Betsy

I will be traveling to Paris in March of 2002 and am interested in booking a "tour" of the catacombs. However, I am having trouble getting specific information. Has anyone ever been to the catacombs, and if so, would college freshmen enjoy it?

elaine

Hi <BR>Love meeting other "planners"! <BR>Don't worry you don't have to book the Catacombs in advance. <BR>Whether or not any individual will like something is unpredictable--it depends! <BR>The Catacombs are creepy, fascinating <BR>IF you like that sort of thing. Claustrophics would not like it much, I would think. <BR>They are not ancient as in Rome, they date from the 18th century when some cemeteries were dug up because they were causing disease, so all the remains were removed to a former quarry site which was then outside the city limits (it isn't outside the city limits now, it's at Place Denfert-Rochereau, which is also a metro stop.) <BR>Eventually other cemeteries were also emptied, creating the largest repository of human remains in the world, representing over six million individuals. It wasn't until years later the outer layers of bones and skulls were arranged into vast walls and "artistic" arrangements that one sees on the tour. The tour covers about 800 meters of the entire 11,000 square meters. <BR>For information on the history and tours, see such websites as www.infiltration.org/catacomb.htm <BR>www.all-paris-hotels.com/catacombs.htm <BR>and www.paris.org/Musees/Catacombes <BR>/info.html <BR> <BR>

elaine

Betsy <BR>I just realized that you may be taking a group there--if so, you might want to look at one of the websites to see <BR>if booking in advance for a large group <BR>is necessary

xxx

Please check on whether they are open before you make the trip out there. Last I heard, they were closed for renovation, but that was a few months ago...

Sarah

Definitely go to the Catacombs. Perfect for college freshmen. Visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery before or after too for a truly interesting cultural experience around death and respect for the dead. Both are well worth it though. The catacombs are only open from spring to early fall because the water rises underground and the tunnels become filled. <BR>I have never done a guided tour there but took the metro to Denfert-Rochereau and it's right there. If you don't have a guide, get some info so you understand it all. The innocents are buried there, it goes on forever (you won't believe it!) and even the Nazis occupied it. Check out the website at http://www.campus.ecp.fr/~slyv/. <BR> <BR>It's not scary, it's interesting -- really.

Felicia

I loved the catacombs! I'll tell you what it's like...you go down some steps and when you reach the bottom,, you can smell the mustiness, but it's not bad. There's a lot of water to your left and right, but you're walking along on an underground sidewalk. The temperature is cool down there. The catacombs have inscriptions and descriptions in French - no English - and it's about an hour's walk thru the whole thing, if you pause and look at them. Do you need an address, by the way? It's actually one of the most enjoyable things I did in Paris, because it's so weird. It's creepy but not scary at all. I think it would appeal to people of all ages, except tiny tots, which would bore them. The sidewalks I mentioned are pretty wide and the ceiling is low but not so low that people who are 6' tall have a problem. The only problem I had was walking back up. The steps are extremely winding, the walls between the steps are very close together, making you feel like you're trapped. You walk about a million steps up, and about halfway up, you begin to feel a little claustrophobic. It doesn't help that there are people behind you who wish you'd hurry up, but they can't pass because it's way too narrow. Two people cannot walk side by side on those steps. Also, the steps are very tall, for a step, that is. <BR>That's part of the uniqueness. It's definitely worth it and I was telling people "sorry, yall just have to be patient w/ me" and I did not force myself to go faster. If anyone fell on those steps, I think they're in deep trouble! LOL. <BR>Felicia

Christina

The catacombs have recently been reopened after the renovation. I personally do not recommend them to most people because they view them as a Disneyland thriller, creepy, weird, etc. My religious beliefs regards this as offensive and disrespectful to the dead. People who approach it with knowledge and interest in urban renewal or history are fine, but 99 out of 100 view it as "creepy" etc. Young people deface the area, steal things, etc, including remains (which is why backpacks, etc may be searched). Understand what it is, it is basically the skeletal remains of people whose graves they dug up and moved during urban renewal in Paris, it's an ossuary.

Felicia

Wow, I was just there and didn't notice a single thing defaced. If it's against your religion, then you don't have to go, but it's a very unusual and interesting site. Some people don't like visiting cemeteries, but in Paris, they are a very popular travel site. Can you imagine anyone being so low down as to STEAL anything? I guess it's the same person who threw rocks at one of the pietas in Rome, which ultimately caused them to have to enclose it in a plexi-glass surrounding. <BR>

StCirq

I didn't view the catacombs as a "Disneyland thriller," nor did anyone else who was down there when we took our tour in the summer of 2000. And my religious beliefs didn't get in the way of realizing that Paris had to unearth 5 million people because of lack of space at the time (18th century, I believe?) to put them here. What's to disrespect? It IS a creepy tour, but an interesting one, and one that I would expect college freshmen would relish, if I can use that word without being slammed. I don't know if you can "book" a tour, though - might want to call the tourist office in Paris to check that out.

Wendy

Just got back fron France yesterday. We toured the Catacombs on Saturday, and in a weird way we really enjoyed it. I was not that crowded and did not take us an hour- much less in fact. There are winding steps to get down and then up- but it was not overally exhausting. You need to check the times- it is not open every day, and there were hours posted. I know on the weekends, it is open in the AM, and then does not open again until 2PM- I believe it closed at 4PM&gt; We met college kids walking through the catacombs and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw a minimal amount of water on the ground, it was not musty, and I did not find it claustrophic- but it was not overally crowded when we went through it. Any questions, email.