Inside the Catacombs of Paris

The catacombs of Paris is the final resting place of millions of bones. Due to overpopulation and lack of sanitary conditions around cemeteries, the water became contaminated and became a source of infections around the area. In the 18th century the bones of Paris' dead were moved from their cemeteries to this abandoned stone mine.

We visited the Catacombs of Paris during our April 2011 travel. I was nervous at first because it's underground and I've recently discovered I was claustrophobic after I did the Scavi tour in Rome. It was something different. It wasn't scary at all, nor did I feel claustrophobic. There were plenty of space and enough light to see.

What I felt wasn't fear. In fact it felt tranquil and serene in the catacombs. Layers and layers of skeletons were piled high and wide along the walls and you can't help wonder who these people were. I felt sadness that this is the resting place of so many, and to be unknown in a pile of millions.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

[catzj]

Omg throwback!! Im so glad you posted these!

[KatieCupcake]

after seeing this i dont feel comfortable with pewdiepie doing it. 

[Dramallama]

Funny when people are saying this is fake, even a movie is made about this

[vegasfirefly]

With the Earth as overpopulated as it is, it just doesn't make much sense to keep digging traditional graves with tombstones. There simply won't be enough land to dig graves for all of the dead. That's why we should start building catacombs again. Since they're underground, they won't take up any land space at all.

[phillipahughes]

This is the legal part. The illegal part is actually creepy

[Stussmeister]

This certainly seems like something interesting to do.  My question is, are there any markings down there which differentiate the "authorized" areas from the "non-authorized" ones?

[MarriedTravel]

That's exactly the feeling I felt when we were there.

[jskittlesrox]

It's sad knowing that all of those people are unknown.

[MarriedTravel]

Hope you enjoyed your trip to Paris. Glad to show that the catacomb isn't scary at all.

[templarsoul]

Very cool! Guessing you may have done the tour. My son and I went solo. Only guard contact was the guy who yelled to turn the light off the camera and the one at the end (top of the stairs) who checked our bags for any possible stolen bones. He had a skull there he'd taken off someone only a few hours earlier!

[MarriedTravel]

I agree. That was the overwhelming feeling I got. My initial fear went away once I started thinking that these piles of bones we're once real people. It's sad that they are for the most part unknown.

[sakuraflora]

Did they close it, cause I would really want to go see it

[zoedavis]

My uncle friend once spend a night by a cemetre graveyard couple years back. He says he can hear them talking to each other.

[kylecab]

Bonfiire, checkpoints in the skyyyy..

[simikoochan]

This area is authorized for the tourists, and it wouldn't be scary at all cause it's kinda wide and there is lights everywhere, but if you go deeper into the tunnels, you would definitely get lost cause no one ever been there.

[DK]

I was there last week.. I came there and it was closed for 2 days for construction reasons :( then I went once again...more than 100 people in line, we had to leave because they were kicking people out. at the end of the day I didn't get a chance to get in! so upset.

[MarriedTravel]

Some of the tunnels are blocked. It's kinda hard to get lost in there, unless you go on the areas that are closed to the public.

[MarriedTravel]

@OperaGhostette Thanks for viewing it. Definitely worth a visit. You'll probably get more of the history if you go with a tour. Whatever I know about it, is from reading online. I was hesitant at first, just because of all the skeletons and I thought it was going to be narrow. It wasn't narrow if you suffer from claustrophobia. I hope you enjoy Paris.

[MarriedTravel]

It is dimly lit in the tourist area. There are other parts of the catacombs that are off limit to the public.

[piggyngan]

Last year I have been there and took a photo of a ghost, I realized only when sorting photos on my laptop. I still have this picture on my facebook album for those who are interested