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This underground Parisian network is the largest in the world!

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The Editor

© Ed Goodacre / Shutterstock

On the surface, life in Paris buzzes at every corner. With cars, terraces, joggers, and bikes, there’s quite a bit of hustle and bustle. But the capital also has a rich underground life flourishing below. Yes, we know there’s the metro and the sewers, but there’s also another, lesser-known network that is actually the largest in the world…

The French capital holds a number of world records, most of which are located beneath the surface of the earth. The largest underground station in the world, the highest number of buried grumblers (a record that explodes in the subway every Monday morning), and let's not forget the record for the largest underground cemetery in the world! Oh yes, to dive into this new record, we're taking you this time to explore the catacombs!


A bit of history

For the municipal ossuary of the City of Paris, everything begins at the end of the 18th century. At this time, pre-existing 14th-century galleries were repurposed by the City to help relieve the Parisian cemeteries due to sanitation issues, primarily.

For a very long time, until 1861 to be exact, there were over 6 million individuals in various stages of decomposition who were relocated there.

It was during this time that the name “catacombs” was adopted, referencing the underground necropolises of ancient Rome. It's a bit of a misuse of the term, since unlike ancient practices, these long galleries were never used as an official burial site, but rather as a depository to free up some space and, most importantly, to protect the health of Parisians.


An Endless Network

Today, the catacombs stretch over 1,500 meters long, making them the largest underground ossuary in the world. The corridors sometimes overlap on 3 different levels, with the deepest buried more than 20 meters underground. And while, back in the day, human remains were placed a bit haphazardly, ... everything is sorted and organized following the opening of the places to the public in 1809.

Visits that are instantly a big hit and still attract tourists from all around the world today. It shows that morbid curiosity is more than just a saying. Along with the walls of skulls, you can see Masonic monuments throughout the journey.g> in antique style and Egyptian featuring shapes of Doric columns, altars, cippus or tombs. And if you're feeling adventurous and want to make a little trip underground, it’s at Denfert-Rochereau that it’s happening !

Address: 1 Av. du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris, France