Catacombs (Paris, France)

Guides: Destinations > Cities > Paris > Montparnasse > Catacombs
Hotels: Countries > France > Paris

The catacombs are a series of galleries that run under Paris totalling 165km in length. These underground quarries were mined to provide stone for an every expanding city especially during the 12th and 13th centuries. The old mines were all but forgotten until they began to crumble at the end of the 18th Century and it was decided that they should be mapped and strengthened. It was Voltaire in 1785 that orchestrated their now sinister use as home to over 6 million human skeletons in order to solve the problem of overpopulation in Paris' cemeteries. Today tours are available to view the macabre remains.