Skip-the-Line Paris Catacombs Special Access Tour

Discover the labyrinth of the Paris Catacombs with a guide. Skip the ticket line and uncover the secrets of the world’s largest underground burial site.

Venture beneath the City of Light to explore the dark underworld of the Paris Catacombs. Skip the entrance lines and head inside this fantastically macabre tunnel system filled with the skeletal remains of more than six million Parisians. Hear about the remarkable construction of the catacombs from an expert guide as you walk past ornate chambers piled with decorative arrangements of bones, and gain special access to chapels and chambers closed to the general public.

Your tour starts by skipping the lines to walk directly into the Catacombs. This vast, underground cemetery is composed of miles of underground tunnels lined with the skulls and bones of some 6 million Parisians. In the company of a local expert guide and a group of 19 people or fewer you’ll explore this unbelievable city of the dead where each room reveals ever more ornate and macabre bone decorations.

Along the way, you’ll hear the unbelievable story of how the catacombs were built and the massive project that was undertaken to move bones from around the city to this point. Your special-access status means the guards will also open gates just for your group, letting you into areas like a secret chapel ornately decorated with skulls and femurs.

Believe it or not, the Paris Catacombs are just as much a symbol of city at Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower. They contain bones representing some 2,000 years of history and their construction was a unique civil engineering project that helped give rise to the modern city.

Get the most out of your visit as you listen to unique insights from your guide and together, navigate this dark but curious space. Along the way, you'll learn the intriguing stories of those who worked, visited, and have been laid to rest here over the centuries, including the secret societies that still visit today.

Important information

This tour will be exclusively guided in English.