<Is it safe to visit? Are there Paris policemen in the tunnels?>

thought for sure Idaho Jaane posted this!

I have to admit that that question made me snicker to myself as well, even though I assumed it was sincere.

It struck me the same way as a question like "is it safe to go to a supermarket" would have.

Speaking of supermarkets, do all the Monoprix stores have 'floor walkers' in business suits that evidently are there to keep an eye out for shoplifters and other miscreants..?

photobear:

They check your bags as in look inside, not "check" like luggage on a plane. :)

Yes, they do, and most of them look like Michael Clarke Duncan (from "The Green Mile"), so there is not much messing around with them.

Thank you...Nice to know.

I've always been struck by the bouncer types in black suits at the Carrefour in Saran i've been going to for years - always 2 or 3 at entrance, looking forbidding - not exactly the WalMart type greeter. Usually tall and burly.

They don't much appreciate being asked where one might find 'such and such', either... ;)

All,

Thanks for your help. I appreciate your comments. I feel much better about the visit. I'd been warned off the catacombs previous to writing this, but now I'm sold.

Take care all,

I just have one question - had the person who 'warned you off' ever set foot in the Catacombs? or even Paris?...

Check the hours of operation for the catacombs before you go -- they are not open every day and stop admitting visitors by mid-afternoon on days when they are open.

And take two flashlights, one for each daughter so they can explore all the nooks and crannies. Several fellow travelers looked longingly at my sons' flashlights, one even tried to direct the beam to a particularly dark corner.

The catacombs were one of our most rehashed stops on our visit to Paris -- not at all as creepy as we'd expected and yet................we just couldn't stop talking about them!

Just a note about flashlights/torches.

We stopped and bought a torch before heading to the catacombs (as advised by others), but we weren't allowed to use it down there.

Maybe you'll have better luck as it would have been handy, as Paristoujours said, to read some of the inscriptions(A better understanding of french would have been handy too, but not essential).