Tours from Home: Descend into the Darkness of Paris’ Catacombs

Through the night shadows, a mere single lantern cuts the darkness, swinging with each shuffling step as a group of police and priests, with clandestine intent, carry an array of human remains underground. Over the years, these officials and clergymen will move the remains of up to six million individuals into the belly of Paris, the shadowy abyss of Hades—thus creating an underground network of tunnels, embellished by the bones of Parisian civilians, known as the Catacombes de Paris.

Just below the City of Light lies a City of Darkness, of veneration, of a life once lived, and some say, an unrestful death. On this captivating online tour, descend down with our local Parisian guide from their home in Paris, into the former quarry tunnels turned ossuaries of the city’s discarded residents. Over the course of an hour, your guide will dig through the reasons such mass underground graves were desperately needed, and why they saved Paris from ruin.

Over the course of this tour, grasp the geographical immensity of such a place - 200 miles (322 km) of tunnels, that of which only 1.25 miles (2 km) is known and accessible, at least to law abiding citizens! Hear the stories of the Cataphiles who have trespassed for years, springing up secret cinemas, hidden restaurants, and exclusive bars.

Although the subject can be quite macabre, our guide will share the beauty of how bones were arranged into intricate works of art - you may say, once-living sculptures. Also discover how some of Paris’ most famous and beguiling monuments are constructed from stone quarried from these very tunnels.

On this online tour from home, venerate the lives of six million people and all that is left of their physical bodies, resting for eternity, in the largest Catacombs in Europe—encompassed within the veining darkness known as the “Empire of the Dead”. Journey into the beating heart of Paris for this truly one-of-a-kind storytelling experience.

By booking this online tour, you receive a $25 gift voucher which you can use to book any Walks tour in one of our global destinations (valid for 2 years).

Expressing gratitude to your guide through gratuities has never been easier—now featuring an online tipping portal!

All times specified are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)