It is easily one of the capital’s most unusual landmarks\u2014a site that is virtually unique in Europe. These world-famous catacombs have long been a major draw for tourists, and for 2026, they have just reopened their doors following a extensive “makeover.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In total, the site was closed for five months of renovation work. Reopening this April, the Catacombs have been modernised to enhance the visitor experience for the 600,000 people who flock there every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ossuary now boasts upgraded technical facilities and more efficient ventilation, alongside structural reinforcements designed to better preserve the site and the millions of remains it holds. These updates ensure the Catacombs can continue to welcome visitors for many years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This eerie Parisian site is the largest underground ossuary in existence. Originally former limestone quarries, the tunnels were converted into an ossuary in the late 18th century to house the remains of approximately six million people. These remains were transferred from various Paris cemeteries that had become dangerously overcrowded\u2014a move dictated at the time by “public health” concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, the site has never ceased to fascinate the curious, evolving into a key Parisian landmark managed by the Mus\u00e9e Carnavalet (the museum dedicated to the history of Paris). Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors explore these tunnels\u2014steeped in macabre legends\u2014on strictly supervised tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A typical visit lasts about an hour, following a one-way circuit of roughly 1.5 kilometres. You\u2019ll find yourself some 20 metres below the streets of Paris in a constant temperature of 14\u00b0C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entrance is located at Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th arrondissement. The site is open daily (except Mondays) from 9:45 am to 8:30 pm. Tickets are priced at \u20ac31 for full admission<\/strong>, which includes an audio guide. Given its popularity, booking in advance is highly recommended during the peak season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is easily one of the capital’s most unusual landmarks\u2014a site that is virtually unique in Europe. These world-famous catacombs have long been a major draw for tourists, and for 2026, they have just reopened their doors following a extensive “makeover.” A five-month hiatus In total, the site was closed for five months of renovation work. Reopening this April, the Catacombs have been modernised to enhance the visitor experience for the 600,000 people who flock there every year. The ossuary now boasts upgraded technical facilities and more efficient ventilation, alongside structural reinforcements designed to better preserve the site and the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_strive_editorial_status":"complete","_strive_copy_of":0,"_strive_checklists":"\"\"","_strive_active_checklist":"","_strive_post_notes":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-2519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-france","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519\/revisions\/2521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebesttimetovisit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}