I'd like to explore the restricted Paris Catacombs, but since I don't know the way I'm looking for someone who can guide me through the tunnels. Does someone know a cataphile (a catacomb guide) or does anyone know how I can find one, except to ask for it on forums or youtube. And is the gate of hell worth seeing? I've seen the footage featuring the famous wallcover, but is it more exciting than other parts of the catacombs?

The closed areas now have motion sensors, and the fines have become quite stiff. I think there is not much chance of dedicated cataphiles accepting an unknown person to their midst.

The catacombs are hundreds of miles, you don't tell me that there are motions sensors all the way through the tunnels, there must be unnoticed ways to go. The cataphile doesn't have to jump in right away. I'd like to get in contact with someone first. After all, the cataphile is as unknown to me as I to him. The cataphile is not just going with a stranger, but I'm going with someone which I have to rely on 100%. If I'm in the catacombs I cannot get out myself. Besides, I'm one of few people who want to go to a restricted area. There's no point in going underground with bad intentions without any chance on survival on my own. It's not like I go to a tourist spot to rip people off. I want to see the catacombs real badly. If I could go by myself I wouldn't ask.

The only cataphile guide that I knew was called Papi. I would assume that when they made the catacomb horror movie As Above, So Below, they must have known about him since the guide's name in the movie was Papillon. However, I never went exploring the catacombs with Papi because even back then he said it was not worth the risk, and the unauthorized entrances were being plugged up as fast as they were opened. I went on three different trips with him to the incredible quarries of Bougival in the suburbs. One of them is like a breathtaking subterranean cathedral that just goes on and on for kilometres on three different levels (with sometimes some dangerous holes dropping you to the level below like in a video game). Back in those days, we just had candles and flashlights (and our food and wine of course) and we would leave a candle burning at major intersections so that the neophytes would not get lost, particularly those who freaked out and wanted to go back to the exit.

The other quarry was more like an abandoned mining tunnel with rotten beams holding it up and muddy water that we had to slog through (you should have seen how we looked when we emerged around 6am the next morning). But after the first section, it all became quite big, so I think it was just a back entrance to one of the main quarries. I did not feel safe in the part with rotten beams at all.

Each time we had a group of about 15-20 people. Most of us vaguely knew each other from other excursions, but there were always friends of friends who came for the first time.

As for the catacombs, while they may be "hundreds of miles" many of the tunnels are submerged or impassible now and most of the passages that have been walled up were done so with good reason. It is the former "party rooms" that have the motion sensors, so there is not really any place for people to gather away from the claustrophobic tunnels.

If you are determined, you have to go to one of the cataphile message boards (in French) or course and start asking questions. Here is one of the forums: https://ckzone.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=31

Just for the record, Papi did not look at all like the French actor François Civil who was in the horror movie but more like the American actor Zach Galifianakis.

I don't care about the claustrophobic tunnels. Besides, there are plenty of stories from people who went there. The tunnels have submerged? So they're flooded with water? If that's so, then the official route must have submerged as well, and I don't hear anything about the official route being closed. People have gone through the tunnels for hundreds of years and now it's not possible to go through anymore? The only measures I've read about are to close the entrances, nothing about the tunnels being impossible to go through. The unauthorized entrances were being plugged up as fast as they were opened I've seen a video on youtube in which people go late and when there are no people and they came back early in the morning. If I do that it must be possible to go unnoticed. Paris has a population of over 2 million. It's a big city, The tunnels are all under paris. There must be an entrance which you can go through unnoticed. Papi says it's not worth the risk. I don't care about the fines, all I want is to go in the catacombs. The reason I ask it here, is because I don't speak french and I didn't want to learn french just for going one night to france.
I didn't reply earlier, because I wasn't allowed to reply anymore within 24 hours.

Have you bothered to visit the official catacombs?

No. I'm not interested in the offical route. It's always more fun to go somewhere exciting as to go somewhere where it's not a real adventure. The official route is not about exploring, It's just a guide that guides you through a wide tunnel, with straight paths and everything straightened out, with nothing exciting. The offical route is bland big time. I cannot say this from experience, but even when I see videos on youtube it bores me. I've been backpacking in thailand and indonesia and the more adventurous, so the less regulated, the less organized, the less arranged everything was, the way more fun it was. I don't really care about going through narrow or wide paths. I really imagine it's such a thrill going through the catacombs. My ideas before my first travel to asia came all true. Just writing about it excites me even more! Man, I wish I knew someone who could guide me. I could go to the official catacombs and search for a cataphile myself, but I think it's hard to find one, since french people aren't really helping, since they don't like speaking english. Even if they are willing to help me, how can I be sure that someone wants to contact me? I know that if I search in paris, it's partly luck to find one, but it's quite a trip just for finding a guide. I don't know why you ask me about the official route, but since I can only comment once more today, I say everything I think which could be necessary.

Well then start by learning French. That's pretty exciting. And then you can ask questions on the link I provided.

I'm not allowed to post URL as a new guy on the forum but try googling 'catacombes sauvetage Paris' and you'll find articles about youngsters being lost for 72 hours and found in hypothermia.
Same article states a guy went with alcohol and dope and had a heart attack.
ambulances didn't reach hil in time. Above ground maybe.

So have fun, find a French who likes to speak (basic) English, as you seem to think it is sooo difficult, speak slowly, don't be too arrogant, give enough money and pray the guy is to be trusted.

kerouac, Is the found footage or the documentary fake in the youtube video 'Man gets lost in the catacombs of Paris'? And why is the video fake? I'm not talking about the wallcover, the man with it's limbs spread, or the gate of hell (I think it's the place where the floor is covered with bones), I want to know about the found footage and the documentary. The found footage seems legit to me. In the footage there's a guy running in the dark through underground tunnels. In the documentary they say that the camera keeps running until the battery is empty. I've read nowhere that the footage is fake.

I hear that there's some great caves to explore near Chiang Rai, Thailand -how about trying those?

Did you ever find a Cataphile to take you? Traveling there in a month and am trying to do the same thing…