Ah, Paris.
The city of lights.
Of love.
Of Revolution.
And of…death?
Paris has seen it all, but have YOU seen all Paris has to offer?
In today’s video, I’ll unearth a darker past to this famous city and how you can get
up close and personal with Parisians who lived hundreds, even thousands of years ago.
During this video visit to the Paris Catacombs we’ll learn all about its fascinating backstory.
I’ll also give you all the information on how you can get a Paris Catacomb ticket and
what to expect as you tour this intriguing location yourself!
Hey everyone, it’s James, from ViaTraveler’s.
If you want to explore the world, you’ve reached the right spot.
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with us.
Ancient History
Steeped in history, culture, and romance, Paris entices travelers from every corner
of the globe.
While many flock to restaurants, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe,
others take a different approach.
You see, for all its ‘joie de vivre, Paris has seen its fair share of death and destruction,
and some of us like to peek into this side of the past.
This city was established over 2000 years ago by the Gauls and then conquered by the
Romans in 52 AD.
It was a central regional hub for hundreds of years before the fall of the Roman empire.
You can still find Roman ruins throughout the city, including an ancient bath, amphitheater,
and a marvel of Roman architecture – intact underground sewers.
While the catacombs weren’t built by the Romans, their sewers certainly inspired it.
History 1
The Paris Catacombs weren’t built until around 1780, but our Roman friends built the
first catacombs all the way back in the 1st century AD.
Before Christianity took root, the Romans cremated their dead; they did not bury them.
There were laws against burying anyone within the confines of the city because only the
illegal religions of Judaism and Christianity practiced this ritual.
For hundreds of years, these groups buried their dead in secret, in tunnels built beneath
wealthy landowners’ homes and properties.
Of course, once Christianity was widely accepted, catacombs became cemeteries above ground.
That is until war and destruction helped bring these underground tombs back into popularity
to conceal martyrs, saints, and important members of society.
Paris was a relatively small but busy city throughout the Middle Ages.
Still, between the 16 and 1700s, the population grew by over 200,000.
More people bring more disease and ultimately more death as well.
Remember, modern medicine, as we know it today, was WAY off, and people died all the time
from a whole host of diseases!
On top of that, there were plenty of ongoing wars that took out thousands as well.
History 2
Paris had a crisis on its hands.
There was not enough space to bury their dead.
Cemeteries were overflowing, and the dead were left to the elements because there was
nowhere to put them, leading to hazardous living conditions and even more disease.
Residents near the Les Innocents cemetery were some of the first to complain, mainly
about the scent – even famous French perfumes couldn’t cover up the smell of decomposing
flesh.
History 3 Both Louis the XV and XVI fought to move more
cemeteries outside the city, but to no avail; the church demanded that they stay.
The last straw for the residents of Paris was after a massive rainstorm flooded Les
Innocent and sent dead bodies floating down the streets.
The King was finally convinced to do something drastic.
But why build something new when you can fix and repurpose an existing site?
Parisian authorities ultimately settled on restoring the crumbling Tombe-Issoire quarries
under the plain of Montrouge as the location for a new burial ground.
This was one of many quarries that literally built Paris!
History 4 It took 12 years, but deep down, 60 ft below
the bustling streets above, this old stone quarry became the resting place of 6 to 7
Million Parisian bones.
Some of the oldest bones found here are over 1200 years old!
Only a few years later, the dead were buried here directly during the French Revolution.
Notable names include Jean-Paul Marat, a known radical Revolutionary, and Maximilien de Robespierre,
who not only influenced the Revolution but the Reign of Terror that followed.
However, by about 1860, the catacombs population began to level off, as the newly dead had
other alternative options for burial.
History 5
In 1809, Inspector Hericart de Thury turned the catacombs from a dumping ground into a
real museum and monument for people to honor the dead.
Bones were arranged to create a specific feel and mood within the underground crypt.
There were also plaques full of religious and poetic text added for tourists to view
while among their ancestors and predecessors to encourage self-reflection.
Over the centuries, the Paris Catacombs inspired scientists and researchers from all over France
and Europe to study everything from underground flora to photography and pathology!
Soldiers also hid within these tunnels during WWII!
Today
Today, visitors have access to about one mile’s worth of this underground labyrinth of death.
And it is quite a sight to behold.
It’s one thing to visit a cemetery with its gravestones and epitaphs; it’s definitely
another to see the bones of the dead with your own eyes.
Many more miles of the catacombs run under the city that we don’t have access to.
So, if you feel a shiver run up your back as you wander the streets of Paris, it might
be because you’re stepping over someone’s grave!
The Paris Catacomb Tour will take you through artfully positioned skulls and skeletons.
They are arranged by the cemeteries they were pulled from.
And because only so many people can enter at any one time, the experience is intimate
and more than a little creepy, but don’t worry, no workers are hiding, waiting to jump
out and scare you along the way - this ain’t a haunted house!
There are 131 steps down and 112 to climb back up, so you’ll want a pair of comfortable
shoes to wear during your typical hour-long trip.
If you’d like to book a trip to this one-of-a-kind experience, there is a link to tickets in
the description below!
FINALE
Well, that’s all we’ve got time for!
I sincerely hope you enjoyed learning about this morbidly beautiful and fascinating location
and what to expect when purchasing tickets for the Paris Catacomb Tour!
Remember to like this video and subscribe to the channel to keep up with our latest
travel adventures!
Thank you so much for watching, I have been and will still be James, and I’ll see you
in the next one!
Au Revoir!