Guided tours of the Paris catacombs
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Paris Catacombs Skip the line audio-guided tour and cruise ticket
Go to visit the incredible Paris Catacombs at your own pace. Discover the history of this out-of-ordinary place thanks to audio guided commentaries and take advantage of a skip the line ticket to access there easily.
Revel in the romantic charm of the city through a Seine River cruise, where iconic monuments spring to life, unveiling the city's concealed secrets.
At the end of the 18th century, the city’s authorities began to remove the bones of six million people from overcrowded cemeteries in order to store them in the network of ancient quarries that riddled the ground underneath Paris. These subterranean ossuaries were used right up until 1861 in order to limit the risk of spreading illness and disease. Shinbones and skulls were used to construct walls, and entire rooms were filled with bones in such a way that bore witness to the desire to both optimize space and respect the deceased from which they came.
Visiting the catacombs: between thrills and culture
Today, the Paris catacombs draw several hundred thousand visitors each year, through numerous Paris catacombs tours, who come to experience the thrill of descending into an unknown world, or who are simply curious to discover a place as unusual and mysterious as this. The entrance to the Catacombs of Paris tourist attraction is located in the Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th arrondissement. Here you are able to visit a tiny section of the gigantic subterranean labyrinth, which covers hundreds of kilometers below the city.
Book your place on a guided tour of the Paris Catacombs. Audio guides are available at the site in several languages for you to learn even more about the fascinating history of this timeless place, which appears almost to have come right out of an Edgar Allan Poe story. Regular exhibitions are organized around innovative themes relating to the Catacombs, such as the 2016 exhibition that was dedicated to the geological history of the caves in which the Catacombs in Paris are built.
The guided tour focuses on a 1.5-kilometer course, secured and arranged to allow public access in the best possible conditions. We invite you, between the time you book your tickets and your visit, to read the instructions and advice.
Remember, for example, that underground galleries have a constant temperature of about 14 degrees, so we advise you to bring something to cover yourself even in the middle of the summer. You will also have to go down a 130 steps stair and then go up 83 steps: a minimum physical condition is recommended.