Originally, the catacombs were quarries. Year after year, century after century, the underground network became almost as big as Paris, with 285km of corridors. In the eighteenth century, during multiple epidemics, the quarries became an ossuary. Twenty meters underground, six million bones from different Parisian cemeteries are placed in the 1.7 km long gallery. This “artistic” maze has walled made up entirely of bones! To these quarries was transferred bones from the Madeleine which housed the victims of the Revolution but also many personalities of authors from past centuries like Jean de la Fontaine and Charles Perrault. In the catacombs, you’ll find a cross between the history of Paris and the geological evolution of the Earth. It’s also a place where legends are numerous. A fascinating world, unusual, impressive … but sensitive souls refrain! Avoid if you are claustrophobic, or in cardiac or respiratory failure.
© Catacombes de Paris
@ Catacombes de Paris
