The Catacombs of Paris: The Empire of Death Beneath the City of Lights

Every city has many layers. Under its grand monuments, museums and Churches, real life goes on. Under its roofs and buildings, the passions, stories and secrets of its inhabitants, move, undetected. In the city we are visiting today, you can peel another layer and look under the surface. You will discover a parallel city, a labyrinth of galleries, chambers, pits and underground lakes, unique in Europe

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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Arnaldo Teodorani
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris

Source/Further reading:

[geographicstravel]

Have you checked out my latest channel Business Blaze? It's interesting business stories with a dose of ridiculousness thrown in. Check it out here: 

[toadhingley]

When i was 21 me and a friend went on a backpacking adventure around Europe. When we found our selfs in Paris we met some nice people. Drank, had a great time and found out they where locals. It wasn’t long before we where invited to go to a “locals spot” and we met them at a manhole cover, they opened it and we soon found our selfs in the catacombs. After what seemed like an hour of dark very creepy tunnels we came to a huge open area with a rave going on. It had a full bar and lights. It was a real club. I had the best clubbing experience ever. After the party was siad and done people seemed to disappear in to the tunnels and soon it was empty and we did the same. As we made our way out, with help... i found out that is was day time and coming out a manhole during morning rush is not as pleasant. But we found out what we did was highly illegal afterward after talking to some of the hotel staff.

[alexguerra]

My gf: “oui such a romantic city <3 we should visit the Eiffel Tower”

Me:”hmmm yes...let’s go visit the tunnels with bones of those of the past :)”

[scooby]

Her: "isnt this the most romantic city on Earth."
Me: "we are standing mere feet above human remains."
Her: "i know."
Me:

[ay]

Catacombs: how many bones you want
France: yes

[neillenhart]

I’ve taken a fair amount of drugs like a champ but I know I’d never take any drug in a place filled with bones and near blackness. Set and setting everyone.

[onepiecepedia]

I've been to the unofficial catacombs of Paris many times.
We rarely call them catacombs tho, but quarries as you'll rarely find bones there.
It is indeed quite relaxing and if going with few friends (max 5!!) you can have a good time away from the worries of the "upstairs" world (as you said, no phone reception/wifi, although some have tried to setup antenna relays there...).
Canned food, energy bar or dehydrated soup are usually the go to meals with ultra-light portable stoves made of soda cans. Brought a girlfriend once. She quickly lost it when I took a corner and turned my flashlight off to freak her out haha!!

There are entire art galleries there and a special corridor dedicated to the Paris National Superior School of Mines (the corridor is under the school) where on the walls each "Class of '##" has done a mural painting since the 70s!

Only once have I ever been caught... as I was cleaning the f'in trash "tourists" left behind! I only paid 30€ and the cops even helped me finish before taking me back up to the nearby Metro station 😂👍🚯

I'm now getting to old to squeeze through those tiny hole (we call them "cat flap"/chatières). It's a young man's world!

[akshatvalse]

"A good Parisian is always a bit of an revolutionary."



*King Louis 16th cries*
*Napoleon laughs*

[ignitionfrn]

0:50 - Chapter 1 - A history of the catacombs
6:35 - Chapter 2 - Urban legends
12:30 - Chapter 3 - Cata people
15:20 - Chapter 4 - Going underground

[accordingtosophia]

Forget Area 51; let's storm the catacombs!

[alexanderveritas]

*Surprised I was to discover that the narrator with a somehow familiar voice was none else that the great Simon Whistler himself. Just how many channels this amazing man manages to keep on going, that’s a secrets we shall never know for certain.*

[krzyryry]

Still funny he tells us to hit the like button at the end of the video.

Simon my good sir, I hit the like button before I hit the play button!!!

It’s just good form old chap!!

(That’s my best classic British impersonation)

[nijimagikku]

My husband and I started watching Simon with TopTenz when we first met years ago, now we enjoy TIFO and Biographics on a daily basis, but Geographics is my favorite if the channels he hosts. The length and depth of the videos are wonderful and choice of subject matter is great so far! Keep it up!

[iljackb]

I've actually got down there (to the off limits catacombs not the tourist Ossuary) in 2006 with a group of Cataphile guys we met. They had maps of the catacombs and carried gas lamps and had old school miner outfits, including the helmets with the gas lamps mounted on them. We hung out in this small room-like area, way in there and drank all night, they even brought and cooked fondue!. When we were done, we all thoroughly picked up all our garbage and trekked about an hour to the closest exit, on the way we went through the old german bunker from WWII, there were different colored lines (red, yellow and black) on the wall to tell them how to get back to their bunker. (Interesting detail, the French resistance had the few maps that existed but the Germans had none so they needed the indicators). Anyway, when we got out, at like 6am, the exit was a manhole but at first it didn't move! Finally he got it open and it turned out there was a garbage can on top of it and when we all came out filthy with dirt all over us and there was a garbage man and some shop people right there just looking like WTF??!! LOL. Awesome experience but crazy dangerous, if you loose light you're dead for sure. Without light you literally could wander around forever and not find and exit or even know it's there.

[TheLoxxxton]

"A bottle of good wine and those mushrooms" that has to be the single most sexy statement I have ever heard from Simon!! That knowing smirk *shiver*

[StevenEveral]

A Halloween party in The Catacombs would be freaking awesome.

[karina]

I visited the catacombs in 1980 and found it fascinating. There were no more than 10 other tourists, I didn't know them, and we soon drifted apart as we weaved around the path. You could hear people talking but you couldn't see each other. I actually walked through there with no one else for company, loved it. Didn't see a single ghost the whole time. As fascinating as the place is, it comes second to the Capchin Monks Monastery in Rome. Simon could do a story about that place.

[mikahjohn]

Has anyone on here seen that 2014 horror movie "As Above, So Below" about the catacombs? Twas actually pretty good!

[CharlesMarlow]

I enjoy this channel. It's interesting, proficiently researched and the host is brilliantly entertaining. He's funny, serious and respectful when necessary and emotes skillfully; it's terrific. I hope this channel continues to grow and thrive.

[JoceLawson]

Thank you for mentioning the iconic work that is the Phantom of the Opera! Makes my heart soar that there is a real lake and that is being used, even today!