Cemeteries and resting places in Paris, France offer the visitor a unique look at the city and its residents. Here are four that provide the visitor memories they will not soon forget.
Cemeteries in Paris, France #1:
Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise (Pere Lachaise Cemetery)
8, Boulevard de Ménilmontant
75020 Paris, France
+33 1 55 25 82 10
The largest cemetery in Paris, France and one of the most famous resting places in the world, the Pere Lachaise Cemetery attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Tourists flock to this cemetery to pay respects to at least a few of its hundreds of famous residents. Among those celebrities interred here are Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, French actress Sarah Bernhardt, Irish novelist and poet Oscar Wilde, Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, French singer Édith Piaf, and a slew of French poets, artists, architects, playwrights, and even a past president. Between celebrities’ graves, take a moment to enjoy the beautiful monuments and statues you will pass as you wander down tree lined paths.
To reach the main entrance of this cemetery, visit the 20th arrondisement in Paris. Hop aboard the city’s metro on line 2 and exit at the Philippe Auguste station. Be sure to pick up a map to locate the graves you want to visit in this 44-acre cemetery.
Visit http://www.pere-lachaise.com/ for a virtual visit of the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
Opening Hours
Mid-March through early November:
Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Mid-November through early March
Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Cemeteries in Paris, France #2:
Les Catacombes de Paris (The Catacombs of Paris)
1, Place Denfert-Rochereau
75014 Paris, France
+33 1 43 22 47 63
http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm
While the Catacombs of Paris may not offer celebrity “sightings,” visitors will likely experience the creep factor as they walk among the remains of the some six million unidentified Parisians gathered here. Created in the late 1700s to remedy the risk of infectious diseases posed by cemeteries to the living, the catacombs became the final resting place of the city’s dead as the cemeteries of Paris were closed and emptied of their residents.
Visitors who cannot handle walking for approximately one hour through underground tunnels lined with rows and rows of bones should re-think any intention to visit the Catacombs of Paris. Also, no restroom facilities are available.
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (no admission after 4:00 p.m.)
Cemeteries in Paris, France #3:
Cimetiere de Picpus (Picpus Cemetery)
35, rue de Picpus
75007, Paris, France
+33 01 43 44 18 54
Though the Picpus Cemetery in Paris is small in size, its gruesome history and its one interred American hero make for an interesting visit . Near the end of France’s “Reign of Terror” in the summer of 1794, 1306 men and women, including 16 nuns, fell victim to the guillotine at the nearby Place du Trone-Renverse, renamed Place de la Nation. From the city square, the decapitated bodies were carted to this former neighborhood garden and were placed into two mass graves.
The American Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette, whose wife’s family members were among those executed and interred here in 1794, is also buried in the Picpus Cemetery in Paris. His grave, which is maintained by the Daughters of the American Revolution, can be easily located by the American flag that flies above it.
Opening Hours
Mid-April through August
Tuesday – Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
October to mid-April
Tuesday – Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Closed holidays, Mondays, July 4th, and the month of September
Cemeteries in Paris, France #4: Le Cimetière des Chiens
(The Cemetery of Dogs)
4, pont de Clichy
92600 Asnières sur Seine, France
Tél : 01 40 86 21 11
Opened in 1899, the Cimetière des Chiens is believed to be the first pet cemetery in the world. No visit here would be complete without a visit to the grave site of Rin Tin Tin and a look at the monument to the St. Bernard named Barry, a mountain rescue dog responsible for saving forty lives in the early 1800s. Pet lovers will enjoy the history and monuments as they wander past the grave sites of some 100,000 dogs, cats, birds, horses, hamsters, monkeys, lions and other beloved pets.
Located in a suburb of Paris, the Cemetery of Dogs can be reached by Paris metro line 13 by traveling to the Gabriel Péri – Asnières – Gennevilliers station.
Opening Hours
Mid-March through Mid-October
Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Mid-October through Mid-March
Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed holidays
Sources:
Friends of Pere Lachaise
Bienvenue sur le site des Amis et Passionnés du Père Lachaise (APPL)
The Cemeteries of Paris
http://www.pariscemeteries.com/
Town of Asnières sur Seine, France
