The Paris Catacombs

The Paris Catacombs
4
9:45 AM - 8:30 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
9:45 AM - 8:30 PM
Wednesday
9:45 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Friday
9:45 AM - 8:30 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed
About
A genuine labyrinth in the heart of underground Paris, this ossuary houses the remains of approximately six million Parisians. The history of the Catacombs dates back to the late 18th century when the city's cemeteries were closed due to health reasons and its contents were moved to an underground site. Today, you can walk down the spiral staircase and take a guided tour of the network of tunnels or explore it at your own pace. It's recommended to buy skip-the-line tickets online to avoid snaking lines. You can easily reach the Catacombs by hopping on the Paris Metro. – Tripadvisor
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Petit-Montrouge
How to get there
  • Denfert-Rochereau • 1 min walk
  • Denfert-Rochereau • 1 min walk
Reach out directly
See what travellers are saying
  • Victoria
    188 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This is the empire of the dead
    Former limestone quarries are now used to house the remains of nearly 6 millions Parisians. Their bones are arranged in decorative ways throughout the tunnels. Purchasing a tour is recommended if you want to get the most out of your visit. Word to the wise: Not recommended if you suffer from claustrophobia and not accessible-friendly (lots of stairs down and lots of stairs up). And don't touch the bones!
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 18 February 2024
  • AMsterdamher2000
    Boston, Massachusetts38 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Paris Catacombs
    The catacombs are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when visiting a busy and active city like Paris. And, the catacombs might not be for all for various reasons (phobias and/or physical limitations), but honestly, if up for it, it is a worthwhile experience. Take some time and visit the six million citizens under the streets of Paris. They were once like us, one day we will be just like them. My second visit, 10 years apart and am still left very humbled by it all. I think you will be too.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled on business
    Written 19 March 2024
  • Claire M
    100 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Disabled tickets
    We never booked any tickets in advance. We were 2 adults and one 14 year old daughter. We turned up and the sign said sold out. However we had a UK Access card to get us disability tickets. The woman checked my card and allowed us entry for free. The carer ticket was also free. We just had to pay €10 for the teenagers ticket. You can't book disability tickets online and they always allow entry for disabled guests with proof. There were around 100 steps down into the catacombs and a mile maybe more walk on uneven ground through the combs before going back up another 100 steps to exit. The entrance and exit are on 2 separate streets. It definitely was a great place to visit with plenty information and a audio guide was provided.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 20 March 2024
  • ThebestofKendell
    Denver, Colorado518 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Creepy and cool
    I was a bit worried that I’d hate this experience solely due to the fact that I am a bit claustrophobic but honestly it was fine. The walkways are spacious and it doesn’t feel overcrowded as they monitor the headcount for how many people are allowed in at a time. Very tall people may be a bit uncomfortable here. The temperature is also perfect and stays the same year round. My husband and I really enjoyed the experience. The audio guide was informative and interesting. The staff working there were friendly and spoke fluent English. I’d highly recommend reserving your slot in advance as even in February our evening slot was completely booked. I believe that you can only reserve one week in advance. Cute little gift shop at the end. Definitely worth a visit if you’re into history and the creepier, darker side of tourism.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 21 March 2024
  • CallesEscamilla
    Monterrey, Mexico28 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Exciting
    Excellent. The walk takes about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere is interesting. My five-year-old son liked it, he was identifying bones. The history of the place is also exciting. It made me mildly claustrophobic, but that added to the excitement. At the end they have a little shop with good souvenirs.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 22 March 2024
  • petsdono
    75 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    "Between these walls holds the dust of races!"
    When planning our 3 1/2 day visit (our first) to Paris, we had to pick and choose the things we really wanted to see and do. The Paris Catacombs made the "must" list. As with many sites post pandemic, spontaneity is out, time slots in. With that in mind we planned an evening visit as it would be dark underground anyway. Purchased the tickets and self-guided audio tour as soon as slots were released (one week prior). The time slot was sold out on that Tuesday evening in February. The audio tour is a must to understand this historic, sacred place. You follow a narrow winding staircase that takes you far below the bustling streets of Paris. The labyrinth is given enough light to safely navigate the distance throughout. Very interesting to learn the remains of both the common and the famous Parisian were laid to rest together here regardless of their state in life. The walk took us about 75 minutes at an unrushed pace with crowd flow being controlled from the start and the tour is completed by taking another spiral staircase up (stopped for a breathe) to the street level. A fun gift shop ends the tour of the Paris Catacombs. Truly immersed in history.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 24 March 2024
  • dmlandis
    Indio, California72 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting place to visit - not for the claustrophobic
    Very interesting tour but not for the claustrophic/ I prebooked the tour aat 2:30 pm and took le Metro to Denfort station. There are at least 200 stairs to climb down and 200 stairs to climb back up. i walked about 1 km before seeing actually bone collection. i neglected to get audio guide and this would have been helpful. I would emphasize that one has to be in decent shape to visit - it is not the attraction for someone in a motorized scooter. I was glad to have had the opportunity to visit.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 26 March 2024
  • Gina R
    53 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great for our family
    Entire family was intrigued. Ages 10 and up all enjoyed this. Spent about an hour here. Our kids are still talking about it! We were about 30 min late getting to this, but they still let us in. There is also a great cafe across the street to have a meal before or after.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 26 March 2024
  • Shaun M
    Chelmsford, United Kingdom139 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazingly eerie and fascinating
    The Catacombs are a stunning sight underneath Paris and serve as a fascinating history lesson. Not recommended for the claustrophobic but it is an incredible experience. I advise getting the audio guide to learn even more.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 April 2024
  • Steph M
    Jackson, Mississippi30 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    So cool!
    What an amazing experience! We booked our tickets online when they went on sale 7 days in advance. We arrived about 20 minutes before our time slot and we were able to go in. The audio guides come with the adult tickets but are not included with children’s tickets but can be turned up loud enough to share. The ossuary was the obvious highlight. There is so much beauty in the bones and the arrangements. My 5 yo was not scared and thought it was really neat!
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 6 May 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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M0xie4
Auckland, New Zealand120 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
What an experience. We've never visited anything like it before and whilst it was a sobering experience, it was well worth it to learn all the history.
Our guided tour also meant we 'skipped the queue' which was well worth paying the extra.
Written 9 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WanderingOttersons
Denver, CO1,474 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
I don’t think anyone should come to Paris without coming here. The history alone is worth the time but then to see what they have done to organize the bones is amazing as well. Make sure to get the audio guide as on this visit, it is well worth the few Euros in order to listen to the history and stories. I learned so much from this. Such an eerie and interesting experience. There are some 250km of old quarry tunnels under the city and from my understanding, much of that is filled with the bones, but the museum only covers about 2km of them. Probably a good plan.
Written 5 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RichmondVALovers
Richmond, VA64 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Solo
Tried to visit this site years ago but could not secure tickets ahead of time. I was able to this time and it was well worth it! Arrive via Metro and walked across the street to the entrance. Had 5PM ticket but was allowed in ~20 minutes early. Guard at the front of the line did not play around - if your ticket wasn’t either printed or already pulled up on your phone, you were pulled out of line and had to go back to the end of the line.

After you get checked they give you a handheld audio guide and send you down the ling spiral staircase into the Catacombs. The audio guide definitely helped explain the origins of the Catacombs.

Depending on when you enter, you could be in the mix with a bunch of people or you may find yourself alone at times (there was one point where I was completely by myself in the middle of a lot of bones!).

I am glad I got to see this site and would highly recommend it. Of note, if you can’t navigate stairs, you can’t do this tour. There is no accessible accommodation.
Written 4 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Clothilde G
La Rochelle, France266 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2024 • Couples
To do! Remember to buy your tickets on the official website and not elsewhere!! The ticket is dated with a precise visit time. Thread-cutting tickets are useless, as the maximum number of visitors is limited to 200. We didn’t have the audio guide and didn’t feel the lack of it, as many explanatory panels are very clear and concise. Self-guided visit, with the backpack in front and not in the back. To visit once!
Automatically translated
Written 25 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Olivia
Munich, Germany45 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023
This place is certainly worth visiting but it is way too expensive (27€ per person) for what is is. The visit takes about 30 minutes and is quite monotomous. Just look at some pictures online and save yourself the expense.
Written 8 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KHe
6 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023
It’s worth the time to see the site but not the money. When you arrive you get greeted by security and ticket staff that are just bored and hardly look at you. No smile no excitement -just doing their job but they dont care. You get an audio guide in your hand and then you are on your own down in the catacombs walking a distance for roughly 1km. The audio guide tells everything that is to know about the place but it’s not personal. It doesn’t create excitement. My 10year old was at the end disappointed and thought it was boring. For 29€ per adult ticket ( at least you only pay 5€ for a child) they need to step up the program.
Written 1 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

The Mills Twins
Wrexham, UK596 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Solo
We visited the catacombs as we had missed it on previous visits to Paris. We booked the tickets online and finding the site was really easy, once you get off the metro it's no more than 500m away!. We arrived on time for our timed entry and were waved right through. When you enter they will security check your bag, then a little further you are given a free audio tour handset. There is quite a long climb down to the tombs and I don't recommend looking down at your feet as you go because it can become quite dizzying! Onc down in the tombs the guide walks you nicely through the history of the quarries, and the catacombs that followed and you follow a winding path through. It's quite somber at first when you finally Wal into the area where the skeletons are but as you walk through the audioguide really turns it into a interesting and engaging experience . Sadly there is a steep climb back up those stairs at the end! But a lovely little gift shop at the top to reward yourself.
Written 28 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ArchieF73
57 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
Worth a visit but for a family to attend it can be expensive. Also the ticketing website is confusing as you can only book tickets for available slots, however that is not clear on the website. So you may pick 10am and only be allowed 1 ticket as that is all that is left for that slot. If you don’t know this you think you are limited to one ticket. Only by chance did I click another time slot and could buy 4 tickets.
(The website does says up to 5 per customer, but when presented with 1 tickets it can easily be confused for having to make 5 different purchases)
Anyway…. Just an observation.

We were in and out in 30 minutes (no audio guide - was expensive for 4). but was good to see such an historic part of Paris.
Written 10 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ana V
Eugene, OR652 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
This is an experience like no other. It is extremely unique and I do not know of any other place in the world that has done what Paris did in creating these Catacombs in this particular way. You have to purchase your tickets from the Catacombs web site seven days in advance. I found this to be a pain, since I was already in Paris and wished I could have done this before leaving home, but it all worked out doing it through my i-Phone. I recommend going during first time slot in the morning (9:45 am). I did not find this to be spooky or scary in any way. This was simply a mechanism Paris had to use as the city grew and cemeteries had to be closed and bodies moved. I purchased a book on the way out at the gift shop that was written in English on the Catacombs of Paris and it has been priceless at explaining the whole thing (only 122 pages and pictures). It is a fascinating place. I am not sure why it has negative comments.
Written 9 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RJN612
Pottsville, PA508 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2024 • Family
Touring the catacombs was a great experience. yes it is morbid but the history of it is fascinating. It is a steep walk down and a long walk through tunnels carved into the ground until you enter where the bones are stacked. It is quite large and when you exit you are a little distance on the street from where you entered. It is definitely worth a visit.
Written 9 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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