The Catacombs of Paris

Being a more adventurous traveller, I usually find myself seeking out unusual things to do and to wander the path less travelled, rather than just sticking to the popular tourist attractions. Even in a city such as Paris – one of the most visited cities in the world – I was determined to get away from the iconic landmarks of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and find something a little, well, different. To do this, I decided to head under the streets of Paris and into the city’s deep, dark catacombs.

You wouldn’t know it when you are wandering through the streets of Paris, but under your feet are miles and miles of old tunnels that have been there for centuries. This isn’t entirely unique for an old city, but what makes these particular tunnels different is that they are filled with human bones. In fact, they contain the remains of over 6 million people.

In the 1700’s, Paris had several cemeteries right in the heart of the city. They took up valuable real estate and were overflowing with graves, particularly the Les Innocents Cemetery. They were also having a lot of problems with cave ins in the city as the suburbs of Paris had been built over the top of these old mining tunnels. To solve all of these problems, the tunnels were reinforced and the remains from the graves in these cemeteries were relocated into these tunnels, creating the Catacombs of Paris.

A lot of the Catacombs are closed or unsafe to visit, but part of them are now open as a museum and you can head way under the streets of Paris and explore this eerie underground cemetery.

When I arrived at the Catacombs de Paris, I was greeted by a nice line up of tourists, and I realised that it wasn’t really an off the beaten path attraction after all, but I lined up anyway. It still had to be something different. 40 minutes of waiting in line brought me to a staircase and I began walking down, and then further down, and continued going down for what felt like forever, until I reached an eerie, dimly lit tunnel which disappeared into darkness.

Heading underground into the Catacombs of Paris

The echo of water drops was the only sound, along with the distant echo of people talking somewhere up ahead in the darkness. I passed several tunnels branching off this main tunnel, disappearing into pitch blackness, thankfully gated up so that you can’t wander off into the maze and disappear forever.

I realised as I walked that the tunnel floor was slanted and I was actually still heading further underground. This led me to an arched chamber, and further on, I stepped through a doorway and my jaw dropped. In this new chamber, the walls were completely made up of human bones. Limbs piled up to make a solid wall, with skulls spaced evenly for decoration, their empty eye sockets staring back at me.

A model of a castle carved into the rock

High arched ceiling of one of the chambers in the Catacombs

Wall of skulls and bones in the catacombs

A pile of bones – the remains of 6 million people are buried in the Paris Catacombs

Skulls and bones arranged around a cross

This is how it stayed as I continued walking through the tunnels. I was simply overwhelmed with the amount of bones, and even more surprisingly, at the way that they were arranged. It was almost art. I guess, in all it is one giant monument to the dead, built out of their own bones. In a strange kind of way, it is rather beautiful.

If there were no lights and locked tunnels, I would have no idea whatsoever where I was in the tunnel system. I usually have a wonderful sense of direction, but down here it was all gone. If I wandered down here without the set up of the tour, I would be lost forever. I suddenly felt quite claustrophobic and the bones began closing in on me as I quickly made my way through the tunnel system. It was a relief to begin climbing up again and eventually step out onto the streets of Paris, into sunlight and fresh air.

I was after something different in Paris. Well, I certainly found it.