The Catacombs of Paris reopen to the public on April 8!

A renovation to enhance your experience 20 meters below Avenue du Colonel Rol-Tanguy (^{14th arrondissement})! Starting April 8, thanks to a new exhibition design, the Catacombs will be more immersive than ever. Visitors will be able to better understand the complex history of this site, which has been open to the public since 1809, and experience its spiritual atmosphere.

Equipped with a personal audio guide, visitors will enjoy an immersive audio experience as they explore the 11,000 square meters of underground galleries. The dramatized narration (available in four languages) will be delivered in the warm voice of the historical founder of the Catacombs of Paris: Inspector General of Quarries Louis-Etienne Héricart de Thury (1776–1854)!

Visitors will also find educational and artistic exhibits in the hallways, such as displays of images (silhouettes, paintings, engravings, photographs, etc.) and short films illustrating the history of the site and the people who worked there.

As for accessibility, it has been completely redesigned to allow people with visual and hearing impairments to enjoy this experience.

Another new feature: the Catacombs will host temporary exhibitions on historical, artistic, or scientific themes, as well as open-ended commissions for contemporary artists who will offer a fresh perspective on this fascinating site.

Until it closed, nearly 600,000 visitors descended into the Catacombs each year. To ensure the preservation of this heritage, it was therefore essential to carry out work to protect this historic site, which is extremely fragile from both an archaeological and geological standpoint.

Thanks to the replacement of the air-handling units, the air underground is now cleaner. A control system continuously monitors temperature, CO₂, and humidity—factors that are essential not only for preserving the bones but also for ensuring the comfort of visitors and staff.

When it comes to lighting, the space features a completely redesigned lighting system. Higher quality, more varied, and better suited to this unique venue, it highlights the walls of bones while revealing details that were previously invisible.

Finally, security has also been enhanced, with the modernization of the fire safety system, improved protection against intruders, and a more reliable communication system—even twenty meters underground.

The renovation project began in the fall of 2023 with the restoration of a “wall of bones” (a wall made of human remains that forms part of the ossuary’s decor) known as the “Wall of the September Martyrs.”

After the overthrow of the monarchy on August 10, 1792, panic spread among the sans-culottes in Paris. They feared that political prisoners were plotting a counterrevolutionary uprising. Between September 2 and 6, 1792, more than 1,000 prisoners were murdered in Parisian prisons. Among them were “refractory” priests—so called because they refused to swear an oath to the Constitution—who were killed.

In the former Carmelite convent, which had been converted into a prison, more than a hundred of them were massacred. Some of these martyrs are buried in the Catacombs: this is known as the “September Massacres.” The stele located to the right of plot No. 116 commemorates this event. It is topped by a quote in Greek (the only one along the route) taken from Homer’s Odyssey: “It is an impiety to insult the dead.”

To preserve this historic wall for the long term, a new, scientifically validated methodology was chosen. This approach draws inspiration from the dry-stone walling techniques once used by workers in the stone quarries. To carry out the reconstruction of this structure, a multidisciplinary team consisting of an archaeological conservator, a stonemason, a civil engineer, and experienced workers was assembled.

Are you fascinated by Paris's heritage?