Samsonsol, CC0The Paris Catacombs: tickets, opening hours and what to see
Timed tickets go on sale online seven days ahead and include the audio guide. Free tickets are only issued at the desk on the day, with guaranteed entry even when the site shows sold out.
In short
- Paid entry is a timed ticket, sold online only and released seven days before the visit.
- The audio guide comes with a paid ticket. Free tickets do not include it.
- Free tickets are issued at the desk on the day, with proof, and entry is guaranteed even when the site shows sold out.
- The route is one way: in at Denfert-Rochereau, out on Avenue René-Coty, nearly 700 meters away.
- Expect 243 steps and uneven, slippery floors. The site is not accessible to wheelchair users.
- Suitcases and large bags are refused, and there is no cloakroom.
- 243steps, 131 down and 112 up
- 1.5 kmone-way underground circuit
- 20 mbelow the streets of Paris
- 14°Cconstant temperature, even in summer
Don't miss
“Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort”
The inscription stands over the entrance to the ossuary.
The walls of femurs and skulls
Look at the façades: rows of femurs and tibiae alternating with skulls, the rest piled behind.
The Samaritan Fountain
The basin where Héricart de Thury tested four goldfish in 1813.
The Sepulchral Lamp
One of the areas named after its decor, among the Antique and Egyptian monuments of the circuit.
Street names underground
Plaques repeat the streets above, and quarry engineers carved their initials and the year.
The Paris Catacombs tickets: how to get them
Sold by billetterie-parismusees.paris.fr, at the official price.
| Ticket | Adult | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Timed ticket (audio guide included)Timed entry | €31Young person €25 · Student €25 · Child €15 | Timed slot · On sale 7 days ahead |
| Group booking | €31Young person €25 · Child €12 | Booking required |
| AudioguideWith audio guide | €5 |
Free entry (2026)
- Visitors with disability and one companion
- Everyone (up to age 7)
Which ticket is right for you?
You are 8 or older and pay for entry
Timed ticket (audio guide included)
Sold online only, seven days ahead, with the audio guide in the price.
You are entitled to free entry
Free ticket at the desk
Issued on the day with proof. Entry guaranteed even when sold out.
You have a free ticket and want commentary
Audioguide
Free tickets do not include the audio guide. Buy it at the desk.
You are organizing a group
Group booking
Groups must book in advance.
Your visit, step by step
Place Denfert-Rochereau
Entrance
The visitors’ entrance at 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy.
Spiral staircases
Down 131 steps
To the galleries, twenty meters below the streets.
Ossuary entrance
“Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort”
The inscription that opens the ossuary.
Ossuary
The bone walls and monuments
Femurs and skulls, the Samaritan Fountain, the Sepulchral Lamp.
Avenue René-Coty
Up 112 steps to the exit
You come out nearly 700 meters from where you went in.
Timed tickets, released seven days ahead
Every paying visitor books a timed ticket on the official ticketing site of Paris Musées, linked above, and the official site asks you to check the time slot you reserved.
Tickets are released seven days before the visit date, and paid tickets are sold online only. The audio guide is included in the price. See the ticket table above for the rates by age.
The number of visitors on site is limited to 200. When too many people arrive, entry can be paused for a while, and the official site warns that the wait outside can be long, even in winter.
Avoid this mistake
When the official site is sold out, many people turn to resellers. To help you buy a valid ticket from a legitimate vendor, the Catacombs publish a list of authorized sellers on their individual rates page. Check it before you pay anyone else.
Free entry happens at the desk
Children under 8 enter free, and so do visitors with disabilities with their personal care attendant, jobseekers, ICOM and ICOMOS members, journalists and a few other groups listed on the rates page. The rules for all of them are the same:
- Free tickets cannot be booked online. You get them at the front desk on the day, with a proof document.
- You are guaranteed to get in, even if the website says the site is fully booked.
- If you come with someone who has a paid ticket, you enter together, in that ticket’s slot.
- A free ticket does not include the audio guide. You can buy one at the desk on the day.
Visitors with disabilities do not need to book either: their tickets are issued on showing an official card or document. The site has limited accessibility, though: read the conditions below before you come.
One way down, 1.5 kilometers, one way out
The visit is a one-way circuit of 1.5 kilometers. You enter at 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, on Place Denfert-Rochereau, served by the metro and RER B at Denfert-Rochereau.
| Stage | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Stairs | Spiral staircases, 243 steps in total |
| Going down | 131 steps |
| Underground | Galleries twenty meters below the streets, at a constant 14°C |
| Coming up | 112 steps |
Read moreShow less
You come back up at 21 bis, Avenue René-Coty, nearly 700 meters from the entrance, and you cannot turn back once you are in.
The official pages disagree on the length: 45 minutes on the practical information page, one hour on the visit rules page and about an hour and a half on the family page. Plan on about an hour, plus the wait outside. The audio guide, narrated by Héricart de Thury, the engineer behind the ossuary, starts automatically along the way and lasts about an hour. It is available in French, English, Spanish and German, with a French audio-described version for visually impaired visitors.
The floor is uneven and slippery, the passages narrow and the light dim. It is cool and can be very humid, even in summer, so wear comfortable shoes and something warm.
Who should think twice
The Catacombs are not accessible to wheelchair users or anyone who needs step-free access. The official site does not recommend the visit for people with a motor disability, claustrophobia, or cardiac or respiratory insufficiency. Children under 14 must be with an adult, and the family page suggests the site for children from age ten. Visually impaired visitors must be accompanied. Guide dogs are allowed, white canes are not.
The ossuary of Héricart de Thury
The ossuary holds the remains of several million Parisians, moved here from the city’s former cemeteries. Before it opened to the public in 1809, Inspector Héricart de Thury rearranged it as a monument. Watch for these details:
- The entrance inscription: “Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort”, above the entrance to the ossuary.
- The bone walls: rows of femurs and tibiae alternating with skulls form the façade, with the rest of the bones piled behind.
- The monuments: Doric columns, altars, steles and tombs in Antique and Egyptian styles, and areas named after their decor, such as the Lacrymatory Sarcophagus, the Samaritan Fountain and the Sepulchral Lamp.
- The quarry marks: plaques with the names of the streets above, and engravings where the quarry engineers left the site number, their initials and the year.
- The texts on the walls: religious and poetic plaques placed along the galleries to encourage a meditation on death.
In 1813, Héricart de Thury put four goldfish in the basin of the Samaritan Fountain. They survived, but went blind and never reproduced.
Good to know
The Catacombs stage a temporary exhibition every year. The official site lists the current one, which is presented in the entrance pavilion and included with admission.
From quarries to a museum of the city
The tunnels are former limestone quarries, and the ossuary was a response to two crises at once: collapsing ground and overflowing cemeteries.
- 1774 A series of mine cave-ins, starting with a house on the rue d’Enfer, led King Louis XVI to name a commission on the state of the Paris underground.
- 1780 After a basement wall next to the Saints-Innocents cemetery gave way on May 31, the cemetery was closed and burials inside the city walls were forbidden.
- 1785 Moving the dead of Paris into renovated underground passageways became law.
- 1809 The rearranged ossuary opened to the public.
- 1862 Nadar photographed the Catacombs using electric light, the earliest known photographic record of the site.
Since 2013, the Catacombs have been one of the City of Paris museums managed by Paris Musées.
Bags, photos and the rules underground
The rules come from the fragility of the site, and staff can ask visitors who ignore them to leave. Suitcases, large bags and motorcycle helmets are refused, and there is no cloakroom, because the exit is far from the entrance.
Strollers are not allowed either: bring a baby carrier. Bags no larger than 40 x 30 x 20 cm are allowed according to the visit rules page. The practical information page gives 40 x 30 cm. Carry the bag on the front or at your side.
Photos for private use are allowed, without a tripod or a flash. Nobody may touch the bones, the works or their surroundings, and that applies to visually impaired visitors too. Restrooms are at the entrance and at the exit.
Opening hours
| Period | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| All year | Tuesday to Sunday | 9:45 am to 8:30 pm last entry 7:30 pm |
| ||
Before you go
- Book the timed ticket online. Sales open seven days before the visit.
- Bags no larger than 40 x 30 x 20 cm, carried on the front or at your side. No suitcases or motorcycle helmets.
- Leave the stroller behind and bring a baby carrier.
- No food, no drinks, no alcohol and no animals other than guide dogs.
- Photos are fine, but no flash and no tripod.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair access
- Not wheelchair accessible
Temporary exhibitions
- 29 Sep 2026 to 31 Jan 2027
Nadar: Inventing Paris, from the Depths to the Sky
catacombes.paris.fr
Map and nearby sights
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance can I book the Paris Catacombs?
Tickets are released seven days before the visit date. Paid tickets are sold online only, with a time slot.
Are the Paris Catacombs free for children?
Children under 8 enter free. Their ticket is issued at the desk on the day. If they come with you, they enter in your slot.
Can I visit the Catacombs if tickets are sold out?
Visitors entitled to free entry are guaranteed to get in at the desk, even when the website shows the site fully booked. Paying visitors can check the official list of authorized sellers.
How long does the Catacombs visit take?
Official pages give 45 minutes, one hour and about an hour and a half for the 1.5 kilometer circuit. The audio guide lasts about an hour.
Can I bring a backpack into the Catacombs?
Only small bags: the visit rules page allows 40 x 30 x 20 cm at most, while the practical information page gives 40 x 30 cm. Carry the bag on the front or at your side. There is no cloakroom.
Is the exit at the same place as the entrance?
No. You enter on Place Denfert-Rochereau and leave at 21 bis, Avenue René-Coty, nearly 700 meters away.
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- catacombes.paris.fr official 7 pages
- Wikimedia Commons
- Wikipedia
- wikidata.org
Facts last checked on 26 October 2026. Prices and opening hours change, often in January: confirm on the official website before you go.