Catacombs

Theresa, Lisa and Jim spent one morning at the Catacombs. These are ancient passageways originally dug as limestone quarries. In 1786 and for the next 15 years, millions of skeletons were moved from the city cemetery at Les Halles, which posed a public health hazard, to these underground chambers. What a weird, creepy job that must have been. The passageways go on for miles, and only a few are open to the public. The tour starts in a large, active public square.

This sign greets you as you pay for your tickets:



After decending many flights of stairs this sign awaits:

(Stop! Here is the empire of death.)

The next two or so miles are corridors lined with femurs and skulls.









Every once in a while there was a glimpse like this--the bones that didn't make the neat stacks:





After climbing back up many stairs and just before being spit out into a remote back street (with no clue which way to go for the nearest metro; thank goodness a passing man saw our confusion and pointed us the right way) we saw this: