The catacombs of Paris

When I was planing this trip, I was telling my sister that I will try to veer away from places that I have been to before. So I decided to include Pere Lachaise, Giverny, St. Denis, Sorbonne, and the catacombs to my not-so-short itinerary. I was a little apprehensive about the catacombs because the idea of being confined for more than hour underground, surrounded by bones, and with strangers was a tiny bit unsettling for me. For those who have never heard of the catacombs of Paris, these are basically graveyards created in the 18th century underneath Paris. It is located in the 14 arrondisement in the Denfert-Rochereau area. Overcrowding and diseases prompted the Parisian officials to move the graves underground, thus the catacombs. As a solo traveler, it was definitely creepy to be in the catacombs. I was lucky enough to have met a really nice Australian girl (I have mentioned her in my Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise post) who shared my disdain over other tourists who didn’t care about the history of the catacombs and their departed inhabitants. There were a few groups of tourists that were touching the bones, making jokes about how these people died, and using flash photography. We thought they were very disrespectful. I think that taking photos to share and inform others of what happened to these poor people is all well and good. Showing a little bit of respect goes a long way.

Anyway, I took a few photos inside the catacombs as a reminder of these poor people’s fate and to say a little prayer for their souls.