Top 3 Spookiest Attractions in Paris
Updated: Oct. 04, 2018
Paris may be known as The City of Light, but there’s no question that the French capital has a dark past. Travel experts at the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau have rounded up three attractions that will delight both brave believers in the paranormal and skeptical history buffs.Â
The Catacombs of Paris
Situated 20 metres below the heart of Paris, the Catacombs house the remains of millions of Parisians from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Formerly the location of quarries whose limestone was used to build the French capital, visitors can see endless arrangements of bones in the long maze of the Catacombs. The dark galleries and narrow passages are also filled with a series of maxims, poems and sacred passages that are sure to spook anyone who enters. Famous remains include writer Jean de La Fontaine, painter Simon Vouet and French Revolution leader Georges Danton. Each 45 minute tour covers a distance of approximately 2 kilometres.
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Père Lachaise Cemetery
Taking its name from King Louis XIV’s confessor, the Père Lachaise cemetery is the most visited necropolis in all of Paris. Located in the 20th arrondissement, it contains 70,000 burial plots spread across 44 hectares. Equal parts English park and shrine, visitors can see the final resting places of some of history’s most famous artists and war heroes, including Honoré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. Travel back in time as you admire the monuments, headstones and elaborate decorations visitors leave on graves. Admission is free for all visitors; guided tours take place on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Rue des Chantres
When it comes to spooky Paris attractions, few rival the Rue des Chantres, one of the French capital’s narrowest streets. Situated on the Island of the City under the shadow of the Notre Dame Cathedral, and a frequent stop on ghost walking tours, the Rue des Chantres is the most haunted street in the City of Light. Named after the cantors of the Cathedral’s cloister, it’s been said that ghosts of young children playing in the courtyard exist to this day.
