Twenty metres below the streets, the bones of millions of Parisians line the old quarry tunnels. Visitor numbers are strictly limited, so without a timed ticket you may not get in at all.
For centuries Paris was built with limestone dug from beneath the city, leaving kilometres of empty tunnels. In the late 18th century, when the overflowing cemeteries became a public health crisis, the remains were moved into these old quarries. The transfers continued for decades, and the bones were later arranged into the walls, patterns and inscriptions visitors see today.
The route runs for about a kilometre and a half through narrow, dimly lit galleries around twenty metres underground. The first stretch is bare quarry tunnel; then you pass the inscription at the entrance to the ossuary and the walls of stacked skulls and bones begin. It is cool and damp all year, and the exit is in a different street from the entrance.
There are well over a hundred steps down and even more back up, with no lift, so the visit is not suitable for anyone with limited mobility or heart problems. The tunnels are narrow and low in places, which can be hard for people who are claustrophobic, and the ossuary can be upsetting for young children.
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