Andrew and I have been known to visit the odd attraction for a bit of morbid touristing. We added the Chapel of Bones in Évora to our Portugal trip because it sounded creepy (and it was). We also visited the Catacombs of San Sebastiano in Rome because I was tempted by the thought of exploring dark tunnels filled with bones a la Indiana Jones. I can remember being disappointed when there were no bones or skulls in the Roman catacombs. So when I read about the Catacombs of Paris, which are actually filled with skulls and bones, I knew it was somewhere I wanted to visit.

And that's basically what the Catacombs of Paris are - tunnels filled with skulls and bones. The tunnels were the solution for an overflowing Saints-Innocents cemetery. In the graveyard the dead were interred straight into the ground in mass graves. As the cemetery started to fill, the decaying bodies were not only very smelly but started to cause issues with the Parisian water supply.

The cemetery was a source of revenue for the church so they continued burials even when the graveyard was full to bursting... literally. In 1780, the cellar wall of a restaurant adjoining the cemetery collapsed and the cellar filled with a mix of bones and putrid flesh (yuk!). The government decided enough was enough. They closed the cemetery and moved all its inhabitants into the tunnels - abandoned stone quarries - on the outskirts of the city.

When the bones were transferred, they weren't haphazardly piled in corners. The bones line the walls of the tunnel and have been arranged in beautiful patterns. There is even one section where skulls are artfully organised in heart-shaped patterns.

So, are the catacombs worth a visit? Well, they are morbidly interesting. The inscription over the entrance reads "Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la Mort"..."Stop, this is the empire of Death". The tunnels are the perfect site for an ossuary. They are dark, cold and damp. The average temperature is only 14 degrees and the sound of dripping water only adds to the atmosphere. But they are also long - the tunnel route is two kilometres and it did get a bit boring after a while. (They should add rats! and flaming torches! and Arab men chasing after you trying to stop you from recovering the Holy Grail! Hrm, that Indiana Jones influence coming through again. I think I just want to be Indiana Jones.)


Who knows, one day my bones may become a tourist attraction. As an avid traveller I don't really have a problem with that.

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.