Frenchie

I am interested in taking a tour of the Catacombs in Paris or the Musee des Egouts. Does anyone have any advice as to whether these are worth the time? Also, uncertain if the Egouts tour would be cool or gross?

Charlotte

Visit the sewers only if you have a strong stomach and don't mind sewage. We thought it wouldn't smell so bad. We were wrong. But we laughed all through it!

trying

The term "worth the time" is subjective and, as such, is ridiculed on this board. That said, I really am glad I went to both, but particularly the Catacombs. Granted the first ten minutes gave you the idea, but it was interesting. Egouts was interesting, but I didn't get it. We wandered around, saw some things, but didn't catch a tour, which appeared to be in French (go figure). I think it was covered by the musee pass.

Frenchie

Thanks for the responses....Charlotte, exactly the info I was looking to find. Think I'll add the Catacombs to my definite list and strike the sewer tour.

Jen

Actually, Des Egouts turned out to be one of our favorite tours -- I would do both if I were you. Also, we didn't think they were that gross, and the engineering is really amazing.

Katie H

We did Egouts on 2 different trips and it was a real favorite. Both times we had charming young tour guides who spoke excellent English. The history of the sewer system was really interesting. The odor was mild - actually smelled some worse on the subway. So on our most recent trip we had another couple along and went to the Egouts tour again so they could experience it. Much to our disappointment, it was not a guided tour as in the past. It was self-guided and if you had never been there before you would not get much out of it. We tried to fill in our friends on what we remembered from previous tours. I asked at the front desk about the lack of guides and was told that they just had not been able to recruit any and when they could hire some, the guides would return. So you may want to check to see if there will be guides before you decide.

stacy

We enjoyed both, but thought that the Catacombs were more interesting than than the sewers (which had more "Musee" than "Egouts" on the tour). If you're going to the Catacombs, it's useful to have a small flashlight, since the tunnel leading in is fairly long and dark, with uneven footing.

limited

I don't think there was really that much of the sewers open to the public. I think there were some displays of flushing balls and possibly construction issues, a few open sewers you could look into. I remember a small group listening to a guide in French. If I understood the language, I could have listened in, because there was not much distance covered. I was hoping the souvenirs would be funnier, (a good opportunity for bathroom humor), but they were almost too stylish, with the department's logo on a lot of it.