Paris Catacombs

Sitting about 65 feet below the city streets, the Paris Catacombs are the largest underground necropolis in the world. Following a series of cave-ins in the middle of the 18th century, the forgotten tunnel system was ordered by Louis XVI to be explored and inspected (it was originally an underground quarry for Lutetian limestone in the Middle Ages). Then, in 1786, the Paris authorities began converting the area into an ossuary. Bones were moved from unsanitary or overcrowded cemeteries—the total is around 6 million skeletons. Walking through the catacombs… it’s a labyrinth, and it’s deathly quiet—you can hear water droplets falling from the limestone ceiling. When you leave, they check your bag to make sure you didn’t take any “souvenirs.”Read more