The Catacombs of Paris

Les Catacombes Frommer's Highly Recommended
Hours Tues-Sun 2-4pm
Address 1 place Denfert-Rochereau, 14e
Transportation Métro: Denfert-Rochereau
Phone 01-43-22-47-63
Web site www.multimania.com/houze
Prices Admission 5€ ($6.50) adults, 3.30€ ($4.30) seniors, 2.50€ ($3.25) ages 14-25, free for children under 14

Frommer's Review

Every year an estimated 50,000 visitors explore some 910m (2,985 ft.) of tunnel in these dank catacombs to look at 6 million ghoulishly arranged skull-and-crossbones skeletons. First opened to the public in 1810, this "empire of the dead" is now illuminated with electric lights over its entire length. In the Middle Ages, the catacombs were quarries, but by the end of the 18th century, overcrowded cemeteries were becoming a menace to public health. City officials decided to use the catacombs as a burial ground, and the bones of several million persons were transferred here. In 1830, the prefect of Paris closed the catacombs, considering them obscene and indecent. During World War II, the catacombs were the headquarters of the French Resistance.