The Catacombs are an underground network of tunnels and old-world stone quarries that were turned into a cemetery throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and are the ultimate resting place of 6 million Parisians. The Catacombs, an eerie yet well-known city of the dead, sit calmly in sharp contrast to the busy streets of Paris above.
The word “Catacombs of Paris” is evocative, conjuring up all kinds of wonderful or terrifying pictures in our minds.
The granite foundations of Paris are a massive piece of Swiss cheese, with more than 300 kilometers of linked subterranean tunnels running through them.
The Catacombs are merely a small part of the vast network of tunnels that run beneath Paris’ streets for thousands of kilometers. These tunnels were once a massive network of limestone quarries that were abandoned when the city expanded and extended outwards, leaving behind a complex of underground tunnels.
At the same time, Paris’ cemeteries were bursting at the seams. The circumstances were so bad that effluents from the tombs leaked into Paris’s waters. By the 18th century, sewage was flooding the streets of Paris, contaminating the water as well. There was nowhere to bury the deceased. The cemetery of the Saints-Innocents, which held almost 2 million dead, was the worst of them all.
To make matters worse, in 1780, the weight of the mass grave behind it caused a foundation wall in a building next to the cemetery to collapse.
These tunnels have played a significant role in the history of Paris.
The Catacombs’ Beginnings
But what exactly is the backstory to this bizarre underground world? The answer is shockingly straightforward and significantly less enigmatic than the more elaborate flights.
The catacombs’ ‘official’ part is located in Paris’ 14th arrondissement. This is the part of the tunnel that is exposed to the public, stretching over 1.7 kilometers and twenty meters beneath the Parisian asphalt. For a modest price, visitors can descend into this spooky underworld near the Place Denfert-Rochereau. This is now a City of Paris museum (under the supervision of the Musée Carnavalet), with around 300,000 visitors per year.
Getting to Know the World Below
This maze beneath the City of Light stretches over numerous districts in the city. The ‘unofficial’ section of the catacombs is vast and brimming with mystery, posing an enticing challenge to many urban explorers. Many of them have traveled beyond the Place Denfert-Rochereau into dangerous terrain since the 1970s, discovering numerous long-lost or hidden entrances to satiate their desire for investigating the world below. They must be very dedicated to risk rising water levels, collapsing tunnels, rats, leptospirosis, and arrest… all while working at a depth of 20 meters (lower than the sewers and the Metro), at a constant 14 degrees, and in complete quiet. To say the least, exploring the Catacombs of Paris is not for the faint of heart.
The Catacombs are a must-see.
The catacombs are now part of the Paris Musées network and are open to the public, but they are not for the faint of heart!
The trip, which spans 2 kilometers, may be accessed after descending 130 steps.
