so it does affect some people.
✔️Accessibility
The catacombs are not wheelchair accessible – the only way down and up is by spiral staircase. Once you’re in the catacombs, you’ll mostly be walking on flat ground.
Want to Visit Other Notable Tombs and Graves in Paris?
The Père Lachaise Cemetery is a beautiful cemetery with above-ground tombs and ornate headstones, and is a lovely area to walk through.
The Pantheon, located in the Latin Quarter, is a gorgeous hidden gem in Paris, with an underground crypt where notable French philosophers, writers, artists, scientists, and some military leaders are buried.
Is It Worth Visiting the Paris Catacombs?
Oh absolutely. I love the catacombs – they’re such a fascinating and unique place to visit in Paris, and if you have more than a couple days in Paris, I think it’s definitely worth the time to come explore this underground labyrinth of bones.
Grab Your Tickets:
✔️The guided tour I did (and loved)
✔️Self-guided tickets
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